Renters’ Rights Act for tenants

From 1 May 2026, your landlord can no longer ask you to leave using a Section 21 notice, the so-called “no-fault” eviction. A landlord who wants you to leave will need a specific legal reason under Section 8, such as:

• They genuinely intend to sell the property.
• They want to move in themselves, or a close family member does.
• You are in significant rent arrears.
• There is proven serious anti-social behaviour.
• You have materially breached the tenancy agreement.

Your landlord must use the correct form and give you the correct notice period: up to four months depending on the ground (for serious anti-social behaviour a landlord can go to court straight away). Where they fall short on either, you can challenge the notice in court.

The Act ended fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs). Since 1 May 2026, most private tenancies in England, including ones that started before then, have been assured periodic tenancies: rolling agreements with no fixed end date, paid weekly or monthly. This means:

• A 6- or 12-month agreement no longer ties you in.
• Giving two months’ written notice, ending on a day your rent is due or the day before, lets you leave at any time.
• The rights and protections your tenancy gives you stay as they are.

This gives you far more flexibility if your circumstances change: a new job, family change, or you simply find somewhere better.

Your rent can go up only once per year, and not in the first year of your tenancy. For each increase your landlord must give you at least two months’ written notice, on the correct Section 13 form, and the new rent must reflect market rent for the property.

An increase you believe is above the market rate can be challenged at the First-tier Tribunal. It is independent, and it decides whether the new rent is above the open market rent. Challenging an unfair increase carries no downside, because the tribunal cannot set the rent higher than your landlord proposed.

Every property now has to be advertised at a clear asking rent, and landlords and agents cannot invite, encourage, or accept offers above it. An agent or landlord who pushes applicants to bid up is breaking the law.

From 1 May 2026, blanket bans such as “No DSS” or “No Children” are illegal. Reasonable affordability checks on you as an individual are still allowed, but neither a landlord nor an agent can turn you down simply because you receive benefits or have a family.

You have a right to request to keep a pet in the property. Your landlord must reply in writing within 28 days and cannot unreasonably refuse.

For years the Decent Homes Standard has applied to social housing, and a new version will apply to the private rented sector from 2035. It sets minimum standards your home must meet on:

• Structural condition
• Heating and hot water
• Freedom from damp and mould
• Working kitchens and bathrooms
• General state of repair

The government plans to extend Awaab’s Law (named in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 from prolonged exposure to mould in his home) to private rentals, with the date still to be set. It will require landlords to investigate and fix hazards like damp and mould within set timescales.

Tip: If you have reported a problem and your landlord hasn’t responded, keep a written record: emails, texts, and dates of calls. Should you need to take things further, that record will be invaluable.

A new landlord ombudsman is expected in 2028. All private landlords will need to be members, giving you an independent route to resolve disputes without going to court.

A new national database of private landlords opens on 15 December 2026, area by area, and every landlord actively letting must be registered by 14 November 2027. Once it is running, you’ll be able to look your landlord up there and check they are registered and compliant, so you can rent with peace of mind about who your landlord is.

If your tenancy started before 1 May 2026, your landlord had to give you The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026, either digitally or on paper. Written in plain English, it sets out your rights. A landlord who fails to provide it can face civil penalties of up to £7,000.

You can only be asked for rent in advance after you sign the tenancy agreement and before the tenancy starts, and no more than one month’s rent (or 28 days’ rent if you do not pay monthly).