The Renters' Rights Act 2025: Every Key Date for Landlords and Letting Agents

Section 21 was abolished in England on 1 May 2026. On that date every assured shorthold tenancy in the private rented sector became an assured periodic tenancy, and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 moved from Royal Assent (27 October 2025) into day-to-day lettings practice.

Most of the Act is now live. The rest arrives in phases through to 2035, and several dates still depend on consultations. This page is the timeline we keep updated for letting agents, with each date checked against GOV.UK or legislation.gov.uk as of October 2026.

What is in force, what lands next, and what has not been confirmed at all?

Which parts of the Renters' Rights Act are already in force?

The tenancy reforms, the new possession grounds, the rent rules, the bidding ban and the stronger council enforcement powers are all in force. The table below lists every date we could confirm, in order.

Sources: GOV.UK implementation roadmap (updated 20 October 2026), SI 2026/421, Housing Hub PRS Database guidance, MHCLG Awaab's Law consultation (9 October 2026), MHCLG blog (5 February 2026).

Every tenancy in your book has been running on the Renters' Rights Act rulebook since 1 May 2026.

What changed for letting agents on 1 May 2026?

The commencement regulations (SI 2026/421) brought Part 1, Chapter 1 of the Act into force on 1 May 2026 for private assured tenancies. For agents, the practical changes are these:

• No more fixed terms. Tenancies are periodic. Tenants can leave on two months' notice, aligned to a rent period.
• Section 8 only. All possession runs through grounds. Selling (Ground 1A) and moving in (Ground 1) need four months' notice and cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy. After using them, the landlord cannot re-let or market the property for 12 months.
• Arrears. The mandatory arrears ground now needs three months' arrears, up from two, with four weeks' notice.
• Rent increases. Once a year, by Section 13 notice with at least two months' notice. Rent review clauses no longer work. A tenant can challenge at the First-tier Tribunal, which cannot set a rent above the landlord's proposal.
• Marketing. Agents must publish an asking rent and cannot accept offers above it. Civil penalties go up to £7,000.
• Rent in advance. No more than one month, taken only after the agreement is signed and before the tenancy starts. Penalties go up to £5,000.
• Discrimination. Blanket bans on tenants with children or on benefits are unlawful, with penalties up to £7,000.

Agents can be penalised for breaches made on a landlord's behalf. That puts advert wording, referencing criteria and offer handling on the agency's own compliance list.

The Act applies to England. Wales has its own regime under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

What should agents have done since May, and what is next?

If the 31 May 2026 Information Sheet deadline was missed for any existing tenancy, fix that first. Verbal tenancies also needed a written summary of terms by that date.

Next is the landlord register. The PRS Database opens in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, and every region follows in turn until 14 November 2027. The fee is £65 per property per year. Unregistered landlords cannot obtain possession except under the serious anti-social behaviour grounds. Each region's start date and deadline are on the government's Housing Hub.

In Propalt, the Landlords audience in Audience Builder lets you list the landlord-owned homes in a region before its registration window opens, and "Create campaign" starts a letter run to their owners. Coventry shows the scale: Census 2021 figures in Propalt put 33,195 Coventry households, 24.75% of the city, in private rented homes, and 278 homes were listed to let on Rightmove and Zoopla in the CV1 district alone on 26 October 2026, each property counted once.

Licensing also matters more than it did. The £40,000 maximum civil penalty applies to offences such as letting without a required licence, and rent repayment orders now reach back 24 months.

What is still to come, and what is not yet confirmed?

Four big items remain. Only the Decent Homes Standard has a confirmed year.

Landlord Ombudsman. Every private landlord will have to join the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, including landlords who use an agent. The roadmap and the October 2026 Awaab's Law consultation both say membership is expected in 2028. As of October 2026, no exact start date or scheme fee has been confirmed. Penalties for not joining are up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for continued breaches.

Decent Homes Standard. The government confirmed in early 2026 that the standard will apply to private rented homes from 2035. Detailed regulations are still to come.

