Oct 28, 2025
The Renters' Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 at 7:40pm, becoming the Renters' Rights Act. The Act delivers on the government's Plan for Change manifesto commitment to rebalance the relationship between England's 2.3 million landlords and 11 million tenants.
At the core of the Act is the abolition of Section 21 'no fault' evictions. Section 21 allows landlords to evict tenants without having to give any reason for doing so, with just two months' notice.
Recent statistics show the scale of Section 21 use: 11,402 households were evicted by bailiffs using the accelerated procedure (Section 21) in England between July 2024 and June 2025, according to government mortgage and landlord statistics.
32,287 households in England were served with a Section 21 or 'no-fault' eviction notice in 2024 – a 7% increase from the previous year, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice released in February 2025.
The Act introduces the following protections for renters:
The reforms will give renters the right to end tenancies with two months' notice, while protecting legitimate landlord interests through strengthened repossession grounds that support continued investment in the sector.
Renters will be able to challenge unfair rent increases. The Act will end the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent, and will stop landlords from demanding more than one month's rent upfront.
Tenants will be able to ask to keep a pet - something landlords can't say no to without a good reason. To support this, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.
The Act will tackle discrimination head-on, banning landlords and agents from refusing tenants because they have children or receive benefits.
The Act will apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities.
The Act will apply Awaab's Law to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.
A new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman will offer swift, binding resolutions to tenants' complaints. The service will offer fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants and will have powers to compel landlords to issue an apology, provide information, take remedial action and/or pay compensation.
A Private Rented Sector Database will be created to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance (giving good landlords confidence in their position), alongside providing better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement.
The Act will strengthen local authority enforcement by expanding civil penalties, introducing a package of investigatory powers and bringing in a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity.
Rent repayment orders will be strengthened by extending them to superior landlords, doubling the maximum penalty and ensuring repeat offenders have to repay the maximum amount.
The average rental price for a new tenancy in the UK was £1,343 in September 2025, according to the HomeLet Rental Index. Excluding London, the UK average was £1,141.
Average rent was highest in London (£2,249) and lowest in the North East (£733) in May 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics.
UK rents for new lets are 2.4% higher as of July 2025, the lowest annual rate since 2020, according to Zoopla's Rental Market Report published in September 2025.
Since 2019, when the Government first promised to end Section 21, 84,650 households have sought homelessness support after receiving an eviction notice, according to statutory homelessness data analysed by Homeless Link.
In the coming weeks, ministers will outline how the reforms will be rolled out.
The Government has yet to announce its implementation timeline – the dates on which parts of the Act will come into force. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook is on record as saying landlords and tenants will be given 'sufficient notice'.
The Act gives the Secretary of State complete freedom to set the Commencement Date for the new tenancy system.
Two months after Royal Assent (27 December 2025) is the date when investigatory powers for local authorities are due to come into effect.
When the Act comes into force – its 'commencement date' – changes will include: The abolition of Section 21 and the introduction of new Section 8 possession grounds; both new and existing tenancies becoming periodic by default in most cases; the new requirement to provide a written tenancy agreement; bans on taking rent in advance and allowing rental bidding wars; and changes to rent increases.
Other parts of the Act will need 'secondary legislation' – regulations put to Parliament – to be introduced. These include: the introduction of a new landlord ombudsman; the development of a private rented sector database including landlords' details; the extension of a Decent Homes Standard into the PRS; and the introduction of Awaab's Law, regarding treatment of damp and mould.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Every family deserves the dignity of a safe and secure home. For too long, millions of renters have lived at the mercy of rogue landlords or insecure contracts, with their futures hanging in the balance. We're putting an end to that".
Secretary of State Steve Reed said: "Our historic Act marks the biggest leap forward in renters' rights in a generation. We are finally ending the injustice overseen by previous governments that has left millions living in fear of losing their homes".
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: "After years of debate and uncertainty, today marks an important milestone for the private rented sector. With the Renters' Rights Act now on the statute book, the sector needs certainty about the way forward. This is the most significant shake-up of the rental market in almost 40 years".
Tom Darling, Director of the Renters' Reform Coalition (which includes Shelter, Generation Rent, Citizens Advice and ACORN), said: "The members of the Renters' Reform Coalition have been campaigning for this generational upgrade to renters' rights for a decade, so today is fantastic news for England's 12 million renters".
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