The government has set a date for the commencement of the Renters’ Rights Bill, with landlords given just under six months to prepare for the wide-ranging changes.
The bill, which will remove so-called no-fault evictions, strengthen tenant protections and digitalise the sector, promises to shake up the market for both landlords and tenants – with considerable new burdens for the former.
It will come into force on May 1, 2026, after a long journey through multiple different governments.
“We’re now on a countdown of just months,” housing secretary Steve Reed said.
“Good landlords can get ready and bad landlords should clean up their act.”
The bill’s headline policy is the abolition of no-fault evictions – also known as Section 21 orders – which allow landlords to end a tenancy at the end of a defined rental period without providing justification.
Landlords will be unable to sell or move into a property in the first 12 months after a tenancy begins, although they will still have grounds to kick a tenant out if they commit antisocial behaviour or do not pay rent for at least three months.
Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said that renters “must understand that their rights will not change today”.
“The current system remains in place until the new rights come into force from May 1, 2026,” she added.
Sabrina Furneaux-Gotch, partner in real estate litigation at Mishcon de Reya, has said that landlords should just “be prepared to get their ducks in a row, to make sure that they’re ready to comply with the new regulations in relation to the database.”
“If you have a property which is in good condition, where you have a tenant who is paying the rent and is otherwise complying with the terms of the tenancy, then there shouldn’t be a real hardship for landlords,” she said.
Laura Odlind also a partner in real estate litigation at Mishcon, added that the “act isn’t anything that new compared to what the previous government had proposed” and that while all landlords might struggle with the increased regulation, good preparation should stand them in good stead.”
“There’s going to be a need to have good vetting agents,” she said.