The Renters' Rights Act, six months on: what's changed for agents

What's happening

On 1 May 2026, the tenancy reforms in the Renters' Rights Act came into force. Every assured shorthold tenancy in England became a periodic tenancy, section 21 was abolished, and new rules arrived on rent increases, rent in advance, rental bidding and pets.

Six months on, the dust is settling, but the questions haven't stopped. The ones we keep hearing from landlords are telling:

• "My tenant gave notice the day they moved in. Can they do that?"
• "Is there a minimum tenancy length?"
• "My old agreement says one month's notice. Does that still apply?"
• "Is there a cap on rent increases?"

Every one of those is a question a landlord will bring to their agent. And the agent who can answer it with confidence is the agent who keeps the instruction.

Who it affects

Letting agents, property managers and the landlords they work for. And the workload is real: in a September survey of 300 lettings professionals by Propoly, 73% said their admin had increased since May.

The Good

The rent increase process is now clear and fixed. Rent can go up once a year, to market rent, using a section 13 notice with at least two months' warning. If a tenant disagrees, the agent can point straight back to that process. And if the tenant takes it to the First-tier Tribunal, the tribunal decides the market rent, but the tenant will never pay more than the landlord asked for. Early decisions suggest the tribunal gives real weight to actual lettings evidence, so agents with good comparables are in a strong position.

There's an opportunity here too. In a September survey of 525 self-managing landlords by Rushbrook, 57% said they were reconsidering whether to keep managing their properties themselves. The top reason for considering an agent? Keeping up with legislation and compliance.

The Bad

The biggest fear I hear from landlords is simple: "Will I ever get my property back?"

The honest answer is yes, but it takes longer and needs a proper reason. A landlord who wants to sell or move in must give four months' notice, and can't get possession on those grounds in the first 12 months of a tenancy. For rent arrears, the tenant must owe at least three months' rent (13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly), with four weeks' notice. And it's slow: one analysis this summer put the median time to get a property back at around 26 weeks.

Meanwhile, tenants can leave with two months' notice at any time, including, as one landlord found, on the day they move in.

The Ugly

Getting it wrong now costs real money, and not just for landlords. Councils can fine landlords and letting agents up to £7,000 for a breach of the new rules, such as still offering a fixed-term tenancy, and up to £40,000, or prosecute, for serious or repeated breaches.

The risk is in the detail: old tenancy templates still lurking on the system, rent taken in advance when it shouldn't be, or a rent increase served the old way.

What to do now

1. Build every landlord a possession-ready file. Rent records, inspection reports, photos and correspondence, kept up to date. If a ground for possession is ever needed, the evidence is already there. It's the best answer to the fear landlords have most.
2. Get landlords ready for the PRS Database. It opens on 15 December, starting in the West Midlands, and registration costs £65 a property each year. Gather each landlord's gas, electrical and EPC certificates now, and be the agent who made it easy.
3. Spot-check your first six months. Pick five tenancies that started since May and check them properly: was the written statement of terms given before the tenancy was entered into, was the first rent payment taken at the right time, and were any pet requests answered in writing within 28 days? Small slips now become fines later.
4. Set up a rent review calendar. Note each tenancy's anniversary, and gather comparables before you serve a section 13 notice.
5. Train the team on the questions landlords actually ask. Confidence in the answers is what keeps instructions.

Still waiting to hear

• The PRS Database rollout, region by region, from 15 December 2026 to November 2027.
• The new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, expected in 2028.
• When Awaab's Law will extend to private rentals. The government is consulting until 18 December 2026, and no start date has been set.
• The Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector, expected in 2035.

The Renters' Rights Act runs right through the lettings pathway of the Propertymark Qualifications Level 3 Certificate in Property Agency, because knowing the "why" is what lets agents answer landlords with confidence.

Questions? Email claudia@letiq.co.uk

Sources: GOV.UK: Grounds for possession guidance for landlords and letting agents, Housing Act 1988, s.16I (penalties up to £7,000), Housing Act 1988, s.16K (penalties up to £40,000), GOV.UK: PRS Database, GOV.UK: Awaab's Law consultation, LegalforLandlords analysis (Property Reporter), Rushbrook survey (Letting Agent Today)

Claudia Brown, Director, LETiQ