Renters' Rights Act 2025: Practical guide for local housing authorities

A practical guide for local housing authorities on the biggest private rented sector reform in a generation.

With Phase 1 implementation just months away, local housing authorities face urgent deadlines to establish enforcement capacity and educate landlords about fundamental changes to the tenancy landscape.

What the act does

On 27 October 2025, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent, marking the most significant reform of residential tenancies since 1988. The Act fundamentally rebalances the landlord-tenant relationship, abolishing Section 21 'no-fault' evictions, ending the assured shorthold tenancy regime, and introducing strict controls on rent increases. For the 4.6 million households in England's private rented sector, this represents a sea change in security and rights.

For local housing authorities, the Act creates both substantial new responsibilities and significant new powers. The legislation adopts a bifurcated enforcement model: certain landlord behaviours are designated criminal offences, for which authorities may prosecute or impose civil penalties of up to £40,000, whilst other failures constitute civil breaches enforceable by financial penalty. Authorities will need clear policies to determine the appropriate enforcement route in each case.

Implementation follows a phased approach. Phase 1 commences on 1 May 2026, introducing core tenancy reforms. Phase 2, from late 2026, establishes the Private Rented Sector Database and Ombudsman. A later phase will extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, subject to further consultation and secondary legislation. Importantly, certain provisions - including new investigatory powers and the discrimination ban - commenced earlier on 27 December 2025, creating immediate compliance obligations for both landlords and enforcement authorities.

27 December 2025 provisions 

1. Investigatory powers

From 27 December 2025, authorised local housing authority officers gained significant new investigatory powers designed to transform enforcement capability. Officers can require information from landlords, agents, and any other person to support investigations, with failure to comply without reasonable excuse constituting an offence. They can enter business premises such as letting agencies to seize documents, take photographs, and make recordings, though 24 hours' notice is required for routine inspections. Where entry is refused or evidence may be at risk, warrants are available. For residential premises, officers with special authorisation can enter to investigate suspected illegal evictions under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

Perhaps most significantly, officers can access council tax information, housing benefit systems, and tenancy deposit protection scheme data for enforcement purposes. This data-matching capability fundamentally transforms enforcement from reactive, complaint-driven approaches to proactive, intelligence-led strategies. Authorities can identify unlicensed properties, detect potential exploitation, and build comprehensive pictures of landlord portfolios and compliance histories.

However, these powers carry strict procedural requirements. They can only be exercised by officers formally authorised in writing by the authority; evidence gathered by unauthorised officers may be inadmissible in subsequent proceedings. Authorities should ensure authorisations are kept under review and refreshed where officers change roles or responsibilities.

2. The discrimination ban

The discrimination ban also commenced on 27 December 2025, prohibiting landlords from operating blanket policies refusing families with children or benefit recipients. The familiar 'No DSS' notices that have characterised rental advertising for decades now constitute criminal offences attracting penalties up to £40,000.

The prohibition is deliberately broad. Landlords cannot prevent enquiries, viewings, or lettings based on children or benefit status, and any tenancy term purporting to prohibit children or benefit claimants is void and unenforceable. Landlords may seek to justify such policies by citing buy-to-let mortgage conditions prohibiting benefit claimants, but the Act provides no exemption. Mortgage conditions are not expected to constitute a defence under the Act. Authorities should commence immediate education campaigns making this limitation clear, whilst also advising landlords to engage with their lenders to remove or amend such restrictive conditions

1 May 2026: Core reforms

The main provisions commence on 1 May 2026, fundamentally transforming the tenancy landscape. From that date, no new assured shorthold tenancies can be created. Existing ASTs convert to the new periodic assured tenancy, subject to transitional provisions set out in regulations, and fixed-term tenancies are prohibited entirely. Section 21 'no-fault' evictions are abolished, requiring landlords to rely exclusively on Section 8 grounds for possession.

The practical implications are profound. A tenant who signed a 12-month AST in January 2026 gains the right to terminate on two months' notice from 1 May 2026, regardless of the fixed term. The landlord loses Section 21 and must prove statutory grounds to regain possession. For many landlords, this represents a fundamental loss of control and certainty; for tenants, it represents unprecedented security and flexibility.

