An update on the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

While this might feel daunting, there’s much to be gained from the updated system – better relationships with your tenants and confidence that everyone knows what’s required of them. Let’s remind ourselves of the key changes.

What is the Renters’ Rights Act?

As part of their 2024 general election manifesto, the Labour government promised to improve the lives of 11 million renters in England. They wanted to tackle poor housing conditions, put an end to unfair evictions, and more generally, give people better peace of mind about where they live. These much-discussed aims formed the basis of the Renters’ Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in October 2025.

Since this represents the biggest shakeup of the sector in nearly 40 years, the government is implementing the reforms in stages rather than all at once. The first milestone was passed at the start of May.

Key changes now in effect for landlords

Here are the most significant reforms that are now legal requirements. If you haven’t already made adjustments, you’ll need to do so straight away. Tenants have better legal rights to lodge complaints and local councils can impose hefty financial penalties for breaches.

• No more Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – instead, landlords will rely solely on the revised Section 8, where specified grounds must be given
• The introduction of mandatory periodic tenancies – fixed terms are a thing of the past, meaning tenants no longer commit to staying in a property for a specific amount of time
• A ban on rental bidding wars – a fixed price must be published in the advert, and landlords can’t accept anything higher
• An end to rent in advance – landlords can’t ask tenants to pay rent before the written agreement is signed
• New rules for rent increases – for example, landlords can only put up the rent once per year, and the amount must be in line with local market rates
• The ban on blanket discrimination – every potential tenant must be considered individually (you can’t flatly refuse anyone with kids, for example)
• An official information sheet – you must give this to your tenants before the 31st of May
• Requests for pets  – you must consider every request to keep a pet

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list of all the changes. Check the government website for full details.

Other changes to prepare for

You’ll need to look out for these changes that are due later this year:

• PRS database – landlords will need to sign up and pay an annual fee (we’ll post here on the Winkworth blog when more info is available)
• PRS ombudsman – again, landlords will need to take part in this scheme, which aims to handle tenant complaints without the need for court action

What’s more, the government wants to improve the minimum standard of homes with specific legislation coming into effect in the next few years. This includes requiring properties to improve their EPC rating, updating the Decent Homes Standard, and empowering tenants to challenge dangerous conditions with Awaab’s Law.

Check back to the Winkworth blog for further news and updates on the Renters’ Rights Act. We’ll be covering topics including Awaab’s Law and the mandatory ombudsman scheme.