Renters' Rights Act landlord checklist

Last reviewed 3 October 2026 · Published by madeofmango · Covers England

This checklist is for landlords letting in England, where the Act applies. It summarises GOV.UK guidance and is not legal advice. Dates and rules can change, so check the GOV.UK pages listed under Sources before you act.

What changed

GOV.UK says these changes came into effect on 1 May 2026:

• Tenancies. All existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, and new tenancies are assured periodic tenancies. They run on a rolling basis, for example monthly, and cannot have an end date.
• Section 21. You cannot use the Section 21 process to evict. You need a legal reason (a ground for possession) and a Section 8 notice. If you need to sell or move into the property, you cannot evict for that reason within the first 12 months of a tenancy.
• Rent increases. Once a year at most, using Form 4A with at least 2 months’ notice. Tenants can challenge a proposed increase above open-market rent.
• Advertising and bidding. If you advertise, you must publish an asking price. You cannot encourage bidding or accept offers above the advertised rent.
• Rent in advance. You cannot ask for, encourage or accept rent before you and the tenant have signed the tenancy agreement.
• Who you let to. You cannot discriminate against potential tenants who are on benefits or who have children.
• Pets. A tenant can ask to keep a pet, and you can only refuse for a valid reason.
• Written information. GOV.UK said landlords with a written tenancy agreement had to give existing tenants the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, and landlords with a verbal agreement had to give written information about the key terms by the same date. If you are unsure that was done, ask your agent and check the GOV.UK pages.
• Enforcement. Councils have new powers to investigate, and the maximum rent repayment order a Tribunal can make has increased from 1 to 2 years’ rent.

Payments that landlords and agents may and may not charge tenants are covered by the Tenant Fees Act, and GOV.UK’s statutory guidance on it was updated for the Renters’ Rights Act.

What is coming

• Landlord registration. GOV.UK’s Housing Hub says landlords of assured or regulated tenancies must register themselves and each property through the ‘Register your rental property’ service, with an annual £65 fee per property. It rolls out by region from 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands, with a 3-month registration window once each region’s start date arrives. The published start date for London is 15 July 2027, with a registration deadline of 14 October 2027. The deadline follows the property’s location, not where the landlord lives.
• Your agent can help but cannot replace you. GOV.UK says you must start the registration yourself, and that you can agree for your agent to provide certain information on your behalf while you remain responsible for it. The information asked for includes whether the property needs an HMO, additional or selective licence, and gas, electrical and energy performance certificates.
• Landlord ombudsman. GOV.UK’s roadmap, published in November 2025, says a new private rented sector landlord ombudsman will follow the database and that it expects landlords to be required to join in 2028. Treat that as an expectation, not a fixed date, and check GOV.UK for updates.
• Later phases. The same roadmap says it will extend Awaab’s Law to private renting and is considering the details and timing of a Decent Homes Standard. It gives no confirmed dates for either.

What to ask your agent

• Have all my tenancies been moved onto the periodic basis, and did each tenant get the Information Sheet or the written terms? Can I see the record?
• When we change rent, how do you handle Form 4A and the notice period, and how do you decide the figure?
• How do you advertise a property now that bidding is not allowed, and how do you take holding payments and deposits within the Tenant Fees Act?
• If I want to end a tenancy, which ground for possession could apply, and how will you handle the Section 8 notice and court process? Is that in my fee or extra?
• Will you help me register on the landlord service, which information will you supply, and does that cost extra? What do I still have to do myself?
• How do you track gas, electrical and energy certificates and any HMO licence, since they are needed for registration?
• What changed in your terms of business and published fees because of the Act?

More on weighing agents: how to choose a letting agent, letting agent fees and fully managed vs let-only. If you let a shared house, see letting agents for HMOs.