Loading Guild Resources
Loading Guild Resources
Loading Guild Resources
1 May 2026 is when the Renters' Rights Act starts for the private rented sector in England. Section 21 goes, fixed terms change, and rent review clauses do not work in the old way.
Most of this is admin. Deal with it now, and the switch is manageable. Leave it late, and you will be working out the new rules in the middle of a dispute.
If you have an existing assured or assured shorthold tenancy created before 1 May 2026 with a written record, plan now to give the government Information Sheet 2026 to the tenants between 1 and 31 May. The government says you must give the actual PDF, not a link. You can hand it over on paper or send it as an attachment.
Signable or DocuSign-type platforms are not ideal because (a) they provide a link, not the actual document (contrary to the government guidance), and (b) the Information Sheet is not something tenants are "agreeing to". It just needs to be served, ensuring you can prove it was served by following the tenancy terms.
If there's a managing agent, both the landlord and agent should send the Information Sheet.
If the tenancy is wholly oral, this is not the right document. You need to give the written statement of terms instead.
From 1 May 2026, section 21 will no longer apply to most of the private rented sector in England. The government's new forms guidance confirms that some pre-1 May notices can still be used after commencement, but only within the transitional deadlines, often no later than 31 July 2026 if court proceedings have not already started.
Review any live section 21 or section 8 cases now. Miss the deadline, and you are into the new section 8 regime.
From 1 May, private rented sector rent increases move onto one route: section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, with at least two months' notice. The Renters' Rights Act makes contractual rent review clauses ineffective when they seek to raise the rent outside that process.
Use Form 4A. Do not improvise.
For the Guild's detailed explanation, see Rent increases from 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act.
After 30 April, possession means section 8 grounds and evidence. The government's Renters' Rights Act guide confirms that the sale and own-occupation grounds cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy and require four months' notice. It also confirms that the new Form 3A will serve as the possession notice for the sector from 1 May.
If you manage property yourself, read the new grounds. If you use an agent, check that they have changed their workflow.
The Act states that assured tenancies operate as periodic tenancies and that rent periods cannot exceed a month. Stop treating the fixed-term end date as your control point, and ensure rentals are calendar-monthly for simplicity going forward.
Existing written tenancies do not need to be reissued, but the practical change matters. Tenants can stay until they leave or you prove a ground for possession, and they can end the tenancy on two months' notice unless a shorter period has been agreed.
For the wider picture, see our Practical Guide for Landlords.
The Act gives tenants a route to ask in writing to keep a pet. Landlords must give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days unless there is a lawful reason to delay.
A blanket "no pets" approach is asking for trouble. Decide now who handles requests, what information you will ask for, and how refusal reasons will be recorded.
Schedule 6 to the Act says that for existing tenancies, you must give the tenant a written statement within the one-month period from commencement if you want to retain the option to use ground 4A for this year. Going forward, ground 4A cannot be used if the tenancy was agreed more than six months before the tenancy start date.
If you run student HMOs, do not leave this to casual paperwork. Read our student lettings guide and sort out your May service plan now.
Deposit compliance is no longer just a section 21 trap. The Act amends the Housing Act 2004 so that, in most cases, the court cannot make a possession order unless the deposit is being held in an authorised scheme and the relevant requirements have been met.
Check protection, prescribed information and tenant details for every live tenancy now, while you still have time to fix problems.
We cover the issue in more detail in Tenancy deposits under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
The government's implementation roadmap states that the PRS Database will start rolling out from late 2026, so you cannot register for it today. It will be mandatory, though, and government guidance states that landlords must be registered before they can use certain grounds for possession.
Use the run-up to 1 May to get your records in shape: landlord details, property details, safety documents and compliance evidence.
The same roadmap says that a private rented sector Landlord Ombudsman will be introduced in a later phase, and membership will be mandatory. It is not live for 1 May, but that is no reason to ignore it.
Use the next few weeks to tighten complaint handling, maintain proper records, and decide who handles tenant issues if you use a managing agent.
The landlords who get this right will not be the ones talking vaguely about reform. They will be the ones who have served the right papers, cleaned up their records, and stopped leaning on habits the Act has killed off.
Treat this as a checklist. Sort the ten points now, and 1 May becomes an admin day. Ignore them, and you will be firefighting.