The Renters’ Rights Act has been the slowest-moving certainty in lettings — passed in 2025, phased in through this year, and fully live for existing tenancies since 1 May 2026. The headlines are simple: Section 21 “no-fault” notices have been abolished, fixed terms have gone, and every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy on commencement day.

We spent last winter moving our managed portfolio onto the new footing. This is the practical version of what changed, written for landlords rather than lawyers.

What actually changed on commencement

  • Fixed terms ended. Tenancies now roll monthly from day one. A tenant can leave with two months’ notice at any point; you can no longer rely on a twelve-month term to guarantee twelve months of rent.
  • Section 21 has gone. Possession now runs through Section 8 grounds only — sale of the property, moving back in, serious arrears, antisocial behaviour and the rest. The sale and moving-in grounds cannot be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy.
  • Rent rises are once a year, by Section 13 notice, with two months’ warning, and tenants can challenge them at tribunal. Rent review clauses in old agreements are dead letters.
  • Bidding wars are banned. You must advertise a rent and cannot accept offers above it. Advance rent is capped at one month.
  • Pets can be requested and a refusal now needs a reasonable ground; you can require pet insurance instead.

What we changed for managed landlords

Every managed tenancy was reissued on compliant terms before commencement, rent schedules were moved onto the annual Section 13 cycle, and our arrears process was rebuilt around the new mandatory ground thresholds — three months of arrears at notice and hearing, with a four-week notice period. Statements look the same; the machinery underneath does not.

If you self-manage, check three things this month

  • Your agreement. If it still says “fixed term of 12 months” or references Section 21, it needs replacing — not because the tenancy is invalid, but because relying on its terms in a possession claim invites trouble.
  • Your deposit and compliance stack. The new tribunal routes give tenants more places to raise historic failures: unprotected deposits, missing gas safety certificates, no EPC at marketing. The paperwork you should always have kept is now the paperwork that decides cases.
  • The database. The private rented sector database is rolling out through 2026-27; registration will be a legal precondition of letting. We register managed properties as the rollout reaches North Yorkshire.

The honest assessment

Most of our landlords will feel almost nothing: rents were already reviewed annually, tenants who pay and stay were never served notices, and good paperwork was already the house rule. The landlords with a genuinely harder year ahead are those who relied on Section 21 as a substitute for referencing, record-keeping or difficult conversations.

If you are unsure where your tenancy stands, bring the paperwork in — the review costs nothing and takes half an hour.