Royal assent for Renters’ Rights

Billed as landmark legislation to secure a fairer future for private renters in England, the Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October, becoming the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Act).

The Act marks the most significant reform to England’s private rented sector in a generation and is the cornerstone in the delivery of the Government’s Plan for Change manifesto commitment to rebalance the relationship between England’s 2.3 million landlords and 11 million tenants.

Now that the Act has completed its long passage through Parliament, the Government recognises the need to act quickly so that tenants can benefit from the rights and protections in the Act. It is however also mindful that the sector needs “sufficient time” to adjust and prepare to the new tenancy regime. As to what “sufficient time” means, only time will tell as the industry eagerly awaits details of the plans for implementation.

Core reform

The Government set out an overview of the new measures in its press release, Historic Renters’ Rights Act becomes law – GOV.UK published at the beginning of this week.

At the core of the reforms is the conversion of all assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in the private rented sector – both existing and any granted after the Act comes into force – into assured periodic tenancies together with the abolition of section 21 “no fault” evictions.

This means that:

• tenancies will no longer have a fixed end date and instead will roll over indefinitely until either a valid notice is served by a tenant terminating the tenancy or the landlord recovers possession by proving one of a number of statutory grounds through the court process; and
• tenants will be able to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction.

The policy intent is to level the playing field between landlords and tenants giving renters the right to end tenancies with two months’ notice, while protecting legitimate landlord interests through strengthened repossession grounds (with the hope that this supports continued investment in the sector).

What happens next?

There’s no doubt that the new regime will have a transformative effect on the private rental market and the Government has been clear from the outset that it will provide the sector with “sufficient notice of the system taking effect, and work closely with all parties to ensure a smooth transition”.

The Act gives the Secretary of State complete freedom to set the commencement date for the new tenancy system and whilst a few discrete provisions will come into force on 27 December 2025 (2 months after the date the Act was passed), including increased investigatory powers for local authorities, the majority of the provisions require further steps to be taken in the form of commencing legislation. As yet there is no implementation timeline with the Government’s Press Statement providing that “In the coming weeks, ministers will outline how the reforms will be rolled out”.  The current view across the sector is that a six-month implementation period is likely, potentially placing commencement around May 2026.

The Government has committed to support tenants, landlords and agents to understand and adjust to the new rules and is planning an extensive communications campaign.  One thing for certain is that we can expect a barrage of regulations, guidance and court forms to absorb over the coming months before the new tenancy regime comes into force. It is therefore important that landlords and their advisers prepare accordingly and in particular take note of the transitional arrangements in relation to parts of the new legislation. This is particularly relevant in the context of the banning of Section 21 no-fault evictions and the transitional rules regarding how long landlords will have to apply for an order for possession before the valid Section 21 notice becomes time-barred.

Conclusion

The new tenancy regime will inevitably be challenging for landlords and their agents not least due to the increased regulatory burden which will have cost and risk implications. To prepare, landlords will need to analyse their residential portfolios, review their template tenancy agreements and analyse what steps need to be taken from a management perspective in the period prior to commencement.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be tracking regulations, secondary legislation and implementation timescales and keeping you abreast of developments.  Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter direct to your inbox.

How we can help

Contact our real estate team for further advice.