The short version
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the biggest change to private renting in England for over thirty years. It received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and the main changes to tenancies started on 1 May 2026. If you let a home in England, these are the things you need to have done, or keep doing:
- Every tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy: no more fixed terms or section 21 notices.
- Tenants who were already renting on 1 May 2026 needed the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026.
- New tenants need the key terms in writing before the tenancy starts.
- Rent can rise once a year, using Form 4A (a section 13 notice) with at least 2 months' notice.
- From 15 December 2026, every rented home must be registered on the new PRS Database, region by region.
Section 21 has gone
Since 1 May 2026, landlords can't use a section 21 "no-fault" notice, even if an older tenancy agreement says they can. Existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies, which roll on month to month (or week to week) until the tenant leaves or a court orders possession.
To end a tenancy you now serve a section 8 notice using one or more legal reasons ("grounds"). For example, you want to sell, you or a close family member want to move in, there are rent arrears, or there's been a breach of the tenancy, damage or antisocial behaviour. The notice you must give depends on the ground: usually at least 2 months, and up to 4 months.
Deposits still matter for possession. If you took a deposit, you need to have protected it in a government-approved scheme to rely on many of these grounds. Lettick tracks the 30-day deadline for protection and the prescribed information.
Source: GOV.UK - Ending a tenancy
Written terms and the Information Sheet
Tenancies that started before 1 May 2026
If there was a written tenancy agreement, you don't need to rewrite it. Instead, you had to give every named tenant a copy of the Government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. If the tenancy was only agreed verbally, you needed to give the tenant the key terms in writing by the same date.
New tenancies
Before a new tenancy is agreed, you must give the tenant certain written information about its key terms. It can be part of the tenancy agreement or a separate document.
How to give it, and prove it
You can post it, hand it over, or send a digital copy, for example as an email attachment or by text message. Whatever you choose, keep a record: the date, how you sent it and who to. If a council or tribunal ever asks, that record is your evidence.
Missed the 31 May deadline? Give the Information Sheet now and log the date. Lettick's evidence log keeps a timestamped record, and on Pro you can send it through Lettick and see when your tenant opens it.
Source: GOV.UK - Written information for your tenant
Rent increases
- Use Form 4A ("Landlord's notice proposing a new rent"). This is the section 13 process.
- Give it to your tenant at least 2 months before the new rent starts.
- You can only increase the rent once a year, and not in the first year of the tenancy.
- If the tenant thinks the new rent is above the open-market rent, they can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide. The tribunal can't set a rent higher than you proposed.
Lettick works out the earliest date your next increase could take effect, and the last day to serve Form 4A for that date. It's a gentle reminder, not a nudge to put the rent up. Plenty of landlords choose not to.
| Example | Date |
|---|---|
| Tenancy started | 1 March 2025 |
| Last increase took effect | 1 March 2026 |
| Earliest next increase | 1 March 2027 |
| Serve Form 4A by | 1 January 2027 |
Source: GOV.UK - Rent increases
Letting and advertising
- No rental bidding. Advertise a rent and don't accept offers above it.
- Rent in advance is limited. Before the tenancy starts you can usually only ask for one month's (or 28 days') rent.
- Deposits are still capped at 5 weeks' rent (6 weeks if the annual rent is £50,000 or more), and a holding deposit at one week's rent.
Source: GOV.UK - Rent in advance and deposits
Pet requests
Tenants can ask to keep a pet. You have 28 days to reply in writing, and you can't refuse unreasonably. Reasonable grounds include another tenant's allergy, the home being too small for the animal, or a head lease that bans pets. If you refuse, explain why in writing.
Source: GOV.UK - If a tenant wants a pet
The PRS Database
The Act also creates a national register of privately rented homes. Registration opens in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and moves to a new region every month, finishing with the South West (deadline 14 November 2027). It costs £65 per property per year. Read our PRS Database guide or use the date finder.
A new Landlord Ombudsman, which landlords will have to join, is also planned. It isn't open yet. Lettick will tell you when it is.
Penalties
Councils can issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first or minor breach, and up to £40,000 (or prosecute) for serious, repeated or continuing breaches. Tenants can also apply for rent repayment orders in some cases.
Source: GOV.UK - Guide to the Renters' Rights Act
Your checklist
- Information Sheet given to every existing tenant, and the date logged.
- Written terms ready for every new tenancy.
- Old section 21 notices and fixed-term wording retired from your paperwork.
- Next rent review date worked out, with Form 4A ready if you need it.
- Deposit protected and prescribed information given within 30 days.
- Your PRS Database window in the diary, with your details ready to register.
Lettick tracks every one of these for you. Try it free for 14 days.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It summarises GOV.UK guidance for privately rented homes in England as at the date above. Rules can change and individual situations differ, so check the linked sources, and speak to a solicitor or your landlord association if you're unsure.