Awaab's Law. The Act gives the government power to extend Awaab's Law to private tenancies. A consultation opened on 9 October 2026 and closes on 18 December 2026. It names 2027 as the earliest feasible date and asks whether the start should be 2027, 2028 or 2029. Nothing is confirmed yet. See our guide to Awaab's Law and private landlords.

Rent challenges. The government has said it intends to move rent increase challenges from the First-tier Tribunal to the Valuation Office Agency. As of October 2026, there is no date, and tenants still apply to the Tribunal.

One related deadline sits outside the Act. Private rented homes must reach the equivalent of EPC C by 1 October 2030 under separate MEES regulations, confirmed by the government in January 2026.

The dates that are confirmed are close. The dates that are not confirmed are the ones landlords will ask you about, so say clearly which is which.

What does all this mean for winning new landlords?

Each phase gives self-managing landlords a new task: periodic tenancy paperwork in May, registration from December, ombudsman membership after that. Many landlords who coped alone under Section 21 now face Section 8 evidence standards, four-month notice periods and a register that asks for every certificate.

That is a reason to write to them, with specific dates for their region rather than general warnings. An agent who can tell a landlord in Coventry that their registration deadline is 14 March 2027, and offer to handle it, is offering something useful.

For targeting, see our guides to finding new landlords and writing a prospecting letter. If your team uses AI assistants, our propalt.ai guide to landlord prospecting with ChatGPT and Claude gives a five-step prompt sequence for finding, ranking and contacting landlords.

📌 KEY TAKEAWAY

Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, and the main tenancy, rent and marketing rules of the Renters' Rights Act are now in force. The PRS Database opens from 15 December 2026, Landlord Ombudsman membership is expected in 2028, and the Decent Homes Standard applies from 2035. Awaab's Law for private landlords is still under consultation, with no date confirmed as of October 2026. Each new date is a reason to contact the self-managing landlords in your area, and My Prospects shows who they are.

SOURCES & DATA REFERENCES

1. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (first published 13 November 2025, updated 20 October 2026). 'Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: our roadmap for reforming the private rented sector.' All Phase 1 to Phase 3 dates, 27 December 2025 enforcement powers, 31 May 2026 Information Sheet deadline, £40,000 penalty, ombudsman expected 2028. gov.uk/government/publications/renters-rights-act-2025-implementation-roadmap
2. legislation.gov.uk (2026). 'The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/421.' Part 1 Chapter 1 and Schedules 1 and 2 in force 1 May 2026. legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/421
3. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (first published 6 November 2025). 'Guide to the Renters' Rights Act.' Possession grounds, notice periods, rent increase rules, bidding and rent in advance penalties, ombudsman and database penalties, agent liability, 24-month rent repayment orders. gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act
4. Housing Hub, GOV.UK campaign site (updated 10 September 2026). 'Get ready: Register your rental property service.' PRS Database regional dates and £65 fee. housinghub.campaign.gov.uk/renting-is-changing/get-ready-to-register/
5. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (9 October 2026). 'Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and to licences.' Consultation dates, earliest feasible date 2027, ombudsman expected 2028, £7,000 Category 1 hazard penalty in force June 2026. gov.uk/government/consultations/extending-awaabs-law-to-private-rented-tenancies-and-to-licences
6. MHCLG blog (5 February 2026). 'Decent Homes Standard.' Standard to apply to private rented homes from 2035. mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/02/05/decent-homes-standard/
7. Elmhurst Energy (22 January 2026). 'Domestic private rented properties required to meet EPC band C by October 2030.' Summary of the government's January 2026 MEES consultation response, 1 October 2030 deadline and £10,000 cap. elmhurstenergy.co.uk/blog/2026/01/22/
8. Devonshires Solicitors (10 September 2026). 'Renters' Rights Act: PRS Database rollout begins in December 2026 and rent dispute reforms announced.' Planned move of rent challenges to the Valuation Office Agency, no start date. insights.devonshires.com/post/102o0pc
9. Propalt (October 2026). Coventry household tenure from Census 2021 (33,195 private rented households, 24.75% of households) and count of homes listed to let on Rightmove and Zoopla in the CV1 postcode district on 26 October 2026, deduplicated by property (278). propalt.ai