The Renters' Rights Act 2025: what letting agents need to know, and when

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed private renting in England from 1 May 2026, existing tenancies included, and more of it is still to come. Section 21 has gone, tenancies are periodic, and there are new rules on rent increases, bidding, rent in advance, pets and discrimination, several of which bind letting agents as well as landlords. Next come the PRS Database from 15 December 2026, a Landlord Ombudsman, and later Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard for private renting. The government’s guide to the Act and its implementation roadmap are the sources for this page.

The timeline

What changed on 1 May 2026

• Periodic tenancies and no section 21. Tenants can stay for as long as they want, and a landlord who needs the property back has to use a ground for possession. Selling or moving in needs four months’ notice and cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy. Fixed-term renewals, and the work around them, are gone; what replaces them is in tenancy renewals after 1 May 2026.
• Tenants give two months’ notice to leave.
• Rent increases once a year, to the market rate, by a section 13 notice giving at least two months’ notice, which the tenant can challenge at a tribunal.
• No rental bidding. Landlords and agents must advertise an asking rent and may not ask for, encourage or accept offers above it.
• Up to one month’s rent in advance, and only once the tenancy agreement is signed.
• No discrimination against tenants with children or on benefits, by landlords or agents.
• Pets. A tenant can ask to keep a pet; the landlord has 28 days to consider the request and cannot unreasonably refuse.

What comes next

• The PRS Database opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, then region by region until 14 November 2027, at £65 a year per property. Landlords register; an agent may supply information. The regional dates and what each property needs are in the PRS Database guide.
• The Landlord Ombudsman, with membership expected to become mandatory for private landlords in 2028.
• Awaab’s Law, already in force for social landlords, is enacted for private renting but has no start date; the government says it will consult first. See Awaab’s Law.
• The Decent Homes Standard for private renting, which the government’s policy statement says will apply from 2035, to social and private rented homes alike.

The penalties

The guide sets civil penalties of up to £7,000 for an initial breach, and up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution for serious or repeated breaches. Councils have had new investigatory powers since 27 December 2025. Every other landlord penalty, from gas safety to deposits, is on the landlord fines and penalties page.

What a letting agency changes in its own process

1. Listings and offers: advertise a rent and accept it as the price; remove any wording that invites higher offers.
2. Referencing criteria: no blanket “no children” or “no benefits” rules in adverts, scripts or landlord instructions.
3. Money taken at the start: no more than one month’s rent in advance, and only after signing.
4. Rent reviews as a calendar: one section 13 increase a year per tenancy, with the notice dates tracked rather than remembered.
5. PRS readiness per landlord: the gas, electrical and EPC records each landlord will be asked for in their region’s window, current and on file.

Wales and Scotland

The tenancy reforms on this page are England’s. Wales and Scotland keep their own tenancy systems, but the Act’s rules against discriminating against tenants with children or on benefits reach both: in Scotland from 1 May 2026 (see the Scottish Government’s guidance) and in Wales from 1 June 2026, under Chapter 4 of Part 1. For an agency letting across the borders, blanket “no children” and “no benefits” rules are out in all three nations, although enforcement differs: in Wales and Scotland a breach is a criminal offence.

How Verixad helps

Verixad keeps each property’s certificates with their dates and shows what is missing, which is the evidence both the PRS Database and any council question turn on. It tracks when the next rent review is due and records PRS readiness per property, so an agency can see which landlords would struggle to register in their window. It does not register anyone or give legal advice. The free compliance audit shows where a portfolio stands without an account, and Verixad for letting agents shows how the rest of the week runs.

This page describes the position as at 2 October 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Dates for the later phases are set by regulation, so check the government’s roadmap before relying on one.