As of 27th October 2025, the UK’s Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent, which means it has now officially become law. The significant changes to England’s private rented sector, because of this act, will come into place from 1st May 2026.
This act has been introduced primarily to ensure ‘bad behaviour’ cannot occur in the rented sector.
We have seen phrases like “the biggest shake-up” being used when referencing the act, which naturally can cause panic and uncertainty of what is to come for landlords. However, we want to reassure you that for any professional agency or landlord we do not feel the changes are particularly dramatic and potentially the changes were already things that were happening previously.
Key Changes in the Renters Rights Act 2025
Some of the details of the act which are worth noting are:
- Fixed-term tenancies are replaced with periodic tenancies and there is no longer a section 21 notice. This is fine, Abode never evicted a tenant for no reason. Landlords must have a valid reason (grounds) to evict tenants. Tenants must now give 2 months’ notice to leave, but this can be soon after they move in, generally we think the norm of staying somewhere for 18-24 months will be the same.
- Bidding wars will not be allowed, this occurred when the market was in short supply and hence rental offers would be accepted above the ones being marketed. Abode have never been in the situation of bidding wars anyway, so this doesn’t affect us.
- No discrimination against tenants with children, pets or on benefits. As a landlord you can reasonably refuse but not unreasonably refuse a tenant. Presently there is no case law for this so the exact details will come in time.
- Rent increases are limited to once per year and the notices that must be given are stricter. At Abode once a year was probably most often the norm in the past.
- Awaab’s law is coming into existence in three phases from 2025 to 2027 and covers many hazards within a rented property, such as lack of maintenance resulting in damp, mould, broken items etc.
- Agencies are already part of an ombudsman scheme but all private landlords moving forward will have to register on a database (not yet released) and also be part of a new dispute service.
Embracing the Changes at Abode
Abode has for many years been part of the professional body Propertymark and has also been registered with The Property Ombudsman. As one of the largest letting and managing agents in the South West Abode has always tried to maintain extremely high standards for landlords and tenants.
For this reason, none of the changes above are particularly scary, this said change always comes with a lot of new training and administration. We see this as an exciting challenge and have already stated going on a variety of courses.
Impact on Student Landlords
If your property is rented to students this is a very different process and different set of rules, it is best to call the office to discuss this situation.
Recommended Further Reading
If you want to learn more and conduct your own reading about the Renters’ Rights Act, then we recommend you check out the main GOV blog which tracks coverage of the Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap.
