Renters’ Rights Act implementation guide

This is a comprehensive and practical guide to the implementation of the various provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act, and explains what comes into force when, based on information available on 2 May 2026, including the government’s “Implementation Roadmap” and the New Decent Homes Standard Policy Statement.

This guide also includes hyperlinks to the relevant provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act and other legislation, making it easy to find and analyse the wording in the statutes.

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Last updated: 2 May 2026

Phase 1: Renters’ Rights Act provisions which came into force on 27 December 2025

As set out in Section 145 RRA, the first implementation phase of the Renters’ Rights Act was on 27 December 2025, which is two months after the Act received Royal Assent.

The following provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 27 December:

The end of the “AST trap” on 27 December 2025

Section 31 RRA came into force on 27 December 2025, which means that long leases are now no longer officially considered to be assured tenancies if the ground rent is over £250 pa outside of London and over £1,000 in London..

Section 31 defines long leases as having a fixed term over 21 years, as well as those leases of at least 7 years in length entered into before 27 October 2025.

Consequently, freeholders and other superior landlords no longer have the power to evict leaseholders who do not pay ground rent in certain circumstances using the rules in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 for non-payment of rent.

>> Related Post: The end of the “AST trap”

Power to exempt certain private PBSA from Housing Act 1988

Section 145 states that Section 32 RRA also came into effect on 27 December 2025. This gives the Secretary of State the power to exclude certain letting to students from the Housing Act 1988, and is known as the “private Purpose Built Student Accommodation” or “private PBSA” exemption.

Section 32 amends Schedule 1, Paragraph 8 of the Housing Act 1988 to broaden the definition of student accommodation that is exempt from the Housing Act, and is therefore be outside of the assured periodic tenancy regime.

Until the RRA, this exemption was restricted to educational institutions such as universities. Section 32 extends this to private providers, provided they join a government-approved code of practice such as the ANUK/Unipol National Codes. This exemption was published on 20 March 2026 when the draft The Student Accommodation (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 were laid before parliament.

New investigatory powers for councils came into force on 27 December 2025

Section 145 states that provisions introducing new investigatory powers for local authorities set out in Chapter 3 of Part 4 RRA would come into effect on 27 December 2025.

This includes the following powers:

The power to require the provision of information under Section 114 from “relevant person”

On 27 December 2025, Section 114 RRA came into force, which means that local authorities are now able to require “relevant persons”, including landlords, letting agents, property managers the property portals and many other organisations to hand over documents if the local authority for “any purposes connected with” the following

• Sections 1 and 1A of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977: Harassment and illegal eviction.
• Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988: Assured tenancy rules, security of tenure, orders for possession, rent increases. (This will be the current version of the HA88, and won’t include the tenancy reforms in the RRA until they are implemented on 1 May 2026.)
• Section 83(1) or 84(1) of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013: publication of letting agent fees, membership of letting agent redress scheme.
• Sections 21-23 Housing and Planning Act 2016: Breach of banning order, offences by companies and those committed with the consent, connivance, or neglect of a director, manager, secretary, or similar officer.

Note that councils will also have the right to require the provision of information relating to rental discrimination market (eg “no kids” and “no DSS”) when the reforms come into effect on 1 May 2026, and information relating to the PRS Database and PRS Landlord Ombudsman when they come into force in 2027 or 2028.

>> Related Post: Investigatory powers for local authorities

The power to require the provision of information under Section 115 from “any person”

The power in Section 115 RRA gives local authorities the power to require “any person” to provide information, if an officer of a council “reasonably suspects” that there has been a breach of or an offence under the “rented accommodation legislation”, so long as it is to investigate whether there has been a breach of or an offence or to decide the amount of a penalty.

Section 115 extends the investigatory reach of councils beyond landlords, letting agents and listing platforms to banks, neighbours, insurance companies, or contractors indirectly connected to investigations. It will also include all of the “prop tech” platforms and referencing companies, even if they’re not involved in listing or marketing a property for let.

If someone receives a Section 115 notice, the council will already have evidence suggesting an offence has been committed and will be actively building a prosecution or civil penalty file.

