The Renters' Rights Act is in force. Here is what actually changed

If you still talk about assured shorthold tenancies as if they are the normal product, you are already out of date in England. On 1 May 2026 the tenancy regime under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect. Existing ASTs converted to periodic assured tenancies. Section 21, the no-fault notice, stopped being a tool you could use.

That is the headline. The rest is slower and more annoying, which is how housing law usually works. You still have a property, a tenant, and rent coming in. You just cannot end the arrangement because you feel like it, and you cannot hide behind a fixed term that quietly rolls into another six months of the same old paperwork.

What actually changed on 1 May

Tenancies in the private rented sector are now periodic. There is no end date sitting in the agreement waiting to expire. The tenant can leave with two months' notice. You can only get the property back if a legal ground for possession applies, and you follow the Section 8 process.

People keep calling this "the rent act bill" in Facebook groups. The Act that passed is the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The old Rent Act 1977 is a different creature, mostly relevant to much older regulated tenancies. Mixing the two names in a letter to a tenant is a good way to look like you have not read anything since 2019.

Possession is now a reason plus evidence

Section 8 is not new. What is new is that it is the main door, not the backup door. Grounds cover things like serious arrears, antisocial behaviour, you or a close family member needing to live in the property, and selling in some cases. Notice periods and the exact grounds have been rewritten. You serve a Section 8 notice on the current form, then you wait, then you issue a claim if the tenant does not leave.

Courts still want to see that you did the boring jobs. Gas safety, electrical report, EPC, deposit protection, prescribed information, Right to Rent. If those are missing, a judge can refuse possession even when the arrears are real. That was already true for Section 21. It did not become optional just because Section 21 died.

Rent increases are a process, not a WhatsApp message

You cannot slide a new figure into a conversation and call it a review. The Act points you at a statutory route for putting rent up, with notice and a chance for the tenant to challenge it. If you have been doing handshake increases for years, stop. Put it in writing the way the regulations require, keep a copy, and do not pretend a thumbs-up emoji is a record.

Pets, written terms, and the rest of the pack

You should already have given tenants a written statement of key terms and the information sheet the government published. If a tenancy started after the changeover and that pack never went out, fix it. Do not wait for a complaint.

Pet requests are no longer a vibe check. Consent should not be refused without a decent reason, and insurance is usually a better conversation than a blanket ban. None of this means you have to accept a dog that the building's lease forbids. It means "we don't do pets" on a template is a weak position.

What is still coming

A landlord ombudsman and a private rented sector database are part of the same political project. Registration was not the 1 May switch. Treat those as later 2026 jobs, and watch the government timetable rather than a group chat rumour. Decent Homes style standards and tighter energy rules have their own dates. EPC C by October 2030 is the one landlords keep underestimating.

What to do this month

• Confirm every tenancy is being treated as periodic, not as a zombie AST.
• Find the current Section 8 form before you need it in a panic.
• File gas, EICR, EPC, deposit and Right to Rent in one place, per property.
• Stop using chat apps as the only record of rent, repairs and complaints.

If you want that file to live somewhere other than a laptop folder named "landlord bits", Tenlord was built for the reminders and the message trail. The law still sits with you. The admin does not have to.