Can my landlord still evict me after the Renters' Rights Act?

Yes, but only with a reason. Section 21 no-fault eviction is abolished from 1 May 2026, so your landlord must rely on a ground under Section 8 — such as selling the property, moving in themselves, three months' rent arrears, or antisocial behaviour — and prove it in court if you do not leave. Notice periods depend on the ground: four months for sale or moving in, four weeks for serious arrears, immediate for antisocial behaviour.

What happens to my existing fixed-term tenancy?

It converts automatically on 1 May 2026 into an assured periodic tenancy on the same rent and the same other terms. You do not need to sign anything for that to happen. From then on you can end the tenancy at any point by giving two months' notice, and there is no fixed term to see out.

Do I still need to protect the deposit?

Yes. Deposit protection in an approved scheme within 30 days, and service of the prescribed information, are unchanged and remain essential — a landlord who has not protected the deposit correctly will struggle to obtain possession. The Act adds a cap of one month's rent in advance on top of the deposit.

Can I keep a pet in a rented flat?

You have a right to request one, and the landlord cannot refuse unreasonably. They must respond in writing within 28 days. A refusal can still be reasonable — most commonly where the building's superior lease forbids animals, which is common in London blocks. The landlord cannot require you to take out pet insurance, but can recover the reasonable cost of any damage.

Is rent bidding really banned?

Yes. From commencement, a property must be advertised at a stated rent and the landlord or agent may not invite or accept offers above it. Breaching the rule carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence.

How can my landlord increase the rent?

Once a year, by a Section 13 notice giving two months' notice, and only to open market rent. Automatic escalator clauses in the tenancy agreement no longer work. If you believe the proposed rent is above market you can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, which cannot set a rent higher than the figure your landlord proposed.

When does the PRS Database start?

It is not live on 1 May 2026. The Private Rented Sector Database and the mandatory landlord ombudsman are expected to be introduced in stages during late 2026 and 2027, with a registration window before enforcement. Once live, letting an unregistered property becomes an offence and blocks most possession grounds.

Guides

The Renters' Rights Act 2025: what it means for London landlords and tenants

By Seymont London · 1 May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its main provisions take effect on 1 May 2026. It is the largest reform of the private rented sector in England for more than thirty years, and it rewrites the mechanics every London landlord and tenant has worked with since the Housing Act 1988. Section 21 — the so-called no-fault eviction — goes. Fixed terms go with it. Every assured tenancy becomes periodic, rolling month to month until the tenant ends it or the landlord proves a ground in court. We let and manage across London, so we have spent the run-up to commencement rewriting tenancy paperwork, re-briefing landlords on what a possession case now looks like, and explaining to tenants what has actually changed for them. This guide sets out the reform as it stands: what the Act does, when each part starts, and the practical consequences on both sides of the tenancy. It is a general guide to the law in England, not legal advice on your own tenancy — for that, take advice on your specific facts before you serve or respond to any notice.

What the Renters' Rights Act 2025 actually is

The Act is the successor to the Renters (Reform) Bill that fell when Parliament dissolved in 2024. It was reintroduced in September 2024, cleared both Houses in 2025, and received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The government then set a single implementation date for the core tenancy reforms rather than the phased approach the sector had expected: from 1 May 2026 the new system applies to new and existing tenancies at the same time.

That single-date approach matters more than any individual clause. There is no grandfathering. A tenancy that started in 2019 on a twelve-month fixed term does not carry on under the old rules; on 1 May 2026 it converts by operation of law into an assured periodic tenancy on the same rent and the same other terms. Landlords do not need to issue new agreements for the conversion to happen, though most of ours are being reissued anyway so that the document a tenant holds matches the law that governs it.

Several parts of the Act are not switched on in May. The Private Rented Sector Database and the mandatory ombudsman are expected to follow in stages through late 2026 and 2027, and the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law extensions to the private sector run to their own timetable. Treat any date beyond May 2026 as indicative until the commencement regulations appear.

Section 21 abolished: the end of no-fault eviction

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 allowed a landlord to recover possession at the end of a fixed term without giving a reason. From 1 May 2026 it is gone. A landlord who wants their property back must rely on a ground in Schedule 2 and, if the tenant does not leave, prove that ground to a judge.

