The first raft of new legislation within the Renters’ Rights Act will come into effect on 1 May 2026. From that date, the terms of tenancy agreements, eviction rules and rent regulations will change.
These new rules will affect every stage of a tenancy. This includes advertising a property and selecting tenants, setting rents, understanding tenants’ rights while they live in the property, and managing the process for bringing a tenancy to an end.
Why qualified lettings support matters more than ever
Working with a qualified letting agent like Your Move, who invests time and expertise not only in delivering an excellent lettings service but also in supporting and contributing to the wider lettings industry and government on lettings legislation, can provide valuable reassurance during this period of change.
To date, Your Move has and is supporting all of the following organisations, helping to raise standards across the lettings sector for landlords:
- Founder member of the Estate Agency Foundation, British Franchise Association and Society for Technical Insurance
- Founder members of the ombudsman scheme, with particular emphasis on The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for Letting Agents
- A member firm of Association Of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) since the early 1980s
- Member agent of My Deposits
- All staff sit a Money Laundering exam and are fully aware of the Proceeds of Crime Act
Recognised expertise in lettings
We are also privileged to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of Valerie Bannister, who is widely regarded by her peers as a leading expert in lettings. Her accolades include the Sunday Times Award for her contribution to the lettings industry, the Propertymark Executive of the Year, and The Negotiator Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.
Considering a Fully Managed Service?
As a result of our deep engagement with the lettings industry and ongoing legislative training, if you currently self-manage or use our Tenant Find or Rent Collection service, we feel it is well worth considering a move to our Fully Managed Service. Working with a qualified letting agent that continually trains staff and stays closely involved in legislative change can help ensure you remain legally compliant after 1 May 2026.
To give you an idea of the significant work we have already undertaken, updating processes and retraining all our lettings experts, we are preparing/ready to deliver an excellent lettings service when the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented. This also includes managing phased changes, such as the introduction of the Landlord Ombudsman and Property Portal. Below is a summary of the key changes and what both you and we will need to do differently.
Finding a tenant and starting the tenancy
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What’s changing |
How it affects landlords and agents |
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Discrimination rules have been strengthened, so blanket bans on pets, tenants with children and tenants in receipt of benefits will no longer be legal. |
Thorough referencing will be essential both in terms of the tenant’s finances and any pet they might have requested to keep. If an applicant with children, pets or on benefits is being rejected, there must be clear evidence that it is not for one of those reasons – e.g., that they have failed to meet the financial requirements or that the property is not considered suitable. |
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‘Bidding wars’ will be outlawed, and landlords/agents won’t be able to accept more than the advertised rent amount. |
When a property is in demand and has offers from multiple tenants, it will no longer be legal to encourage or enable them to outbid each other, so the successful tenant must be selected for another reason. |
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The amount of rent that can be taken in advance will be limited to one month’s rent. |
The only alternative if extra financial security is required will be for the tenant to provide a guarantor. |
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Fixed-term tenancies will be abolished, and the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) will be replaced by a periodic tenancy agreement. The tenant will be able to give two months’ notice at any point from the start of the tenancy. |
It will no longer be legal to write a minimum fixed term or rent increases into tenancy agreements. |
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It will become a legal requirement to provide tenants with a written document that contains specific information about the tenancy. |
Verbal agreements will no longer be permitted. |
Managing and ending the tenancy
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What’s changing |
How it affects landlords and agents |
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Fixed terms in existing tenancy agreements will no longer be enforceable. |
If the tenancy is within a fixed term, that term will no longer be enforceable, and the agreement will revert to a periodic ‘rolling’ agreement, with tenants able to give two months’ notice at any time. All tenants must be given a copy of a government-produced information sheet explaining how the tenancy has been affected. If there isn’t currently a written tenancy agreement, one must be issued. |
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You will only be able to increase the rent once every 12 months by issuing a Section 13 notice, and the new rent must be in line with market rates. |
The only way to legally increase the rent will be to issue a Section 13, giving the tenant at least two months’ notice. If the tenant believes the increase is unfair, they can challenge it via the First-Tier Tribunal. Currently, if the increase is ruled fair, it can be backdated to the expiry of the Section 13 notice. However, under the Act, it will only take effect from the date of the ruling, and if the tenant is struggling financially, the increase could be delayed by up to two months. |
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Section 21 will be abolished, and the only way to evict a tenant will be via a Section 8 notice, stating a legally valid ground. |
There will no longer be the option to give a tenant two months’ notice without having to give a reason. |
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Section 8 grounds have been revised, and where the tenant is not at fault, the notice for most mandatory grounds is increasing to four months. For rent arrears, notice can’t be served until the tenant is three months in arrears (up from two), and the notice period is doubling, from two weeks to four. If you wish to sell or move into the property, those grounds cannot be used for the first 12 months of a new tenancy. If ground 1A (sale of dwelling house) is used and the property is not ultimately sold, the property cannot be re-let for 12 months following the expiry of the notice. |
With the removal of the ‘no fault’ eviction process and longer notice periods for many grounds, there is an increased risk of having a non-paying tenant in a property for longer. Careful referencing and having rent protection insurance [LINK to rent protection product article] will become much more important. Before a new let, landlords will have to give much greater consideration as to whether they might want to sell the property in the near future. |
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Civil penalties for landlords found to be in breach of the law are increasing from £30,000 to £40,000. |
Overall, with tenants’ rights to remain in a property being strengthened and bringing a tenancy to an end taking longer in most cases, it will be especially important to select an appropriate applicant at the outset. And with so many procedural changes, along with increased fines for non-compliance, all landlords must ensure their tenancies are managed at every stage according to a lot of new processes and laws.
At Your Move, our experienced local teams in our branches are already working with existing Fully Managed landlords to make sure their tenancies transition smoothly and tenants are properly informed and reassured.
Find out what our customers have to say by visiting the reviews section on our website.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss becoming a Fully Managed landlord, just get in touch with your nearest branch and one of the team will be very happy to help.
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