Last week the Government confirmed that the first phase of the changes under the Renter’s Rights Act will take effect on 1st May 2026 which means that from this date, all existing and new private tenancies in England will move on to the new system.
Implementation of the Act has been confirmed that it will take place in a three-stage roll out.
Phase 1 focusses on tenancy reform which includes a transition to periodic tenancies, a ban on rental bidding, limits on rent being taken in advance, changes to rent increases and changes to rights around pets.
When does Phase 1 of the Renter’s Rights Act come into force?
The commencement date of Friday 1st May 2026 is when all existing and short-term tenancies will become periodic short tenancies and no further fixed term tenancies will be in place/can be granted to tenants.
What changes are in the Renter’s Rights Act?
A summary of the changes that will take effect on 1st May 2026 are below:-
- Section 21’s will be abolished, and Landlords will not be able to issue any new Section 21 notices. Landlords will only be able to use one of the revised grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act should they wish to evict their tenant.
- Existing and new tenancies will automatically become periodic – this means that they will be open ended running from month to month and there will be no assured shorthold tenancy agreements with fixed terms. Any fixed term assured shorthold agreements already in place will convert to monthly periodic tenancies.
- Tenants will be able to terminate their tenancy agreement at any time with at least two months’ notice (or less if the tenancy allows).
- Changes to rent increases – landlords must use a Section 13 notice if they wish to increase the rent on a residential property.
- There will be a ban on landlords being able to insist that tenants pay rent in advance.
- There will be an implied right for tenants to have pets, and a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant having a pet in the property.
- All landlords will be required to give tenants a written statement of the terms of the tenancy agreement and therefore any landlords that have tenants on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement that is not currently documented in writing will need to ensure that the arrangement is put in writing as of the commencement date.
What do these changes mean?
Abolition of Section 21 Notices
From 1st May 2026, any Section 21 Notices served prior to this date remain valid until it expires (which is six months from the date of service of the notice) and so landlords will be able to rely on any valid Section 21 Notice that they have already served. However, Section 21 Notices will no longer be a thing and therefore, landlords will only be able to evict their tenants under one of the grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act. If a landlord cannot fulfil one of the grounds for eviction, this means that they cannot evict their tenants until such a time as they can fulfil one of the mandatory or discretionary grounds.
No fixed terms
All assured short-term tenancies from 1st May 2026 will become periodic with a maximum rent period of one month. There will not be any delayed implementation period for those existing assured shorthold tenancy agreements, and all tenancies will convert to assured periodic tenancies on 1st May 2026. This includes all existing fixed terms tenancies, and the tenancy period will be the same duration as the rent is paid. If the rent is paid per calendar month, then the tenancy agreement will become a rolling monthly periodic tenancy.
As all AST’s will convert to assured periodic tenancies, tenants will be able to terminate their tenancy agreement at any point should they wish to do so and this means that a tenant could technically terminate their tenancy on day one of the tenancy agreement provided that they gave the sufficient two month (or other notice period set up under the tenancy agreement) to the landlord.
In addition, rent periods for new tenancies will not be able to be any longer than one month. If a tenant currently pays rent each year in advance that will remain valid but when a landlord issues a new tenancy agreement with longer rent periods any longer rent period longer than one month will be null and void and landlords cannot ask tenants to pay any more than one month’s rent upfront.
Rent increases
From 1st May 2026, landlords will only be able to increase the rent once a year by following the Section 13 procedure. This means that landlords would need to issue the appropriate notice to the tenants and landlords will need to give at least two months’ notice of the rent increase.
Any rent review clauses or agreements to increase the rent will be null and void.
Rights for Tenants to request consent for a pet
From 1st May 2026, tenants will have a legal right to request permission to keep a pet in their rental home and landlords can no longer use a blanket “no pets policy”. Landlords must consider request for pets reasonably and landlords can only refuse with a good reason and in any event the landlord must respond to the tenant within 28 days of the request.
Tenancy documentation
From the commencement date all new tenancy agreements must have a written tenancy agreement in place and includes specific information. Landlords will also be required to provide the tenants with additional documentation into the reforms. If an existing tenancy is in place and currently does not have a written tenancy agreement (either on a verbal agreement or because it is a protected rent act tenancy) landlords will need to provide a tenant with a written document which set outs all of the terms before the commencement date.
When do the next two phases come into force?
The next two phases of the Act will follow as below:-
- Phase 2 is expected to come into force in late 2026 and this deals with the changes to the landlord ombudsman and the new PRS database;
- Phase 3 – the date for this is still to be confirmed with consultation expected in be around 2035 to 2037 and this phase deals with the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s law.
Should you wish to discuss the proposed changes or have any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch.