On 27 October the Renters’ Rights Act gained Royal Assent, meaning sweeping changes to landlords’ responsibilities to give greater rights to tenants.
The new legislation ends Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, giving tenants greater protection against unfair treatment and insecurity. Ministers say the reforms will deliver a fairer balance between landlords and renters, while maintaining confidence in the property market.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented on the impact of the new legislation: “For too long, millions of renters have lived at the mercy of rogue landlords or insecure contracts…we’re putting an end to that.”
Secretary of State for Housing, 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.
“For decades, the scales have been tipped against tenants. Now, we’re levelling the playing field between renters and landlords.
“We are building a future where tenants are protected, respected and empowered.”
The social housing sector gave a qualified welcome to the new legislation, including warning that resourcing must follow the measures to ensure they are enforced.
Mark Elliott, president of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:
“This Act is a step in the right direction, but needs to be accompanied by better resourcing for local authority housing enforcement teams.
“Environmental health practitioners play a crucial role in tackling poor housing conditions through formal and informal enforcement of legislation.”
David Smith, property litigation partner from Spector Constant & Williams clarified that the secondary legislation was required to fully implement the changes:
“While the Act is now on the statute books, the practical changes for landlords, agents and tenants will only follow once further regulations are made, which cannot happen in less than 28 days.
However, he added:
“Some limited provisions take effect automatically on 27 December 2025, including new investigatory and reporting powers for local authorities and a new duty not to discriminate against tenants with children or those receiving means-tested benefits.”
Smith said this last change “will have the most immediate impact. Letting agents and landlords should use the time now to review their policies and ensure staff training is in place before the new rules come into force.”
Morgan Vine, director of policy and influencing at Independent Age said:
“We welcome the Renters’ Rights Bill gaining Royal Assent. The rising number of older private renters, around a third of which are in poverty, desperately need a safe and secure home. Thankfully, today we are one step closer to this.
“Now, we need to see swift implementation of the Bill, including the end of no fault evictions and a limit to upfront payments.
“What the Bill won’t address, is the quality and affordability of rented homes. We need to see the UK Government commit to uprating Local Housing Allowance – the mechanism that decides how much Housing Benefit is paid – in the upcoming Budget, and every year in the future. With two-thirds of older private renters who receive Housing Benefit not getting enough to cover their rent, this is squeezing personal budgets to an unsustainable level. This must change.”
David Hawkins, partner & head of Real Estate London at Norton Rose Fulbright, said it was “a significant overhaul of the legislative landscape for residential landlords and tenants. Landlords will now need to register on a new private rented sector data base and could face criminal charges if they don’t keep properties up to standard.
“Landlords will need to prepare for more operational complexity, including the risk of longer empty periods between tenants, and potential delays in raising rents due to tribunal processes. In particular, the loss of fixed-term tenancies and tenants gaining the right to leave with two months’ notice could make managing occupancy trickier and create uncertainty around income.
“Keeping up with the new rules will take careful planning and active risk management”
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, commented:
“While it’s positive that we now have clarity, the path to full implementation will not be a straightforward one. Once the dust settles and the finer details are clear, we expect the sector to stabilise and confidence to return.”
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base, commented:
“ What’s vital now is that the Government resists the temptation to keep moving the goalposts. The private rented sector is essential to housing supply, and constant legislative change only fuels uncertainty. The focus should now be on supporting responsible landlords rather than penalising them.”
Sam Humphreys, head of M&A at Dwelly, commented:
“For landlords, this may feel like another legislative hurdle to overcome, but the reality is that many are already operating to the improved standards that have now been set in legal stone.
The focus now must shift to implementation and ensuring that landlords understand their new obligations, that tenants are properly protected, and that technology and process innovation are used to help ease the administrative load that will inevitably follow.”
Beverley Kennard, head of lettings operations at Knight Frank commented,
“Although the transition period may bring some adjustment, the core elements of the Bill remain largely the same: the abolition of Section 21, changes to notice periods, and a 12-month restriction on re-letting where a landlord has given notice to sell.
There’s a clear consensus that reform was necessary and overdue, but the optimism is tempered by caution, frustration, and realism about the challenges ahead.