The Renters' Rights Act for landlords: what applies now

Maya manages two flats herself. One tenant moved in three years ago under a written agreement; the other tenancy began in June 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act affects both properties, but not in exactly the same way. The older tenancy carried a one-off information duty, while the newer one began under the new written-terms and periodic-tenancy rules from the outset.

That distinction is a useful way into the Act. Some changes have applied across England since 1 May 2026, some depended on when a tenancy was agreed, and several later reforms still have no property-level deadline. Treating every announcement as though it took effect on the same day is where otherwise careful records start to drift.

Start by separating current duties from later phases

The first phase changed the structure of most private assured tenancies on 1 May 2026. Existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies automatically, and new assured tenancies can no longer be created with a fixed end date. An old agreement can stay in the file, but a fixed-term clause in it no longer determines when the tenancy ends.

The same date also brought in the new possession, rent, rental-bidding, rent-in-advance and discrimination rules. The Private Rented Sector database, landlord ombudsman and private-sector extension of Awaab’s Law belong to later phases. They matter for planning, but they should not be presented as if a landlord can already register or calculate a statutory deadline that government has not set.

The tenancy file changed on 1 May 2026

For a tenancy agreed on or after 1 May, the landlord must give the prescribed written information before the tenancy agreement is signed or otherwise made. This information can sit inside a written agreement or be supplied separately. The important point is timing: it belongs at the start of the relationship, not in a follow-up pack after the tenant has moved in.

The payment rules also changed. A landlord cannot ask for, encourage or accept rent before both sides have signed. During the period between signing and the tenancy starting, the landlord can normally ask for no more than one month’s rent in advance. Once the tenancy is running, rent falls due at the interval recorded in the agreement.

Written adverts must state an asking rent, and a landlord or agent must not invite or accept a higher offer. Requests to keep a pet need fair consideration, with a reason given if the request is refused. Separate rental-discrimination rules prevent a blanket refusal because someone has children or receives benefits, although ordinary affordability checks can still be applied consistently.

Older tenancies carried a one-off information deadline

Maya’s older written tenancy did not need a replacement agreement. For most pre-May written tenancies, every named tenant needed the official Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. A wholly verbal pre-May agreement followed a different route: the landlord had to provide the prescribed written information about the tenancy terms rather than the Information Sheet.

If either task was missed, the duty should not be treated as though it disappeared with the date. The practical response is covered in the guide to the 31 May information deadline, including the difference between a written and verbal agreement and the evidence worth keeping when information is supplied late.

There is a separate trigger where a valid Section 8 or Section 21 notice served before May remained within the saved transition. If the tenancy later becomes an assured periodic tenancy because the notice expires or the court process ends without possession, the current government guidance gives one month from that event to supply the Information Sheet.

Possession now starts with a statutory ground

A new Section 21 notice cannot be served. A landlord who wants possession must use an available Section 8 ground, give the correct notice and, if the tenant remains, ask the court for a possession order. Selling the property, moving in, rent arrears and antisocial behaviour are examples, but they have different conditions and notice periods. The facts of the tenancy decide which route is available.

There is a narrow transition for certain notices served before 1 May. The last possible date for starting a claim is 31 July 2026, but an individual notice can expire earlier. Some periodic arrangements need specific advice rather than a six-month shortcut. Read the Section 21 transition guide before relying on the outer date.

Rent increases now use one documented route

For an assured periodic tenancy, a rent increase normally uses Form 4A under Section 13. It can take effect once in a 12-month period, cannot take effect during the tenancy’s first year and needs at least two months’ notice. The proposed figure remains open to a First-tier Tribunal challenge if it exceeds the open-market rent.

A diary entry should therefore record the date the last increase took effect, not merely the day the notice was drafted. The Section 13 guide walks through that sequence and the transitional treatment of increases arranged before May.

The later reforms belong on a watch list

The government roadmap currently says regional rollout of the Private Rented Sector database should begin from late 2026, with further rollout to follow. It places mandatory landlord membership of the ombudsman in 2028. The private-sector dates for Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard remain subject to consultation and regulations.

Those plans justify getting certificates and ownership records in order, but not inventing a registration date or fee. The database preparation guide separates what the Act establishes from the details that are still open.

Use the documents as the source of each reminder

Maya’s most useful record is not a general checklist with every box marked green. It is a short list tied to the actual tenancy agreement, deposit receipt, certificates, licence and notices for each flat. That makes it possible to see which duties apply and which date started each clock.

The free landlord compliance tracker organises those common dates in the browser and exports known deadlines to a calendar. It deliberately leaves later reforms as a watch list until government publishes the rules needed to calculate them.