The Renters' Rights Act is the biggest change to private renting in roughly forty years, and unlike most landlord law, it did not arrive gradually. On 1 May 2026 the main provisions commenced all at once: Section 21 was abolished, every assured shorthold tenancy converted to an assured periodic tenancy, possession became grounds-based, and Section 13 became the only lawful route to a rent increase.
This guide is the working version for self-managing landlords: not what the Act says, but what you do about it. Every section links to the underlying rules, and the whole page carries a review date — because several phases of this legislation are still rolling out.
This guide reflects the rules in force at the review date. The PRS Database, Ombudsman, and Decent Homes phases had not yet commenced — see the Regulation Radar in the Renters' Rights Centre for the current timeline.
What changed on 1 May 2026
| Change | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Section 21 abolished | No more "no-fault" possession. Every possession claim needs a specific Section 8 ground. |
| ASTs converted to periodic | Fixed terms are gone. All assured tenancies now roll month to month (or by rent period). |
| New possession grounds | Moving in (Ground 1) and selling (Ground 1A) need 4 months' notice and can't be used in the first 12 months. Serious arrears (Ground 8) now needs 3 months' arrears and 4 weeks' notice. |
| Section 13-only rent rises | Prescribed Form 4A, minimum 2 months' notice, once per 12 months. Rent review clauses are unenforceable. |
| Tenant notice | Tenants can leave with 2 months' written notice ending on the last day of a rent period — including tenants who signed a "fixed term" before commencement. |
| Other protections | Pets can't be unreasonably refused, rent-in-advance is limited, and rental bidding above the advertised rent is banned. |
The actions, in priority order
1. Stop thinking in fixed terms
Your "12-month AST" is now a periodic tenancy. The paperwork you have is still evidence of the agreed terms — rent, deposit, obligations — but the end date no longer means anything. Two consequences worth internalising:
- You cannot rely on a tenancy "expiring." If you need the property back, you need a ground, its notice period, and evidence.
- Your tenant can leave with two months' notice at any time. Budget for voids accordingly, and treat tenant retention as a financial line item, not a soft skill.
2. Audit every tenancy against the new possession reality
For each property, know the answer to: if I needed possession, which ground would I actually use, and could I evidence it today? The grounds that matter most to self-managers:
- Ground 1 (moving in) and 1A (selling) — mandatory, 4 months' notice, unavailable in the tenancy's first 12 months. Using them without genuine intent is an offence.
- Ground 8 (serious arrears) — mandatory, 4 weeks' notice, but the threshold is now 3 months' arrears (13 weeks if rent is weekly/fortnightly), and it must exist both at service and at the hearing.
- Discretionary grounds (breach, deterioration, persistent late payment, anti-social behaviour) — usable, but the court weighs reasonableness, so your records decide the outcome.
Work out your dates with the free Tenancy Notice Date Calculator.
3. Put rent increases on a Section 13 calendar
There is now exactly one way to raise rent: Form 4A, two months' notice, once every 12 months, starting on a rent-period day. A rent review clause in your agreement no longer does anything. That makes rent reviews a diary problem: if you don't schedule them, you silently skip a year.
The step-by-step process — including what the tribunal can and can't do — is in Section 13 rent increases, step by step, and the Rent Increase Calculator gives you the earliest valid start date for your actual dates.
4. Get your evidence trail in order before you need it
Every route through the new system — possession, rent increase, deposit disputes, the coming Ombudsman — runs on documentation. The minimum standard now:
- Rent records that show exactly what was due, paid, and outstanding, per tenancy
- Proof of service for every notice (and a copy of the notice itself)
- A dated record of repairs reported, actions taken, and communications sent
- Certificates and statutory documents stored where you can produce them in days, not weeks
Buying a tenanted property? Grounds 1 and 1A are unavailable for the first 12 months of the tenancy — not 12 months from your purchase. Check the tenancy start date before you commit to plans that depend on possession.
5. Watch the phases that haven't landed yet
The Act commenced in stages, and three big pieces are still ahead (per the government's roadmap at the time of review):
- The PRS Database — mandatory registration for landlords and properties, rolling out region by region from late 2026, with an annual fee
- The PRS Ombudsman — mandatory membership and binding complaint decisions, expected 2028
- Decent Homes Standard & Awaab's Law — minimum property standards and fixed hazard-response deadlines extended to private rentals, dates not yet fixed
The detail on the first two is in the PRS Database and Ombudsman guide.
Alongside the Act: EPC C by 1 October 2030 (with a £10,000 per-property cost cap) and Making Tax Digital thresholds stepping down to £30,000 (April 2027) and £20,000 (April 2028). The Regulation Radar tracks all of it in one dated timeline.
The honest summary
The landlords this Act punishes are not the ones with difficult tenants — they're the ones with thin records. Possession still exists; rent increases still exist; what's gone is the ability to improvise either. Run your tenancies with a calendar and a paper trail and the new regime is entirely navigable.
Sources
- gov.uk — Private renting
- gov.uk — Rent increases
- gov.uk — Evicting tenants
- Housing Act 1988 (as amended)
Change log: 20 Aug 2026 — first published, reflecting the post-1 May 2026 regime.
