Your Rights as a Private Tenant Under the Renters' Rights Act

From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives private tenants in England the most significant set of new protections since the Housing Act 1988. If you rent privately — whether through a letting agent or directly from a landlord — here's exactly what changes and what you can do about it.

This guide is written in plain English. No legal jargon where it isn't necessary, and links to the actual legislation where it is.

You can no longer be evicted without a reason

The biggest single change: Section 21 "no-fault" evictions are abolished from 1 May 2026. Your landlord cannot serve a notice to end your tenancy simply because they want you to leave.

From 1 May 2026, a landlord can only evict you using Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, which requires a specific legal reason ("ground"). The main grounds are:

Ground	Reason	Notice period
Ground 1	Landlord wants to move back into the property	4 months (not in first 12 months)
Ground 1A	Landlord intends to sell	4 months (not in first 12 months)
Ground 4A	Student accommodation (HMO with all student tenants — general student HMOs and PBSA)	4 months
Ground 8	Serious rent arrears (3+ months)	4 weeks
Ground 14	Antisocial behaviour	Immediate

The landlord must prove the ground at court. If they can't, the eviction fails.

What if your landlord served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026? It remains valid only if they commence court possession proceedings by 31 July 2026 — or within 6 months of the notice being served, whichever is earlier. If no court proceedings are commenced within that window, the notice expires and has no effect.

For a detailed look at the transitional rules, see Section 21 abolished: what landlords and agents need to do.

Your tenancy becomes more secure

All Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) — including those mid-way through a fixed term — automatically convert to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. This means:

• No more fixed terms. Your tenancy rolls indefinitely. You don't need to renew every 6 or 12 months.
• You can leave with 2 months' notice at any time. There's no minimum tenancy period — you can give notice from day one.
• No break clauses needed. They're redundant because you already have the right to leave with 2 months' notice.

Your rent, deposit protection, and existing terms continue unchanged. The conversion happens automatically — you don't need to sign anything.

For the full conversion details, see AST to periodic conversion explained.

Rent can only go up once a year — and you can challenge it for free

Under the new rules:

• One increase per year — no more than once in any 12-month period
• Not in the first 12 months — no increase within the first year of your tenancy
• 2 months' notice — your landlord must use the new Form 4A (replacing Form 4)
• No informal upward agreements — an informal agreement to raise the rent outside the statutory procedure has no effect under new HA 1988 s.13(4A). A valid Form 4A notice is the usual route; an agreement that follows a valid s.13 notice is also expressly permitted (s.13(4)(b)). Mutual rent reductions and non-rent variations remain effective under the new s.13(4B) carve-out.

Your right to challenge

If you think the proposed increase is above market rent, you can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Key points:

• Generally no application fee for rent-determination challenges at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) — check the current First-tier Tribunal (Residential Property Tribunal) Fees Order for the definitive position
• No risk of eviction — Section 21 is abolished, so your landlord cannot evict you for challenging
• The tribunal determines market rent — they may set it at, below, or between the current and proposed amount
• Hardship delay — if the increase causes you genuine hardship, the tribunal can delay the effective date by up to 2 additional months

The biggest change here isn't the rule itself — it's the power dynamic. Previously, challenging a rent increase risked a Section 21 notice. That risk is gone. Tenants now have a genuine, risk-free avenue to contest increases above market rate.

For more on what "market rate" actually means and how increases work, see What is a fair rent increase under the RRA?

Your landlord cannot discriminate against you

From 1 May 2026, it's explicitly unlawful for landlords or letting agents to refuse you a tenancy because:

• You receive benefits (Housing Benefit, Universal Credit housing element, or any other welfare payment)
• You have children

Landlords can still apply objective, consistent selection criteria — affordability checks, referencing, and credit assessments. What they can't do is apply blanket policies like "No DSS" or "No children."

Civil penalty: Anti-discrimination: RRA 2025 ss.33-42 (Chapter 3) prohibit advertising or offering to let on a discriminatory basis against tenants with children or benefit recipients. A local housing authority may impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 per breach under RRA 2025 s.40 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/40).

If you believe you've been discriminated against, you can report it to your local council's private rented sector enforcement team.

