The Renters Rights Act

The Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27^th October 2025. The Act is the Government’s attempt to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants across England and to secure a faire future for 11 million renters.

We asked Lorenzo Leoni, a former Maundy volunteer and currently a Barrister at Tanfield Chambers specialising in Property, to talk us through some of the changes that the new law will bring.

Maundy Relief: The Renters’ Rights Bill has just become law and is now the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA). What would you say is the most important change the new Act brings?

Lorenzo Leoni:  I think it’s fair to say that the RRA attempts a rebalancing of power between tenants and private landlords and certainly has the potential to significantly reshape the experience of renting from a private landlord. Though the practical implications of the Act are yet to seen (noting also that it is not yet implemented, so the changes described below are not yet ‘in force’), I’d say the Act’s efforts to strengthen tenants’ security of tenure represent one of the most substantial shifts in landlord and tenant dynamics in decades.

MR: Who will be affected by the new law?

LL: It is important to remember that the Bill will not change things for all tenants and does not apply to tenants of a local authority, i.e. those in council houses. It will, though, apply to the vast majority of tenants renting privately, as well as those who are tenants of Housing Associations (albeit in different ways).   

MR: What changes does RRA bring to the length of tenancies?

LL: Previously a tenant was likely to have agreed to a ‘fixed term’ with their landlord which locks them in for that period. Leaving early could be difficult unless there was a break clause. So, if a tenant wished to move somewhere else earlier, or something else happens which means they want or need to leave, they may have been left bound with their obligations under the tenancy (most importantly, the requirement to pay the rent).

Under the new law, tenancies will become ‘periodic’ tenancies from the outset and tenants can serve notice to end them in two months.

Put simply, this means that a tenancy will simply keep rolling until the tenant chooses to leave or the landlord is able to legally end it (see below). Even if the parties agree to a tenancy which says it is for twelve months, the law provides that the tenant can end the tenancy once their notice period elapses and be free from their obligations under it.  

MR: How can a landlord can end a tenancy under the RRA?

Before the Act, when a fixed term came to an end (or if there was a break clause) the landlord could serve a ‘section 21’ notice to terminate the tenancy on two-months’ notice. They could do this regardless of their reasons why.

They were also able to serve what is called a section 8 notice in seeking to end the tenancy, but only if they had a specified legal reason to do so (including rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, other breaches of the tenancy agreement etc).

Under the new law, landlords will no longer be able to terminate the tenancy without giving a reason why. ‘Section 21’ notices will become a thing of the past.

Instead, if a landlord wants to end the tenancy they must use the ‘section 8’ procedure: they will have to prove a valid legal reason to bring the tenancy to an end.

The grounds under which the landlord can bring the tenancy to an end are also amended by the RRA. Perhaps of most importance for marginalised tenants, the landlord’s automatic right to possession under ‘Ground 8’ if the tenant is in two-months’ worth of arrears is changing so that the tenant will now need to be in three-months’ worth of arrears. The Act also provides that, in calculating rental arrears, any delays in receiving universal credit payments are to be ignored.

MR: And what about rent increases? Does the RRA have anything to say about that?

LL: Yes it does – though again we will have to wait to see what effect this will have in practice. Landlords will now be required to issue tenants with two months’ notice of a proposed rent increase and can only do this once a year. Tenant’s powers to challenge this at Tribunal have also been strengthened.

MR: Will anything change for people receiving welfare benefits?

LL: Yes.  Previously it wasn’t uncommon to see private landlords advertise a new letting of a flat with a clear proviso that those receiving benefits need not apply – ‘No DSS’ is a familiar phrase on such adverts.

Some tenancy agreements even contained clauses which mean a tenant would be in breach of the tenancy (and therefore liable for eviction) if their circumstances changed during the tenancy and they started receiving benefits.  

Under the RRA, landlords will no longer be allowed to turn prospective tenants away simply because they receive benefits.

However, the devil is in the detail. A landlord will still be permitted to assess the means of the tenant and whether or not they can meet the proposed rent. It can be imagined that, in practice, this may lead to similar outcomes as before.

Once the tenancy is entered into, any clause within the agreement which prohibits the tenant from being a benefits claimant will have no effect (i.e. it will not be legally enforceable).

Note also, similar provisions apply for prospective tenants with children under 18 – blanket bans will no longer be permitted save for where the landlord can prove that this is proportionate (which in most cases may mean proving that in the circumstances it is not appropriate for a child under 18 to live at the property).

MR: Are there any other new protections for tenants?

LL: Yes, one important example is that ‘Awaab’s Law’ will now extend to private tenancies as well as social housing tenancies. This provides stricter sanctions for landlords who fail to remedy serious hazards (such as damp, mould, and emergency repairs) in short order. However, the exact detail of how these rules will work is not yet available, and again it will require the Government to implement these bits of the Act before they come into force. 

Lastly, there’s good news for pet lovers! Landlords will no longer be able to simply say no to a tenant who requests a pet. Instead, when a tenant requests to keep a pet at their property, the landlord will be obliged to consider the request and can only say no if it is reasonable to do so.