The transitional rule is strict. A Section 21 notice validly served before 1 May 2026 can still be relied on for a limited period after commencement, but serving one on or after that date is unlawful. The Act attaches a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first breach, rising to £40,000 or prosecution for serious or repeated breaches — and the same penalty regime covers other prohibited conduct, such as marketing a property without the required information or discriminating against tenants on benefits or with children.

In practice this changes the rhythm of a London tenancy rather than the security of a good one. Most of the tenancies we manage run for years without either side wanting to end them. What changes is that the landlord's exit is now evidence-led: you need a ground, the notice period that goes with it, and a paper trail that stands up in the county court.

Assured periodic tenancies and the twelve-month protected period

Every assured tenancy becomes periodic. There are no fixed terms, so a tenant can leave at any point by giving two months' notice, and a landlord cannot lock a tenant into a twelve-month commitment. Rent periods cannot exceed a month, which ends the practice of taking a year's rent in advance as a way of pre-selecting tenants; the Act also caps rent in advance at one month on top of the deposit.

Against that flexibility for the tenant, the Act gives the landlord a protected period at the start. Ground 1 (the landlord or a close family member moving in) and Ground 1A (sale of the property) cannot be used in the first twelve months of the tenancy, and both require four months' notice. If a landlord uses either ground, the property cannot be re-let or re-marketed for twelve months afterwards — a deliberate deterrent against dressing up a no-fault eviction as an intention to sell.

For a landlord weighing a London letting, that is the number to plan around: assume a minimum practical horizon of sixteen months from the day the tenancy starts before you could have the property back for your own use or a sale, and longer if the case is contested.

Getting possession: the Section 8 grounds that now matter

Possession runs entirely through Section 8. The grounds most London landlords will meet are: Ground 1 and 1A, described above, at four months' notice; Ground 8, the mandatory rent arrears ground, which the Act tightens from two months' to three months' arrears with a four-week notice period; Grounds 10 and 11 for persistent or some arrears, at their discretion; Ground 14 for antisocial behaviour, which can be served with immediate effect; and Ground 6A where possession is needed to comply with enforcement action.

The arrears change deserves attention on both sides. Raising the mandatory threshold to three months gives a tenant in temporary difficulty more room to recover, and it gives the landlord a longer exposure. Our own answer to that is unglamorous: reference properly at the outset, insist on rent protection where the covenant is thin, and act on the first missed payment rather than the third.

A contested possession case ends in a court hearing. The Act does not by itself add court capacity, and the sector's central practical worry is hearing times. That is a strong argument for keeping compliance documents — gas safety, EPC, electrical report, How to Rent guide, deposit protection certificate — in order from day one, because a defective paper trail is what turns a straightforward case into an adjourned one.

Rent bidding banned, and how rent increases now work

Landlords and agents must advertise a property at a stated rent and may not invite or accept offers above it. Rental bidding wars — routine in London for a decade whenever a well-priced flat in Zone 2 came to market — are unlawful from commencement, and breaching the rule carries the same civil penalty regime.

Rent increases are standardised too. A landlord may raise the rent once a year, by serving a Section 13 notice giving two months' notice of the new figure, and the increase must be to open market rent. A tenant who thinks the proposed rent is above market can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, which can determine the market rent but — importantly, under the Act — cannot set a figure higher than the one the landlord proposed. Increases written into the tenancy agreement as automatic escalators are no longer effective.

For landlords this makes pricing at the outset the single most consequential decision of the tenancy. Advertise honestly at a figure the evidence supports; there is no longer a mechanism to correct a low asking rent through a bidding war, and an aggressive annual increase can now be challenged at no cost to the tenant.

Pets, discrimination and the new baseline of conduct

A tenant has the right to request permission to keep a pet, and the landlord may not refuse unreasonably. A request must be answered in writing within 28 days, and a landlord who needs more information can pause the clock while they seek it. Reasonable refusals still exist — a superior lease that forbids animals is the clearest example, and in London leasehold flats that covers a great many blocks — but a blanket 'no pets' clause is no longer enforceable on its own. Landlords cannot require pet insurance as a condition, though they may require the tenant to meet the reasonable cost of any damage.

The Act also makes it unlawful to refuse a tenancy because the applicant receives benefits or has children, and to discourage such applicants through advertising. 'No DSS' and 'professionals only' wording is out, in the listing and in the conversation that follows it.