Here is the list of the “rented accommodation legislation”:

• Sections 1 and 1A of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977: Harassment and illegal eviction.
• Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988: Assured tenancy rules, security of tenure, orders for possession, rent increases. (Will not include the amendments made by the RRA until 1 May 2026)
• Chapter 3 of Part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act: Discrimination in the rental market. (From 1 May 2026)
• Part 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act: Landlord Redress Scheme and PRS Database. (When launched)
• Parts 1-4 and 7 Housing Act 2004: HHSRS, HMO licensing, selective licensing.
• Section 83(1) or 84(1) of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013: publication of letting agent fees, membership of letting agent redress scheme.
• Sections 21-23 Housing and Planning Act 2016: Breach of banning order, offences by companies and those committed with the consent, connivance, or neglect of a director, manager etc.

Right of entry by councils

On 27 December 2025, local authorities gained new statutory powers to enter both business premises and residential properties to investigate potential offences, both with and without a warrant.

For more information, see the blog post: The investigation and enforcement powers of councils in Renters’ Rights Act.

Miscellaneous provisions relating to the investigatory powers

Regulation 2 of The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2025 states that the following would come into effect on 27 December 2025:

• Section 63, so far as it provides for the meaning of “residential landlord” and “residential tenancy”
• Section 99, so far as it provides for the meaning of marketing a dwelling for the purposes of creating a residential tenancy
• Section 100(1) and (5), so far as it provides for the meaning of “qualifying residential premises” in the inserted section 2B of the Housing Act 2004(1)

Duty for local authorities to report to Secretary of State

The duty for local authorities to report to the Secretary of State on the exercise of their functions under landlord legislation, came into force on 27 December.

Phase 2: Implementation of tenancy reforms on 1 May 2026

What in the Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026?

Here is an overview of what happend on 1 May 2026 when the tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 were implemented:

• Existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies automatically, and are treated as a continuing tenancy. (Sections 146 and 147 RRA).
• All existing fixed term tenancies became periodic, rolling tenancies, with no end date. (Sections 1 and146 RRA).
• Landlords are now prohibited from entering into fixed term tenancies or trying to enforce a fixed term. (Section 13 and the new Section 16E(1)(a) Housing Act 1988).
• No new Section 21 notices may be served. (Section 2 RRA).
• Landlords need to have a valid ground under Section 8 to terminate a tenancy and ask a tenant to leave. (Section 13 RRA and the new Section 16E(1) Housing Act 1988). See: How the new Section 8 Grounds for Possession will work
• Rent review clauses are invalid, and landlords can increase rent using the statutory procedure under Section 13, using a new Form 4A. (Section 6 RRA). See: The rules about rent in the Renters’ Rights Act.
• Rental bidding is banned. This means that landlords need to publish a “proposed rent” for new tenancies, and not encourage, invite or accept an offer to pay more than this. (Section 56 RRA). See: The rules about rent in the Renters’ Rights Act
• The payment of rent in advance is banned for new tenancies. See: The rules banning rent in advance in Renters’ Rights Act. (Sections 8 and 9 RRA).
• Ban on rental discrimination, which means that landlords cannot turn down applicants with children or who receive benefits, unless there is a good reason (for instance the property is genuinely inappropriate for children or the applicants cannot afford the rent, even when taking their benefits into account). (Chapter 3 RRA).
• Tenants can ask to keep a pet using a statutory process, and the landlord can able to refuse if they have a good reason. (Section 11 RRA). See: Tenants’ rights to have pets in Renters’ Rights Act.
• The new civil penalty regime came into force which allows local authorities to impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 for breaches of most of the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act, and up to £40,000 for offences and repeated or continued breaches, for conduct after 1 May 2026 (Section 15 and Para 8 of Schedule 6 RRA). See: Renters’ Rights landlord fines and penalties explained.
• Six additional rent repayment order offences, and the doubling of the maximum amount to two years’ rent. (Section 98 RRA). See: The new Rent Repayment Order rules.

Note that the tenancy reforms only apply to Assured Periodic Tenancies from 1 May 2026. They do not apply to high rent tenancies (annual rent above £100k), agreements with lodgers, leases to companies and tenancies regulated by the Rent Act 1977.

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights Act Guide: The 12 key provisions

Did landlords need to reissue tenancy agreements on 1 May 2026?

No. Landlords did not need to reissue tenancy agreements when the new assured periodic tenancy came into force on 1 May 2026.

