From 1 May 2026, changes brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will provide more rights and better protection to tenants in the private rented sector.
Changes introduced by the Act include:
- The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies. All tenancies will be periodic, rolling on from month to month or week to week, and tenants will be able to end a tenancy by giving two months’ notice;
- Landlords will be unable to evict tenants without a valid reason;
- Landlords will be unable to ask for or accept a rent higher than the advertised rent, preventing ‘bidding wars’ between prospective tenants;
- Landlords will only be able to increase the rent once per year, and tenants will be able to challenge rent increases at the First-tier Tribunal;
- Landlords will be unable to ask for more than one month’s rent in advance;
- It will be illegal for landlords to refuse prospective tenants because they are in receipt of benefits or because they have children;
- Tenants will have the right to request permission to keep a pet. The landlord may not unreasonably refuse permission.