Alongside these come the Decent Homes Standard, extended to the private rented sector, and an extension of Awaab's Law requiring landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards such as damp and mould within fixed timescales. Both are being commenced separately from the tenancy reforms, but both point the same way: the standard expected of a London rental property is rising, and the compliance burden sits with the landlord.

The PRS Database and the ombudsman

Two pieces of infrastructure underpin the Act. The Private Rented Sector Database will require landlords to register themselves and each rented property, and to record key compliance information against it. Letting a property that is not registered, once the requirement is live, will itself be an offence, and a landlord will not be able to obtain possession under most grounds while unregistered.

The second is a mandatory ombudsman scheme covering all private landlords in England, including those who self-manage. It gives tenants a free route to binding redress without going to court, and it mirrors the redress obligation that letting agents such as ourselves have had for years.

Neither is expected to be operating on 1 May 2026. Current government signalling points to the database and ombudsman coming into force in stages during late 2026 and into 2027, with a registration window before enforcement begins. Landlords should assume they will need, at minimum, their gas safety record, EPC, electrical installation condition report and deposit protection details in a form that can be uploaded.

What we are doing about it at Seymont

Practically, every managed tenancy on our books is being re-papered onto a periodic agreement that reflects the new grounds, notice periods and rent-review mechanism. Every landlord we act for has had a written note of what their exit looks like under Section 8 and how long it realistically takes. Every advertised rent is a fixed asking figure, because it has to be, and because our view has always been that a property priced correctly on day one lets faster than one priced to attract a bidding war.

For tenants, the day-to-day experience of renting through us should not change much, other than that you can leave on two months' notice whenever you choose, you can ask for a pet and expect a reasoned answer within 28 days, and you cannot be asked to bid.

If you are a landlord weighing whether the reformed regime still works for you, the honest answer is that it works well for landlords letting good property, referenced properly, managed properly, and priced honestly — and considerably less well for the rest. If you would like us to look at your tenancy and tell you where the exposure sits, we will do it without charge.

Frequently asked

Can my landlord still evict me after the Renters' Rights Act?: Yes, but only with a reason. Section 21 no-fault eviction is abolished from 1 May 2026, so your landlord must rely on a ground under Section 8 — such as selling the property, moving in themselves, three months' rent arrears, or antisocial behaviour — and prove it in court if you do not leave. Notice periods depend on the ground: four months for sale or moving in, four weeks for serious arrears, immediate for antisocial behaviour.
What happens to my existing fixed-term tenancy?: It converts automatically on 1 May 2026 into an assured periodic tenancy on the same rent and the same other terms. You do not need to sign anything for that to happen. From then on you can end the tenancy at any point by giving two months' notice, and there is no fixed term to see out.
Do I still need to protect the deposit?: Yes. Deposit protection in an approved scheme within 30 days, and service of the prescribed information, are unchanged and remain essential — a landlord who has not protected the deposit correctly will struggle to obtain possession. The Act adds a cap of one month's rent in advance on top of the deposit.
Can I keep a pet in a rented flat?: You have a right to request one, and the landlord cannot refuse unreasonably. They must respond in writing within 28 days. A refusal can still be reasonable — most commonly where the building's superior lease forbids animals, which is common in London blocks. The landlord cannot require you to take out pet insurance, but can recover the reasonable cost of any damage.
Is rent bidding really banned?: Yes. From commencement, a property must be advertised at a stated rent and the landlord or agent may not invite or accept offers above it. Breaching the rule carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence.
How can my landlord increase the rent?: Once a year, by a Section 13 notice giving two months' notice, and only to open market rent. Automatic escalator clauses in the tenancy agreement no longer work. If you believe the proposed rent is above market you can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, which cannot set a rent higher than the figure your landlord proposed.
When does the PRS Database start?: It is not live on 1 May 2026. The Private Rented Sector Database and the mandatory landlord ombudsman are expected to be introduced in stages during late 2026 and 2027, with a registration window before enforcement. Once live, letting an unregistered property becomes an offence and blocks most possession grounds.
What is the penalty for serving a Section 21 notice now?: Serving a Section 21 notice on or after 1 May 2026 is unlawful and can attract a civil penalty of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 or prosecution for serious or repeated breaches. Notices validly served before that date remain usable for a limited transitional period.