Instead, they must provide tenants with the official government “Information Sheet” by 31 May 2026. The Information Sheet will explains the tenancy reforms, and was published on GOV.UK in March 2026: Guidance
The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026.

What if a tenancy is informal and does not have a written tenancy agreement?

Sometimes landlords let tenants move into a property without a formal tenancy agreement in place.

From 1 May 2026, all new assured periodic tenancies need to have a “written statement of terms”.

For existing oral tenancies, where nothing is in writing, landlords have until 31 May 2026 to provide a written statement of terms to their tenants. This does not mean they need to grant a new assured periodic tenancy. Instead, it means they need to confirm the terms in writing, and provide the Information Sheet to the tenants on or before 31 May 2026.

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights: Written Statement of Terms Explained

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights Act: Tenant Information Sheet Explained

What landlords need to do by 31 May 2026

All landlords with existing tenancies on 1 May 2026

Landlords must provide the Information Sheet to all tenants of “existing tenancies” (entered into before 1 May 2026) by 31 May 2026. The government will publish this online in March. (Para 7(2), Schedule 6).

Landlords can receive a civil penalty of up to £7,000 if they do not do this, with the starting point for this penalty in the Statutory Guidance as £4,000.

Landlords with existing oral tenancies on 1 May 2026

If there is no written tenancy agreement or anything in writing about the tenancy, ie the tenancy is “wholly oral”, the landlord must provide the tenant with a written statement of terms by 31 May 2026. (Para 7(5) of Schedule 6).

Landlords with Student HMO Tenancies – transitional provisions

If a landlord of full-time students in an HMO wishes to use Ground 4A to recover possession, they must provide a written statement to the tenants that the tenancy is one to which Ground 4A applies by 31 May 2026. (Para 13 of Schedule 6).

This written statement “tags” the existing tenancy as a Student HMO tenancy, and waives the requirement that the Ground 4A written statement should have been given at the start of the tenancy. It also disapplies the rule that the tenancy must have been entered into less than 6 months before the start of the tenancy.

However, as Ground 4A requires 4 months’ notice, and landlord serves the Section 8 notice on 1 May 2026, the 4-month notice period will not expire until early September 2026. This will be a problem for landlords who wish to recover possession of their property before then.

For possession in June/July 2026, landlords should serve a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026 (while ASTs still exist). This is because the transitional provisions in Para 4 of Schedule 6 allow Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 to remain valid for their usual lifespan (typically allowing proceedings to be brought within 6 months of service), so long as the landlord applies to the court for a claim form to be issued by 31 July 2026.

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This blog post gives you an overview of the implemetation of the Renters’ Rights Act.

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ASTs with pending Section 21 notices as of 1 May 2026

If the landlord served a valid Section 21 notice, and had already requested the court to issue the claim form by 1 May 2026, the notice will remain valid until possession proceedings are concluded, and the tenancy will remain as an AST.

Where a landlord has served a valid Section 21 notice, but has not requested the court to issue the claim form, they have until 31 July to request the court to do so. If no request is made by 31 July 2026, then the Section 21 notice will lapse, and the tenancy will be an assured periodic tenancy.

>> Related Post: When is last day to serve valid Section 21 notice?

Phase 3: PRS Database and PRS Ombudsman in 2027 and 2028

When will registration on the PRS Database become mandatory?

The Implementation Roadmap says that the roll out of the database will start “from late 2026” with a regional rollout, which will be followed by a “further roll out” involving the launch of landlord registration, and “public access and data sharing”.

There is not much concrete detail, but I expect the database become mandatory until 2027, at the earliest.

When will registration on the PRS Landlord Ombudsman become mandatory?

The Implementation Roadmap states that the roll out of the Ombudsman Service will happen after the introduction of the Database, and that they expect that landlords will not be required to become members until 2028 “when the Secretary of State is confident the service is ready for delivery.”

Phase 4: Decent Homes Standard in April 2035 and Awaab’s Law TBD

The government confirmed in the The New Decent Homes Standard Policy statement that the Decent Homes Standard will apply to homes in the private rented sector from 2035.

There is little information in the Implementation Roadmap on the plans to extend Awaab’s Law to the PRS, beyond that they will be “consulting on the detail of this policy in due course”.

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights Act timeline: What happens when?