Do now
Give every tenant the official Information Sheet
Tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 needed the government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. If you missed it, serve it now.
Download the PDF from GOV.UK, then print it and hand it over or post it, or send the PDF file itself by email or text. Sending a link doesn’t count. Give it to every tenant named on the agreement and keep proof you did. If a letting agent manages the property, they must give it too.
Not doing this can mean a fine of up to £7,000.
Source: GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026
Put verbal tenancies in writing
Where there’s no written agreement, you must give the tenant a written statement of the main terms of the tenancy instead of the Information Sheet. This was also due by 31 May 2026, so do it now.
Source: GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap
Check where your old notice stands
Section 21 and old-style section 8 notices served before 1 May 2026 could only be relied on if a court application was made by 31 July 2026, or earlier if the notice expired sooner.
If you didn’t apply to court by then, the notice has lapsed and the tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy. You have one month from the notice lapsing to give the tenant the Information Sheet. To end the tenancy now, you’ll need one of the new section 8 grounds.
If you did apply to court in time, the tenancy stays under the old rules until the case ends. If the case ends without a possession order, the tenancy becomes an assured periodic tenancy and you have one month to give the Information Sheet.
Source: NRLA: Tenancies agreed before 1 May 2026 · GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026
Rent arrears: know the new thresholds
The mandatory arrears ground (Ground 8) now needs at least three months’ arrears — 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly — and four weeks’ notice. Discretionary arrears grounds are still available.
Talk to your tenant early and keep a clear record of what’s been paid and when.
Source: GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act
When it comes up
Raising the rent: once a year, by section 13 notice
You can increase the rent once a year, but not in the first year of a tenancy. Use a section 13 notice (Form 4A from GOV.UK) and give at least two months’ notice. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements no longer work.
Your tenant can challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal can’t set a higher rent than you proposed, and the new rent isn’t backdated.
Source: GOV.UK: Rent increases · GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act
Selling or moving in: four months’ notice, not in the first year
Use Ground 1A to sell, or Ground 1 if you or a family member will move in. Both need four months’ notice, and the notice can’t end within the first 12 months of the tenancy.
From the day you serve notice until 12 months after it ends, you can’t market or re-let the property. With four months’ notice, that’s about 16 months in total.
Source: GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act · Shelter: Possession when a landlord wants to sell or move in
Finding new tenants: the new rules
Every new tenancy is periodic — fixed terms are gone — and you must give the tenant written information on the main terms before it starts.
Advertise a rent, and don’t ask for, encourage or accept offers above it (fines up to £7,000).
Ask for no more than one month’s rent in advance, and only after the agreement is signed (fines up to £5,000).
Don’t refuse or treat applicants less favourably because they have children or receive benefits (fines up to £7,000).
Source: GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap
Pet requests: reply within 28 days
Tenants can ask in writing to keep a pet. You must consider the request and reply in writing within 28 days, and you can’t unreasonably refuse. If you ask the tenant for more information, you get extra time to decide.
If your own lease (from a superior landlord) bans pets, that’s always a reasonable reason to say no.
Source: GOV.UK: If a tenant wants a pet · GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act
Coming up — get ready
Landlord registration opens 15 December 2026
Registering yourself and your properties on the new national database is mandatory. It opens region by region, starting with the West Midlands on 15 December 2026. Each region gets three months to register, and every landlord must be registered by 14 November 2027.
It costs £65 per property per year, pro-rated during the rollout. Check your region’s deadline on GOV.UK.
Letting an unregistered property after your deadline can mean a fine of up to £7,000, or £40,000 for repeat breaches. Under the Act, unregistered landlords also can’t get a possession order on most grounds.
Source: GOV.UK: Landlord registration announcement (Sept 2026) · GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act
Landlord Ombudsman: expected 2028
Joining a new landlord ombudsman will be mandatory. Membership is expected to be required from 2028, and landlords will be given notice before then.
Source: GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap
Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law
The Decent Homes Standard will apply to private rentals from 2035. It’s worth planning any upgrade work well before then.
Awaab’s Law, which sets legal deadlines for investigating and fixing hazards such as damp and mould, will be extended to private rentals. The government is consulting on the details until 18 December 2026, and no start date has been set yet.
Source: GOV.UK: Decent Homes Standard government response · GOV.UK: Extending Awaab’s Law to private rented tenancies (consultation)
