Top 4 Things Landlords Must Do To Get On Top of the Renters Rights Act

England’s rental market changed significantly on 1 May 2026 when the Renters Rights Act officially came into force. The Act introduced major changes for landlords, including stricter tenancy rules, updated possession procedures, limits on rent bidding, and new compliance obligations that affect both existing and new tenancies.

For landlords, the biggest worry is that many of these changes come with strict penalties for getting things wrong. Using outdated tenancy agreements, missing notice requirements, or failing to provide the correct documents can lead to fines and regulatory scrutiny.

To help you stay compliant and avoid mistakes, here are four steps every landlord should take right.

1. Update Existing Tenancies

If you have tenants who moved in before 1 May 2026, this should be your first priority.

Under the new rules, landlords must provide existing tenants with written tenancy agreements with the government’s official information sheet explaining how the Renters Rights Act changes their tenancy. This must be done by 31 May 2026. Missing the deadline could result in fines of up to £7,000.

Landlords who only entered into verbal agreements with their tenants must provide them with a written record of their tenancy instead of the information sheet. This record must include the landlord’s name, address, rent details and repair responsibilities and must also be provided before 31 May 2026.

Because of the tight deadline (only about a week left), landlords should review all existing tenancy records now and make sure the correct documents have been issued to every tenant.

2. Ensure New Tenancies Are Fully Compliant

Any tenancy created after 1 May 2026 must comply with the Renters Rights Act from the start. There is no grace period. In practical terms, this means the tenancy agreement itself must now carry the full set of required legal information, like:

• Landlord name and address for service
• Rent amount and payment terms
• Repair and maintenance responsibilities
• All other mandatory statutory information

If your templates haven’t been updated, you are not just “behind the curve,” you are issuing documents that may already be non-compliant. That becomes critical later. Any gap or omission in the initial paperwork can undermine rent reviews, dispute resolution, and possession action.

This is why every landlord should treat tenancy documentation as operational infrastructure, not admin. If it’s not updated, nothing else downstream is reliable.

3. Review Rent Advertising & Tenant Application Processes

The Renters Rights Act tightens how rental properties can be advertised and how offers from tenants can be handled.

Landlords and letting agents must now set and publish a clear asking rent when marketing a property. Tenants cannot be encouraged to offer more, and landlords cannot accept bids above the advertised price. Additionally, landlords can no longer require new tenants to pay more than one month’s rent in advance.

Put simply, the aim is to remove rent bidding and make pricing transparent from the outset. Any wording that suggests “best offers,” encourages bidding, or hints at negotiating above the advertised rent should stop being used from now on.

4. Understand the New Possession Rules Under the Renters Rights Act

With Section 21 now abolished, landlords can no longer regain possession through a no-fault eviction. Instead, all possession claims must now be made under Section 8, meaning landlords must rely on specific legal grounds and follow a more formal court-based process using the correct assured tenancy forms.

In practice, this shifts possession from a straightforward notice procedure to a structured legal process where the outcome depends on selecting the correct ground, serving the correct notice, and ensuring all documentation is fully compliant.

Meanwhile, student lets are treated slightly differently through a specific possession route known as Ground 4A. This ground is designed to support the cyclical nature of student accommodation, where properties need to be cleared in time for the next academic year.

However, this flexibility is temporary. Landlords can only benefit from shorter notice periods under Ground 4A if tenants are formally notified before 31 May 2026. After 30 July 2026, standard longer notice periods will apply in all cases, removing this short-term flexibility.

Conclusion

The Renters Rights Act isn’t just another regulatory update, it represents a shift in how the private rented sector is expected to operate going forward. The emphasis is now firmly on structure, transparency, and documented compliance at every stage of a tenancy.

For landlords, that means the days of informal processes and “fix it later” paperwork are effectively over. The strongest position to be in now is one where your systems, templates, and processes already align with the rules, so compliance becomes routine, not reactive.

Those who adapt will not only reduce legal and financial risk, but also gain something more valuable in a tightening market: stability and predictability in how their portfolios are managed.