Renters’ Rights Act 2025: What It Means for Landlords

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in nearly forty years.

Section 21 “no fault” evictions are gone. Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies have ended. Almost every existing tenancy in England has automatically converted into a new form of assured tenancy. If you let residential property in Cheshire, whether it’s a single buy-to-let in Winsford or a portfolio across the North West, the rules have changed underneath you, and several of the clauses in your existing tenancy agreements no longer have any legal effect.

This guide explains, in plain English, what the Act actually does, what it means for the way you run your tenancies day to day, and the practical steps to take.

What Is the Renters’ Rights Act 2025? (At a Glance)

Key Points

• Section 21 “no fault” evictions have been abolished.
• Existing assured shorthold tenancies have automatically converted to assured periodic tenancies.
• Possession is now only available through Section 8, on one of the strengthened statutory grounds.
• Rent can only be increased once a year, by Section 13 notice (Form 4A), with at least two months’ notice.
• Rent review clauses, fixed-term clauses and break clauses in existing agreements no longer have effect.
• Tenants have a statutory right to request a pet – landlords cannot unreasonably refuse.
• Landlords with existing tenancies must serve the official Information Sheet on every tenant within the deadline set by Government guidance, with civil penalties for non-compliance.
• Further phases – a Private Rented Sector Database, a Private Landlord Ombudsman, and an extended Decent Homes Standard are expected to be introduced in stages from later in 2026 and beyond.

What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Actually Does

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in October 2025, and its main tenancy reforms came into force on 1 May 2026.

It is the most significant overhaul of the private rented sector since the Housing Act 1988. The aim of the Act is to give tenants greater security and predictability. The practical effect for landlords is a substantially changed legal framework, with new obligations, new routes to possession, and considerably less contractual flexibility than before.

Implementation is in phases. Phase One: the tenancy reforms, is now in force. Later phases, covering the Private Rented Sector Database, the Private Landlord Ombudsman, the extended Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law, will follow over the coming months and years, with timing dependent on further secondary legislation.

The End of Section 21 Evictions and What Replaces It

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, the so-called “no fault” eviction notice, has been abolished for tenancies that have converted, and for all new tenancies granted after the commencement date.

In its place, landlords must now use Section 8, citing one or more of the statutory grounds for possession. These grounds have been expanded and rewritten by the Act. Some are mandatory (the court must grant possession if the ground is made out); some are discretionary (the court considers whether it is reasonable to grant possession).

The grounds most landlords will rely on in practice include:

• Ground 1 – landlord moving in. Available where the landlord, or a close family member, intends to occupy the property as their only or principal home. Cannot be used in the early months of the tenancy. After possession is recovered, the property cannot be re-let or marketed for a substantial period.
• Ground 1A – sale of the property. A new ground allowing possession where the landlord genuinely intends to sell, with similar restrictions on re-letting after possession.
• Ground 8 – serious rent arrears. The arrears threshold has been raised, and the required notice period has been extended.
• Ground 4A – student HMOs. A new ground allowing landlords of student HMOs to recover possession ahead of the new academic year, provided notice requirements are met.
• Ground 7A – serious anti-social behaviour. Notice periods have been shortened, giving landlords a faster route to possession in the most serious cases.

Misuse of a possession ground, for example, claiming Ground 1A and then re-letting the property within the restricted period, is a serious matter and can result in a Rent Repayment Order. The Act has expanded the scope of Rent Repayment Orders and significantly increased the maximum amount that can be ordered, so the financial consequences of getting this wrong are far greater than they used to be.

What Landlords Are Getting Wrong Right Now

Across the Cheshire portfolios I’m seeing day to day, the same handful of issues keep coming up:

• Assuming Section 21 is still a fallback. It isn’t. If a tenancy turns sour and you don’t have a clean Section 8 ground with the evidence to back it up, you don’t have a route to possession.
• Patchy or informal rent records. Cash rent, missed receipts, friendly arrangements with no paper trail are fine until you need to evidence three months of arrears in a Section 8 claim.
• Tenant communications by phone or in person, with nothing in writing. Without a written record, complaints, warnings and breaches are very hard to prove.
• Reliance on outdated tenancy agreement templates. Fixed-term clauses, break clauses, contractual rent review clauses, blanket “no pets” clauses are all unenforceable now, but still sitting in agreements that landlords think still bite.
• Not understanding which grounds are actually available. Different grounds have different qualifying periods, notice requirements and re-letting restrictions. Picking the wrong one (or the right one at the wrong time) can be a costly mistake.

Assured Periodic Tenancies: Fixed Terms Are Gone

Almost every existing assured and assured shorthold tenancy in England has now automatically converted into an assured periodic tenancy (APT). There is no need to issue a new agreement as the conversion happens by operation of law.

