Renters’ Rights Act 2025: A landlord’s guide to new obligations and compliance

Every landlord (and tenant) will have heard about the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, bringing sweeping new changes to the law on renting property in England. But what does it mean for landlords trying to comply with their obligations? Dispute resolution solicitor, Nicholas Garaty, breaks down the changes and implications.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, bringing the most significant shake-up to the private rented sector in decades. If you are a private landlord in England, you are now operating under a fundamentally different legal framework and the penalties for getting it wrong are substantial.

Your five key obligations at a glance

The table below summarises the five key obligations now in force. Each is explained in full below.

Our landlord solicitors can advise on all of these, including tenancy compliance, possession proceedings and disputes relating to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

The end of fixed-term tenancies and Section 21

The Act has abolished assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) with fixed terms. All existing ASTs automatically converted into assured periodic tenancies (APTs) on 1 May 2026. From that date, landlords cannot grant new fixed-term tenancies. Any attempt to do so, whether deliberate or inadvertent, risks a civil penalty from your local authority.

Alongside this, the long-standing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction process has been abolished entirely. Possession can now only be sought through Section 8, and only on one of the statutory grounds set out in the Act. The grounds have been expanded and reformed, but each carries strict procedural requirements.

Serving the wrong notice, on the wrong form, or without adequate evidence of the ground relied upon, can set back the possession process by months. Seeking advice from experienced tenant eviction solicitors at an early stage can help landlords avoid costly delays and procedural errors.

Such setbacks can result in significant legal fees for both the tenant and the landlord. When you consider that in litigation, the losing or ‘wrong’ party will often be ordered to pay both sides’ costs, the prospect becomes all the more stark.

Key obligations on private landlords

1. Provide the Government ‘Information Sheet’ to existing tenants

Landlords must provide the Government’s prescribed Information Sheet to all existing assured and assured shorthold tenants whose tenancies commenced before 1 May 2026. This must be done by 31 May 2026. The sheet explains to tenants how their rights have changed, including the transition to periodic tenancies, the removal of Section 21, and the new rent increase rules.

The Information Sheet must be given to every named tenant individually. For HMOs and shared households, each occupant requires their own copy. If a letting agent manages the property, they must also provide it – even if the landlord has already done so.

Failure to serve the Information Sheet carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000. If the breach continues beyond 28 days after an initial penalty notice, penalties of up to £40,000 may apply.

2. Issue a written statement of terms for new tenancies

For any new periodic assured tenancy entered into on or after 1 May 2026, landlords must provide tenants with a written statement of terms before the tenancy agreement is signed or terms are otherwise agreed. This is now a pre-sign-up obligation.

The written statement must include prescribed information set out in the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026. This covers the landlord’s statutory obligations around repairs, fitness for habitation, electrical and gas safety, and the tenant’s right to keep a pet subject to consent.

Arguably already a requirement, this is now formalised in the Act and a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant’s request to keep one.

Non-compliance is enforceable by local authorities and carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

3. Comply with the new rent increase rules

Any contractual rent review clause in a tenancy agreement. whether in a new tenancy or one that predates 1 May 2026. is no longer effective. Rent increases must now follow the statutory procedure under the Act, using the prescribed Form 4A. Landlords cannot seek increases more than once per year. Tenants have the right to challenge increases they consider above the market rate through the First-tier Tribunal.

4. Observe the new possession grounds carefully

The Section 8 framework has been substantially overhauled. The Act has more than doubled the available grounds for possession and introduced pre-conditions and advance notice requirements for certain grounds. Key points for landlords include:

• Ground 1A (sale of property) – Landlords intending to sell must give four months’ notice, and this ground cannot be relied upon within the first 12 months of the tenancy. A 12-month prohibition on re-letting applies after possession is recovered.
• Honest reliance on grounds – Landlords must not serve a Section 8 notice unless they reasonably believe they can obtain possession on the stated ground. Relying on a ground without a genuine basis carries a suggested civil penalty starting at £6,000.
• Prescribed forms – The Act requires use of the new Notice of Seeking Possession form, which must be correctly drafted. Invalid notices cannot be corrected retrospectively.

5. Do not discriminate in how you market your property

Sections 32 to 54 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 prohibit advertising property in terms that exclude prospective tenants in receipt of housing benefit or with children, whether directly or indirectly. Local authorities can enforce breaches with civil penalties.

Landlords must review all advertising language, referencing criteria and application policies for any indirect discrimination of this kind. This includes standard phrases that have historically been used to signal exclusions without stating them explicitly.

6. Rent in advance

Demands for rent in advance are now prohibited. An initial 1 month payment is acceptable, but this is limited and is only payable after the tenancy agreement has been signed.

What are the penalties for landlords who breach the Renters’ Rights Act 2025?

The Act creates a two-tier penalty structure enforced by local housing authorities:

• Civil penalties of up to £7,000 apply to first-time or less serious breaches – what the legislation terms non-compliance with landlord duties.
• Civil penalties of up to £40,000 apply to repeat or serious offences, such as continuing non-compliance beyond 28 days after an initial penalty notice, or conduct the Act treats as a criminal offence, such as deliberately granting a fixed-term tenancy or unlawful eviction.

In the most serious cases, criminal prosecution remains an option. Local authorities have also been given significantly enhanced investigative powers, and the Government has confirmed additional funding of over £41 million for local authority enforcement activity.

This indicates that, potentially, enforcement of these consequences will actually be taking place – something that has also been the topic of debate.

Importantly, the Act also introduces expanded rights for tenants to bring rent repayment order actions, covering a longer list of landlord offences. In some cases, landlords can be required to repay up to two years’ rent.

The message is clear: the compliance burden on private landlords is now substantially higher, the consequences of falling short are serious and these consequences will actually be pursued.

What the transition means for your existing tenancy agreements

If you have existing tenancies on fixed-term agreements, those agreements converted automatically into assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. That conversion does not necessarily mean your existing agreements are irrelevant or invalid – many of the terms in your current agreements will continue to govern the tenancy.

However, some provisions, including contractual rent review clauses, are no longer enforceable, and new statutory obligations now sit alongside whatever your former agreement says.

For landlords with multiple properties or older standard-form agreements, the transition creates real practical risk. Terms that were entirely lawful before 1 May 2026 may no longer reflect what the law requires or permits. Where there is uncertainty, the consequences of getting it wrong, whether through an invalid possession notice, an unenforceable rent increase, or a failure to provide prescribed information, can be costly.

How Thomas Mansfield can help

Thomas Mansfield is a Lexcel-accredited law firm advising private landlords across London and the South East on residential tenancy law, dispute resolution and compliance with the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. We offer a fixed fee tenancy review service for landlords with one property or a larger portfolio.

Our fixed fee tenancy review service covers:

• Review of your existing tenancy agreements, identifying clauses that are no longer effective or that require updating in light of the Act.
• Advice on your transition obligations, including the Information Sheet and Written Statement of Terms requirements.
• Guidance on how your tenancies now operate as assured periodic tenancies, including the implications for rent reviews, possession strategy, and day-to-day management.
• A clear summary of the steps you need to take to bring your properties into compliance and reduce your exposure to civil penalties.

Whether you manage one property or a larger portfolio, early advice will help you avoid the pitfalls that are already catching landlords out.

To arrange your fixed fee tenancy review or to speak with one of our landlord solicitors, call us on 020 4600 6427 or email [email protected].

Nicholas Garaty