Section 8 grounds for possession

Section 8 allows landlords to apply to court for possession based on specified grounds in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Act. The grounds divide into two categories: mandatory grounds, where the court must grant possession if proved, and discretionary grounds, where the court retains discretion even if the ground is established.

1. Mandatory grounds

The mandatory grounds comprise:

• Ground 1 (Landlord/Family Occupation): The landlord or their family (spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren) require the property as their only or principal home. Cannot be used in the first 12 months. Four months' notice required.
• Ground 1A (Sale): A new ground allowing possession where the landlord genuinely intends to sell the property. Cannot be used in the first 12 months. Four months' notice required.
• Ground 1B (Repeated Serious Rent Arrears): A new ground where the tenant has been in serious rent arrears (three months or more) on three or more occasions in the preceding three years.
• Ground 6A (Student Accommodation): Student property let outside the academic year, needed for student occupation.
• Ground 6B (Enforcement Compliance): A new ground requiring the landlord to comply with local authority enforcement action (prohibition notices, HMO licensing breaches).
• Ground 8 (Serious Rent Arrears): At least two months' rent unpaid for monthly tenancies, or eight weeks for weekly tenancies, both at notice date and hearing. Four weeks' notice required. Arrears attributable to Universal Credit payment delays must be disregarded

2. Discretionary grounds

The discretionary grounds include Ground 7A (serious anti-social behaviour convictions), Ground 10 (rent arrears below the Ground 8 threshold), Ground 11 (persistent delay in paying rent), Ground 12 (breach of tenancy obligation), Ground 13 (waste or neglect causing deterioration), Ground 14 (nuisance, annoyance, or illegal/immoral use), Ground 14A (domestic abuse conviction), Ground 14ZA (riot-related offences), Ground 15 (damage to furniture), Ground 16 (former employee—property needed for new employee), and Ground 17 (false statement to obtain tenancy)

3. Key changes from the Renters' Rights Act 2025

The most significant changes are the expansion of Ground 1 to include wider family members, the introduction of Ground 1A for genuine sales, and the 12-month protection period for both grounds during which they cannot be used. Notice periods have increased substantially: Grounds 1 and 1A now require four months' notice (up from two months), and Ground 8 requires four weeks' notice (up from two weeks).

The 12-month marketing restriction on Grounds 1 and 1A merits particular attention. Reletting or remarketing within 12 months of obtaining possession using these grounds constitutes an offence, for which an authority may impose a penalty of up to £40,000. This restriction applies to any marketing activity whatsoever, including online advertisements, instructing agents, or any steps towards reletting.

From Phase 2 implementation (late 2026), courts will not be able to grant possession orders under any Section 8 ground unless the landlord has maintained compliant entries on the PRS Database throughout the relevant period. The only exceptions are Grounds 7A and 14, covering serious anti-social behaviour and nuisance where public safety concerns override administrative requirements.

These reformed grounds represent the only mechanisms landlords can use to regain possession from 1 May 2026 onwards, making understanding them essential for both landlords and local housing authorities.

4. Rent controls and tenant rights

All contractual rent review clauses become void from 1 May 2026, regardless of when the tenancy was created or what the contract stipulates. Landlords can only increase rent using the Section 13 statutory procedure, with two months' notice (increased from one month). No increases are permitted in the first 52 weeks of any tenancy. Where tenants challenge proposed increases at the First-tier Tribunal, the new rent takes effect only from the determination date - there is no backdating. This materially reduces the financial risk to tenants of challenging excessive increases, as they cannot accumulate arrears whilst awaiting the tribunal's decision.

Rental bidding is banned entirely from 1 May 2026. Landlords must advertise specific rents and cannot invite or accept offers above that amount, with breaches constituting offences attracting penalties up to £40,000.

Tenants also gain new rights regarding pet ownership. They may request permission to keep pets, which landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords must respond within 28 days and may require pet damage insurance as a precondition of consent, but blanket 'no pets' policies are effectively rendered unenforceable.

5. The information sheet deadline

Landlords must provide all existing tenants with prescribed information sheets about the Act's changes on or before 31 May 2026. This obligation applies to all existing tenancies, not merely those created after Phase 1 implementation. The government will publish the template in March 2026, giving landlords approximately two months to distribute it to all current tenants. Failure to provide the information sheet will be enforceable by financial penalty.

