Navigating the New Private Rented Sector Landscape: A Guide to the Renters Rights Act 2025

1. Overview: A New Era for Renting in England

The’ Rights Act 2025 represents the most significant legislative shift in the private rented sector (PRS) for a generation.

The Act coming into effect on 1^st May 2026, aims to strike a new balance between the rights of tenants and the protections for landlords.

This legislation exclusively applies to England, and the core objective is to deliver a fairer, more secure, and higher-quality rental market for the 11 million private tenants in the country, while ensuring the 2.3 million landlords have the confidence to continue investing and providing homes.

This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of the key changes, analyse the pros and cons for landlords and property investors and offer practical guidance on how to navigate this new regulatory environment successfully.

2. Key Changes: A Detailed Examination

The Renters’ Rights Act introduces a suite of reforms that reshape the landlord-tenant relationship. These changes span from the way tenancies are structured to the quality standards properties must meet.

The End of “No-Fault” Evictions and Fixed-Term Tenancies

Perhaps the most widely discussed provision, is the abolition of “No-Fault” evictions under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (Section 21 evictions). Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants for no reason, they must provide a valid, legally specified reason under Section 8.  These include: if landlords wish to sell the property or move into it (themselves or their family), or there are major works required for safety reasons, or if the tenants do not pay rent on 3 occasions, conduct anti-social behaviour or do not comply with the terms of the contract, then landlords still have the right to use section 8 to repossess the property.

The other major change is the end of “Fixed-Term” Tenancies. All tenancies will automatically become periodic, meaning they continue on a rolling basis without an end date.

Arguably this gives landlords longer and more stable tenancies. Letting agents don’t need to remind tenants that their tenancy is coming to an end which may urge them to see what’s available in the rental market. If they are happy with the existing landlord and property, they are unlikely to want to leave.  

Tenants will be able to end their tenancy by providing two months’ notice. They may decide that due to change of job or if they need a bigger property for additional family members, they can serve notice at any time. This does give landlords the potential for more frequent turnover of tenants, but they will be able to charge a higher market rent if the market rent is higher than the previous tenancy. So, there may be reasons to be optimistic considering the changes – and two months’ notice ought to give the letting agents sufficient time to find another good tenant and for void periods to be minimal.  

The reform designed is to combat the bad landlords. On the surface, it may seem that Landlords will have to follow stricter eviction rules. It is true that rogue (unprofessional) landlords have been abusing the system and negatively impacting potentially good tenants.

Pros for Landlords:

Encourages longer-term, more stable tenancies, potentially reducing costly void periods. Fosters better landlord-tenant relationships based on mutual satisfaction. There are still rights and protections given to landlords to use section 8 to repossess their property should they need to.

Cons & Challenges for Landlords:

Loss of the automatic right to regain possession at the end of a fixed term. Increased potential for tenant turnover if tenants can leave with two months’ notice at any time. Rogue landlords can no longer use section 21 evictions to increase the rent.

Stronger Grounds for Possession

To balance the removal of Section 21 evictions, the Act strengthens and introduces new mandatory grounds for possession under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. This ensures landlords can reclaim their property when necessary.

Key changes to the grounds include:

• New Mandatory Ground 1A: Selling the property, this can be used after the first 12 months of the tenancy and requires 4 months’ notice.

• Amended Mandatory Ground 1: Allow the property to be reclaimed because the landlord or their close family needs to move into it.

•New Mandatory Ground 7A: Severe antisocial or criminal behaviour. This is in addition to the existing Discretionary Ground 14 which allowed a landlord to recover possession for less serious antisocial behaviour.

If there is a reliable letting agent, a landlord could expect that they would have done thorough screening on the tenants and hopefully have chosen the strongest one.  

Rental insurance and property damage insurance, provide good protection going forward.

Landlords must provide clear evidence to the court to support their claim for possession (a fixed and demonstrable intention to sell, to move in, or of tenant breaches).

Going forward it would be sensible for landlords to keep all correspondence for record keeping.

The Digital Property Portal and Ombudsman

Two new pillars of the system are the Private Rented Sector Database and a mandatory Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman.

The Private Rented Sector Database will start to create a database of all private landlords and their properties. Starting in 2027, Landlords will be legally required to register, helping them understand their obligations and demonstrating compliance. For tenants, it provides a reliable source to verify that a landlord is legitimate and compliant.

