Revealed: Renters’ Rights Act rollout plan

The Renters’ Rights Act is now law in England, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced a three-phase rollout beginning next May.

But while it wasn’t included in the roadmap, the first date to mark in your diary is actually 27 December. On this date, councils will get new investigative powers to help them enforce housing standards in the private rented sector. They’ll be able to enter business premises and privately rented homes with 24 hours’ notice or a warrant, and require agents and landlords to hand over documents relevant to their business. They can also question any property professionals who have worked with a property under investigation in the last 12 months, with the threat of a fine if they fail to answer or provide false or misleading information.

They’ll also have new powers to check whether your agency belongs to a Client Money Protection scheme, and use council tax, housing benefit and tenancy deposit scheme data to see if privately rented homes are overcrowded or unlicensed.

When do the Act’s other provisions roll out?

Many of the Act’s headline provisions are included in the first phase. On 1 May 2026:

• Section 21 “no fault” evictions will be scrapped. All existing fixed-term tenancies will be converted to rolling contracts.

• Landlords will be stopped from increasing rent more than once a year.

• Rental bidding wars will be banned, so landlords won’t be able to accept rental offers higher than the amount advertised, and landlords also won’t be able to ask tenants for more than one month’s rent in advance.

• Councils will be given stronger enforcement powers, including fines of up to £7,000 for landlords, and up to £40,000 for repeated breaches. Tenants will also get more rights to seek Rent Repayment Orders.

Phase 2 will kick in in late 2026. This includes the introduction of the Private Landlord Ombudsman, a free, independent service that will resolve tenants’ complaints against their landlords.  

Also in phase 2, the government will launch the Private Rental Sector Database, where landlords will have to register themselves and all their rented properties. Currently the plan is to roll it out region by region in two stages.

The third and final phase includes extending the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System will also be updated then, pending a public consultation. No timeframe for these measures has yet been shared.

However, the government has said it would soon respond to a consultation on the Decent Homes Standard and will give an implementation date at that time. As for the extension of Awaab’s Law, that has previously been projected for 2035.

Have agents’ questions been answered?

The government has also clarified what will happen to ongoing Section 21 notices after the 1 May deadline.

• Notices served using the Section 21 process that are already going through the courts as at 1 May 2026 will proceed as normal.

• If a Section 21 notice was served before 1 May but the landlord hasn’t started court proceedings, they can still start court proceedings under the current rules no later than 31 July 2026.

• After 31 July 2026, landlords can no longer use the Section 21 process, even if they served a Section 21 notice before May 1.

Landlords also won’t have to rewrite or reissue existing tenancy agreements when the Act comes into force. However, they will have to give their tenants an information sheet explaining the Renters’ Rights Act. The government hasn’t published this yet.

What the government hasn't done is address the capacity shortage in the court system. Courts will have to deal with much bigger eviction caseloads after 1 May, and they could be put under even more pressure in the short term if landlords rush to reclaim properties before the May deadline.

Dr Neil Cobbold, commercial director at Reapit, warns: “If an eviction is necessary, we need speedy action from the government to address worsening court delays. When landlords cannot regain possession quickly, it creates financial strain and reduces their confidence in the rental market. Longer timelines also affect tenants who may be stuck in unsuitable situations.”