For authorities, this creates both an education imperative and an early enforcement opportunity. Authorities should run intensive landlord education campaigns through April 2026, making the deadline and consequences of non-compliance clear. When the government publishes the template in March, authorities should immediately notify all landlords and direct them to download it through all available communication channels. Complaint handling procedures should be prepared for implementation from June 2026 onwards, when non-compliance will become apparent.

Phase 2: Database and ombudsman

The private Rented Sector Database

From late 2026, the Private Rented Sector Database will require landlords to register themselves and their properties before marketing them. The enforcement mechanism is elegantly simple: courts cannot grant possession orders without compliant database entries, except for Grounds 7A and 14 (serious anti-social behaviour). Non-registered landlords cannot evict tenants, even for substantial rent arrears. This creates compelling compliance incentives without requiring resource-intensive proactive enforcement.

The private rented sector ombudsman

The Private Rented Sector Ombudsman will provide alternative dispute resolution for tenant complaints, with mandatory membership expected around 2028. Authorities will enforce membership requirements and coordinate with the Ombudsman on serious cases, creating a complementary enforcement framework where the Ombudsman handles complaints whilst authorities pursue regulatory breaches

Immediate actions for local authorities

1. As soon as possible

• Establish officer authorisation systems. Create authorisation templates specifying which powers each officer can exercise. Identify officers who need authorisation, typically those in private sector housing teams. Formally authorise them in writing. 
• Train authorised officers on procedural requirements: Serving information requirement notices, entering business premises and residential properties, seizing documents, accessing Council Tax and Housing Benefit data for enforcement purposes.
• Launch discrimination ban education. Many landlords remain unaware that discriminatory practices now constitute offences attracting penalties up to £40,000. Use all communication channels to alert them that 'No DSS' and 'No children' policies are illegal and make clear that mortgage conditions prohibiting benefit claimants do not provide a defence.
• Prepare investigation procedures for discrimination complaints.

2. Before 1 May 2026

• Launch comprehensive landlord education campaigns covering the abolition of assured shorthold tenancies, the prohibition on fixed-term tenancies, Section 21 repeal, Ground 1/1A restrictions (12-month protection period, four months' notice, 12-month marketing restriction), rent increase controls (contractual rent review clauses become void, Section 13 procedure only, no increases in first year), and the 31 May 2026 information sheet deadline.
• Prepare for the information sheet deadline. When the government publishes the template in March 2026, immediately notify all landlords and direct them to download it. Prepare complaint handling procedures for implementation from June 2026 onwards.
• Update tenant advice services with information about new rights: Tenants can terminate on two months' notice from 1 May 2026, landlords cannot use Section 21, tenants have pet request rights, and tenants can challenge rent increases without backdating.

3. From May 2026 onwards

• Begin monitoring information sheet deadline compliance from June 2026. Handle tenant complaints about non-receipt.
•  Build comprehensive landlord and property databases using council tax, housing benefit, licensing records, and tenancy deposit scheme data, ready for Phase 2 database implementation (late 2026).
• Prepare for Phase 2: Develop procedures for enforcing the PRS Database registration requirements and Ombudsman membership requirements (expected 2028).

Creating sustainable capacity

The government has allocated £18.2 million to local housing authorities for 2025/26, with further new burdens funding expected for subsequent years. Authorities should note that this funding is time-limited and must be used to meet new burdens arising directly from the Act. Whilst this seed funding establishes initial capacity, sustainable enforcement requires a strategic approach combining government funding with income from financial penalties and rent repayment orders.

Authorities should use initial government funding to recruit core enforcement capacity and establish systems, then leverage penalty income to expand capacity progressively. This approach creates a self-sustaining enforcement model whilst ensuring compliance with funding restrictions

Conclusion

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 fundamentally transforms England's private rented sector, creating both unprecedented tenant protections and substantial new regulatory obligations. For local authorities, success requires immediate action: establishing officer authorisation systems without delay, developing comprehensive financial penalty policies before 1 May 2026, and launching intensive landlord education campaigns to prevent breaches before they occur.

Authorities that act now - systematically and strategically - can build effective enforcement capacity, strengthen tenant protection, and create sustainable regulatory frameworks that serve their communities effectively for years to come. The implementation timetable is fixed; the question is whether authorities will shape the transition proactively or respond reactively.