From 2028, it is hoped that the Ombudsman will offer a fair, impartial, and binding resolution service for tenant complaints, aiming to resolve disputes more quickly and at a lower cost than the court system which is still facing a backlog of possession cases.

3. Raising Standards: Property Quality and Tenant Welfare

A major focus of the Act is to drive up the quality of homes in the PRS.

The Decent Homes Standard (DHS)

The government is currently considering the results of a consultation on the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS. This standard would require homes to be free from serious health and safety hazards, to be in a reasonable state of repair, provide essential modern facilities, and offer a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

The Decent Homes Standard could be in force in 2035 or 2037. Enforcement will be handled by local authorities, who will have new powers to ensure compliance.

EPC rating must be at C by 2030. New build property shouldn’t have an issue with meeting this rating but it might be something for existing house owners to consider to see what their current rating is, and what improvements might be required to bring it up to a C rating by 2030.

Awaab’s Law

Stemming from a tragic social housing case, the government is expected to consult on extending Awaab’s Law to the private sector.  This would mandate strict timeframes within which landlords must investigate and repair serious hazards, most notably damp and mould, once they are made aware of them. There is no timescale yet for applying Awaab’s law to the PRS, although it is likely to tie in with the Decent Homes Standard.

Under the new changes, once the tenant has notified a potential hazard, there would be 14 days to investigate and 7 days to remedy the hazard.  

Pet-Friendly Tenancies

From 1 May 2026 Tenants will gain the right to request a pet in their property, and landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. To mitigate risk, landlords can require the tenant to obtain pet insurance to cover any potential damages.

Landlords are still owners of the property and still have a say as to who they want to rent the property to. It would be expected that a letting agent would deal with screening of potential tenants with the agent and landlord ultimately deciding which tenant they want to accept.  

4. Additional Reforms and Future Changes

The Act includes several other important provisions that landlords and investors must be aware of:

• Rent Increase Limitations: Rent can be increased to market rent once in every 12-month period, with a minimum of two months’ notice of the new rent being served on the tenant. If the tenant disagrees with the new rent, they can challenge this at a tribunal, who will ultimately decide and set the rent.

A landlord or their letting agent is (in many cases) already assessing the best price a property can be let at, and so this can continue every 12 months. The landlord can therefore be happy they are renting at the market rent and can serve a section 13 notice on the tenant to advise of increases. For landlord’s who would like assistance with this process, having a reliable trustworthy letting agent is going to be valuable.  

• Ban on Bidding Wars: It is no longer possible for landlords or agents to solicit offers above the advertised rent price, so it is important to assess this well.

• Discrimination Protections: The Act also removes the ability to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or individuals receiving benefits. 

• Tenancy Deposits: Changes are being made to deposit protection rules and the amount that can be taken upfront is now limited to 1 month.

Having good rent insurance provides protection to the landlord if the tenant stops paying rent and covers the loss of income until the property is repossessed and relet.

5. Takeaways for Property Investors

While the new Act presents challenges, and has caused some private landlords to exit the market, it also creates opportunities for professional and responsible landlords to thrive. If the property is maintained well, it’s will be easier to let at a good market rent. To maintain investor confidence, the focus must be on adaptation and best practices:

1. Stay Informed: The regulatory landscape is changing. Regularly consult official sources like GOV.UK and industry bodies such as the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) to stay updated on legal requirements and timelines. Ensure the Tenant’s Information Sheet is served on tenants before 31^st May 2026.

2.  Screen Tenants Carefully: With the end of Section 21 evictions, thorough and robust tenant referencing is more critical than ever. Secure reliable, long-term tenants through comprehensive checks and clear tenancy agreements. Have rental and property insurance in place for an extra safety net.

3. Prioritise Maintenance & Communication: Proactive property management is key. Regularly inspect properties, address repair issues promptly, and maintain open lines of communication with tenants. This reduces the likelihood of disputes escalating to the Ombudsman.

4. Consider using a reputable letting agent to screen tenants, let the property, manage it and liaise with the tenant.

By embracing these principles, investors can build a resilient and profitable portfolio that is fully compliant with the new, fairer rental market.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to Hannah Beko, Kamran Rahman or So Yong Wong.