Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law

Described as the biggest shake-up to renting in England for more than 30 years, a new law giving tenants more rights was formally approved at the end of October.

The government still needs to confirm how – and when – each of the changes will come into force.

The new rules will affect more than 11 million people.

Properties will be rented on a “periodic” or rolling basis, rather than under a fixed 12 or 24-month contract.

That means that tenants who wish to remain can do so, which the government says will provide greater security.

Tenants who want to leave can give two months’ notice, rather than being tied in for a year or longer. The government says this will end “the injustice of tenants being trapped paying rent for substandard properties”.

The Renters’ Rights Bill – now known as the Renters’ Rights Act – applies to England. Scotland has had periodic agreements for tenancies since 2017, but Wales and Northern Ireland still allow fixed term contracts.

In the year to June 2025, more than 11,000 households in England had their homes repossessed by bailiffs following a Section 21 “no-fault” eviction.

The new law means that a landlord will not be able to sell or move into a property in the first 12 months after a tenancy begins.

After this, they will need to give four months’ notice.

However, it will still be possible for landlords to evict tenants in certain circumstances.

If they damage the property, commit antisocial behaviour, or fall significantly behind paying the rent – known as rent arrears – the landlord can give notice at any point.

Tenants will need to owe three months’ rent rather than two to trigger an arrears eviction.

Under the new rules, if a tenant does not leave after the four months’ notice period, a court will decide whether to order possession of the property.

Landlords will also no longer be able to evict tenants for complaining about poor conditions.

A “Decent Homes Standard” will be introduced, and the new “Awaab’s Law” will take effect.

Named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died after being exposed to mould in 2020 in his Rochdale home, this will require hazards to be repaired within a certain timeframe.

Landlords will need to give two months’ notice, and can only increase rent to “the market rate”.

If a tenant believes the amount is excessive, they can challenge the landlord at a first-tier tribunal, a type of civil court.

The Act will also end the practice of “bidding wars”, so new tenants cannot be asked to pay more than the advertised price.

The changes come as average UK monthly private rents increased by 5.5% to £1,354 in the 12 months to September 2025, according to a provisional estimate by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There are no changes to the rules of the protected deposit schemes currently operating in England to cover potential damages. The maximum a landlord can ask for to cover potential damages remains:

• five weeks’ rent – if the rent for the year is less than £50,000
• six weeks’ rent if the yearly rent is £50,000 or more

However, landlords will only be able to request one month’s rent in advance to secure a tenancy – or 28 days’ rent for tenancies with rental periods of less than one month.

It will be illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants who receive benefits or who have children.

However, landlords and agents will still be able to do reference and affordability checks before selecting a tenant.

A landlord must consider a request to have a pet and cannot “unreasonably” refuse.

Tenants will be able to challenge unfair decisions.

Landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.

Tenants in purpose-built student accommodation can be given two weeks’ notice to leave.

This rule applies to specific institutional providers like university-owned accommodation or companies renting to students.

If a private landlord has been renting a house of multiple occupation to students – where the tenancy was agreed at a maximum six months before the tenancy started – landlords can evict them to allow for new tenancies.

All the residents on the contract need to be students and the landlord needs to give four months’ notice.

The Renters’ Reform Coalition – which includes Shelter, Generation Rent and Citizens Advice – welcomed the changes, calling them a “generational upgrade to renters’ rights”.

The St Mungo’s homeless charity said the government had taken a “positive, tangible step towards ensuring everyone has somewhere safe and secure to call home”.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said it will work with the government to ensure the rules are implemented in a way “that is fair, proportionate and deliverable”.

But it said the new rules will mean prospective tenants are screened much more carefully. “We’re going to have to look very, very carefully at what the risk is of those new tenants,” said the organisation’s Chris Norris.

“That’ll be to do with their ability to pay the tenancy, their background, whether they’ve got county court judgments against their name, whether they’ve had a good experience of renting in the past”.

He added landlords were still “nervous” about what will happen in the minority of cases where tenancies go wrong, and warned that the court system may struggle to deal with those wanting to challenge evictions or rent increases.