You can request to keep a pet

You have the right to make a written request to keep a pet. The Act requires the landlord to respond in writing within 28 days of the request (RRA 2025 s.11). The Act is silent on the consequence of a late response — there is no deemed-consent rule in the statute. If your landlord hasn't responded after 28 days, chase the response in writing; do not assume the pet is permitted by default.

Reasonable refusals are still permitted — for example, if the property is too small, the building's lease prohibits pets, or there's a genuine health and safety concern. The refusal must be documented with reasons.

The pet-insurance clause from the Bill was removed before Royal Assent. A damage-related condition on consent must be agreed between landlord and tenant under general contract terms (RRA 2025 s.11 inserts HA 1988 s.16A; see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/section/11), but a landlord cannot unilaterally require pet insurance as a statutory condition of consent. If your tenancy agreement purports to require pet insurance as a mandatory term, treat the clause as legally uncertain and seek advice before signing.

Rent bidding and advance rent are capped

Two protections that affect how you search for a property:

• No rent bidding. Landlords and agents cannot invite, encourage, or accept offers above the advertised asking rent. If a property is listed at £1,200/month, that's the maximum the landlord can charge. Financial penalty: up to £7,000.
• Maximum 1 month's rent in advance. Landlords cannot ask for more than 1 month's rent upfront. This closes the practice of requiring 3–6 months from tenants who might not pass traditional credit checks.

You must receive key documents

From 1 May 2026:

• New tenancies: Your landlord must provide a Written Statement of key tenancy terms at the start of the tenancy. The government will publish the prescribed format.
• Existing tenancies: Your landlord must give you written information about the Renters' Rights Act changes within one month of 1 May 2026 (by 31 May 2026 — RRA 2025 Sch 6 para 7(2): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/schedule/6/paragraph/7).

Monitor GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page for the prescribed formats.

What's coming next: Phase 2 and Phase 3

Phase 1 (1 May 2026) covers the rights above. Two more phases follow:

Phase 2 (late 2026 onwards):

• Private Rented Sector Database — your landlord must register the property. You'll be able to check whether your landlord is registered and compliant.
• Private Landlord Ombudsman — a free dispute resolution service. Instead of going to court for non-eviction disputes (repairs, deposit deductions, service quality), you can complain to the Ombudsman.

Phase 3 (date TBC):

• Decent Homes Standard — minimum property condition requirements applied to the private rented sector for the first time
• Awaab's Law — The statutory hook is already in the Act: RRA 2025 s.60 amends LTA 1985 s.10A to extend the hazard-remediation covenant from social housing to any dwelling-house in England let on a lease for a term of less than 7 years — which includes most PRS tenancies. The prescribed timeframes for investigating and remedying hazards (damp, mould, excess cold, electrical, fire) will be set by regulations under s.10A(3), not yet published. Section 60 itself is not yet commenced (it is not in the SI 2026/421 1 May 2026 commencement list). Timeline: a further commencement SI, then the s.10A(3) regulations, then operative duty.

For the full timeline with all confirmed and estimated dates, see Key dates for the Renters' Rights Act.

What you should do now

1. Check your tenancy type. If you have an AST, it converts to periodic on 1 May 2026 automatically. You don't need to do anything.
2. Know your eviction rights. If your landlord served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, check whether they have commenced court possession proceedings. They have until 31 July 2026 (or 6 months from when the notice was served — whichever is earlier). If proceedings are not commenced within that window, the notice expires.
3. Keep rent increase records. From 1 May 2026, only Form 4A increases are valid. If your landlord asks for a rent increase any other way, you don't have to agree.
4. Report discrimination. If a landlord or agent refuses to rent to you because of benefits or children, contact your local council enforcement team.
5. Document property conditions. Take dated photos of damp, mould, or disrepair. These will be essential evidence when Awaab's Law comes into force.

For a comprehensive overview of all RRA changes, see our Renters' Rights Act key dates timeline.

This guide covers tenant rights under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as it applies to private rented sector tenancies in England only. Scotland has the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. Wales has the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. This is not legal advice — for specific questions, contact Shelter or a solicitor specialising in housing law.

Information is current as of the date shown above.