Government publishes implementation roadmap for Renters' Rights Act 2025

Posted Friday 14th November 2025

Following our recent article, Renters’ Rights Act: key takeaways for landlords, the Government has now published a ‘roadmap’ detailing the phases of implementation of the Renters’ Right Act 2025. In conjunction with our initial insight, we have outlined the updates along with the key dates to remember.

Crucially, the Government has confirmed that, provided that a landlord serves a valid section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, they will have until 31 July 2026 to issue possession proceedings. After 1 May 2026, a landlord will not be able to serve a section 21 notice and they will instead need to rely on the amended grounds in section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 if they wish to obtain possession of their property.

Landlords should therefore consider serving section 21 notices within the next five months (i.e. before 1 May 2026) if they want to regain possession of their properties before the implementation phases commence.

From 1 May 2026, the following will be phased in:

• Abolishment of section 21 “no fault” evictions
• Most tenancies will become Assured Periodic Tenancies
• Broadened reform of possession grounds under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988
• Rent increases limited to once per year, with two months’ notice required
• Ban on rental bidding and advance rent beyond one month
• Discrimination against renters with children or those receiving benefits will be illegal
• Landlords must consider pet requests and provide valid reasons for refusals
• Strengthened local council enforcement and Rent Repayment Orders

From ‘late 2026’, the Government aims to roll out a new Private Rented Sector (“PRS”) database and Ombudsman service which will occur in two stages:

• Stage 1 involves mandatory registration for all PRS landlords, requiring them to provide property and safety details, and pay an annual fee (fee to be confirmed). The database will include information on the property’s address, type, number of rooms, occupancy status and relevant safety certificates.
• Stage 2 introduces public access to the database and establishes the Ombudsman service which will offer redress for tenants and support for landlords in managing tenant complaints. Membership of the Ombudsman service will be mandatory for landlords by 2028, with sufficient notice to be provided before implementation.

Additionally, the Decent Homes Standard being implemented into the private rental sector is proposed to come into force on or after 2035 with further implementation updates to be confirmed in relation to Awaab’s law.

If you would like to discuss these changes with us, you should not hesitate to contact the Property Litigation team.

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This article is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.

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