Is the Renters' Rights Act actually in force yet?
Yes, for its main tenancy reforms. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and the core changes were commenced on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026. So as you read this, those reforms are live, not pending.
The change happened automatically. Existing assured shorthold tenancies converted to periodic assured tenancies on 1 May 2026 under Section 1 of the Act, which makes assured tenancies periodic with a rent period of no more than a month. You did not need to issue fresh agreements for that conversion to take effect. The one thing to watch is timing around notices already served: the commencement regulations set out transitional rules for tenancies where a valid notice was in play before 1 May 2026, so check those if you have a possession matter already running.
Can I still use a Section 21 no-fault eviction?
No. Section 2 of the Act abolishes assured shorthold tenancies by removing Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988. The Section 21 route only ever applied to assured shorthold tenancies, so once that regime is gone, so is no-fault eviction.
To recover possession now you have to rely on a ground for possession under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, using the Schedule 2 grounds as amended by the Act. That means you need a reason that fits one of the statutory grounds — for example serious rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, or a landlord circumstance such as needing to sell or move in — rather than simply ending the tenancy with two months' notice and no reason. In practice this is the biggest operational shift: every possession case now starts with identifying the correct ground and being able to evidence it.
Which grounds and notice periods apply now?
Possession runs through the Section 8 grounds in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Act. The amended Section 8 sets minimum notice periods in bands keyed to which ground you use. Broadly, landlord-circumstance grounds such as selling or moving back in carry the longest notice (four months), a middle band sits at two months, and serious fault grounds such as significant rent arrears or anti-social behaviour fall into shorter bands of four weeks or two weeks.
The detail matters here, because the notice period is tied to the specific ground number, not to a plain-English label. Before you serve a Section 8 notice, confirm the exact ground you are relying on and the notice period that the amended Housing Act 1988 attaches to it. Getting the ground or the notice period wrong can sink an otherwise good possession claim, so this is the part worth double-checking against the legislation or with a solicitor every time.
How and how often can I increase the rent?
Rent on an assured tenancy can now only be increased through the Section 13 statutory notice procedure under the Housing Act 1988, and not more than once in a twelve-month period. The Act's Section 6 puts that statutory route on a firmer footing, and the amended Section 13 ties each increase to the annual cycle. Rent-review clauses that try to raise the rent more often, or by another mechanism, no longer bite.
Your tenant can also challenge the proposed figure. A Section 13 notice can be referred to the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent takes effect, so an increase well above the market rate is not a safe assumption. Separately, the Act bans rental bidding: you have to advertise a proposed rent and you cannot invite or accept offers above it. The practical takeaway is to set a realistic asking rent up front and plan rent rises as a once-a-year, properly-noticed event.
What about pets, discrimination and the new information sheet?
Three further changes affect how you let and manage. Tenants now have a right to request permission to keep a pet, and you must not unreasonably refuse that request under Section 11 of the Act. You also cannot screen prospective tenants out simply because they receive benefits or have children — the Act's rules on discrimination in the rental market put a stop to blanket 'no DSS' or 'no children' policies.
The old How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026. For tenancies from that date you provide the government's Renters' Rights Act information sheet instead, which GOV.UK publishes to explain how the changes affect tenants. Check the current GOV.UK publication for the exact version to serve and how it must be given, since this is a document the government maintains and updates.
What's coming but not yet in force?
Several duties have passed into the Act but are not live yet, and it matters that you do not treat them as current law. The private-sector Decent Homes Standard, a hazard-remediation duty for private landlords under Section 60 of the Act (the 'Awaab's Law' extension), the new Private Rented Sector Database and the landlord Ombudsman are all on the statute book but await commencement regulations. Section 60 in particular is marked as not in force at Royal Assent.
What does bind you today are the long-standing repair duties: Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, and council enforcement of hazards under the Housing Act 2004. The sensible move is to get your repairs and records in order now rather than waiting for the new duties to switch on. Keeping a clean, timestamped log of every report and every fix is the same work that will be expected once the hazard timescales reach the private sector, so it pays off either way. Do not, though, assume a specific start date for those future duties — none has been confirmed.