What this means in practice:

• Fixed-term clauses no longer have effect. If your tenancy agreement says “for a term of 12 months”, that wording carries no legal weight after commencement.
• Break clauses are redundant. Tenants can now end the tenancy at any time by giving two months’ notice (or less, if the agreement allows).
• Maximum rent period is one calendar month. You cannot demand rent quarterly or for longer periods in advance.
• Rent in advance is restricted. For new tenancies, you cannot require more than a single rental period in advance before the tenancy starts, and you cannot take rent before the agreement is signed.

The one significant exception to automatic conversion is if you served a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before the commencement date and possession proceedings have not yet concluded, the tenancy continues as an AST until those proceedings end. Transitional rules apply, with a backstop date by which possession proceedings must be issued. Landlords still relying on a pre-commencement notice should take advice promptly to make sure they don’t fall outside it.

AST vs APT: What’s Actually Changed?

Rent Increases Under the Renters’ Rights Act

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas of the new regime, and one where I would encourage every landlord to take advice before acting.

Under the Act:

• Rent can only be increased once every twelve months.
• Increases must be made using a statutory Section 13 notice (Form 4A).
• The tenant must be given at least two months’ notice of the increase.
• The proposed new rent must reflect the open market rent for comparable properties in the local area.
• Tenants have a formal right to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal.

Critically, any rent review clause in your existing tenancy agreement no longer has effect, including CPI-linked, RPI-linked or annual percentage uplift clauses. Even if the increase was agreed before commencement under a rent review clause, if it was due to take effect after that date, it is not permitted.

If you have been relying on contractual rent review provisions, those days are over. Future rent rises must go through the statutory process, every time.

The Renters’ Rights Act and Pets

Tenants now have a statutory right to request to keep a pet. Landlords have a short, prescribed period to respond in writing, and cannot unreasonably refuse.

A blanket “no pets” clause in an existing tenancy agreement is no longer enforceable. You can still refuse a particular request, for example, if the property is genuinely too small for the animal in question, if another occupant has a relevant allergy, or if the head lease (where the property is leasehold) prohibits pets, but the refusal must be reasonable and properly reasoned.

You are entitled to require the tenant to take out pet damage insurance, or to pay your reasonable cost of doing so.

The Information Sheet and Written Statement of Terms

Landlords with existing tenancies must serve the official Information Sheet on every tenant within the deadline set by Government guidance. The sheet is a Government-produced document that explains the changes brought in by the Act.

• For tenancies that are wholly or partly in writing, the Information Sheet is sufficient and you do not need to issue a new agreement.
• For wholly oral tenancies, you must instead serve a written statement of the terms by the same deadline.
• For new tenancies entered into after commencement, a written statement of key terms must be provided before the tenancy begins.

Local councils can impose civil penalties for failure to serve the Information Sheet, with significantly higher penalties for repeated breaches or for failure to provide a written statement for new tenancies. Service can be by email, post or in person but you must keep clear evidence of service. An audit trail is essential.

What’s Still to Come

The 1 May commencement is Phase One. Two further phases are expected to follow:

• Phase Two – expected from later in 2026, is set to introduce the Private Rented Sector Database (mandatory registration of all landlords and properties) and the Private Landlord Ombudsman (an independent dispute resolution service). Importantly, courts are expected not to be able to grant possession orders to landlords who are not registered on the database, where registration is required for the ground in question.
• Phase Three – timing not yet confirmed and currently expected to run into the next decade for some elements, is expected to extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, and Awaab’s Law, which sets strict timescales for dealing with damp, mould and other hazards, is expected to apply to private landlords.

If you let property in Cheshire and the wider North West, this is not a “wait and see” moment. The compliance burden is rising in clear stages, and the cost of falling behind in penalties, lost possession claims, and reputational damage, is rising with it.

Practical Steps for Cheshire Landlords

If you haven’t already done the following, this is the order I would suggest tackling them:

1. Audit your portfolio. List every active tenancy. Identify which are written, partly written or oral. Note which are now APTs and which (if any) are still ASTs because of pre-commencement notices.
2. Serve the Information Sheet on every tenant within the Government’s deadline, and keep proof of service.
3. Stop relying on void clauses. Don’t depend on fixed-term, rent review or break clauses in any existing agreement. They no longer carry weight.
4. Update your rent increase process. Build the Form 4A Section 13 procedure into your annual cycle, and start tracking comparable open market rents.
5. Tighten record-keeping. Without Section 21, evidence is everything. Rent ledgers, complaints logs, repair records and communications will determine whether a Section 8 claim succeeds or fails.
6. Review your adverts and listings. Remove references to fixed terms, “no DSS”, or large rent-in-advance requirements – these are no longer lawful for new tenancies.
7. Speak to your letting agent or managing agent. Make sure they are operating to the new rules.
8. Take advice early on edge cases. Student HMOs, mid-conversion tenancies, and pre-existing Section 21 notices all have transitional rules that are easy to get wrong.