Lettings law · England · updated 29 September 2026 · updated September 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, a guide for letting agents
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the law that abolished section 21 and moved every private tenancy in England onto periodic terms on 1 May 2026.
This guide sets out what is already in force, what is still coming, what letting agents can be fined for personally, and what to change in your office this week.
01 · Bill to Act
What is the Renters’ Rights Act?
If your website, tenancy packs or landlord emails still say “Renters’ Rights Bill”, they are out of date.
The Renters’ Rights Bill finished its passage through Parliament on 22 October 2025 and received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025.
It is now the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, chapter 26, and the government is bringing it in over three phases.
It applies to England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rental law, so nothing on this page describes the rules there.
The biggest change for letting agents came on 1 May 2026: no more section 21, no more fixed terms, and new rules on adverts, rent and who you can turn away.
02 · Implementation
When the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force
Status as at 29 September 2026, from GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and the House of Commons Library.
Some of the Act is already law, some has a date, and some has no date at all.
Dates for the rental property register come from draft regulations that still need Parliamentary approval, so treat them as the plan rather than settled law.
03 · In force since 1 May 2026
Six rules that change a letting agent’s day
Pick a topic. Each tab says what the rule is and what it means at the front desk.
Most of these rules apply to landlords and to anyone acting for them, which includes letting agents.
They bite hardest at the points letting agents control: the advert, the first phone call, the offer and the move-in money.
04 · Before and after
Letting a property before and after 1 May 2026
The quickest way to brief a new negotiator, or a landlord who has not let for a while, is side by side.
Every row on the right comes from GOV.UK guidance or the Act itself.
05 · The advert and the phone call
Rental bidding is banned. Rewrite the script.
Section 56 is easy to breach by accident, because it applies to what is said as well as what is written.
A negotiator who tells a caller “we have had a higher offer” may be encouraging a bid, even if the advert is perfect.
Councils enforce the ban, and complaints about letting agents can also go through the agent redress schemes.
Brief everyone who answers your phone, including any outsourced or AI call handling, to give one answer: the advertised rent is the rent.
06 · The section 13 process
How a rent increase works now
For a managing agent, rent reviews are now a diary job with a legal form, not a clause in the tenancy agreement.
Get the dates wrong and the increase is invalid, so the review date belongs in your lettings CRM, not in someone’s head.
Tenants can challenge an above-market rent, so evidence matters. An online rental valuation is a starting point, not the whole case.
07 · Fines
Letting agents can be fined personally
People acting for a landlord, including letting agents, can be fined, and one penalty can be shared jointly between several people.
Councils can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a “breach”, such as rental bidding or discrimination.
For an “offence” they can impose up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution. There is no statutory minimum.
A continuing breach, more than 28 days after a final notice, can add a further £7,000, and so can a repeat breach within five years.
Reletting or remarketing within 12 months of using possession ground 1 or 1A is an offence. “Remarketing” includes an agent telling someone the property is available.
08 · Coming 15 December 2026
The rental property register and your landlords
The private rented sector database, branded “Register your rental property”, opens region by region from 15 December 2026.
The landlord is legally responsible for registering, at £65 per property per year according to Propertymark’s summary of the government guidance.
Agents may upload some information, such as certificates, if the landlord agrees. That makes the register a service conversation with every landlord you manage.
Breaches of the database rules carry penalties of up to £7,000, and offences such as giving false or misleading information up to £40,000.
A later phase will make it unlawful to market a property unless the landlord and the property are registered, with identifiers shown in adverts. No date has been set.
The register is also a reason to talk to landlords you do not yet manage. See our guide to landlord lead generation.
09 · Self-check
Is your agency compliant with the Renters’ Rights Act?
Tick what your agency already does. Nothing is stored.
This list follows the GOV.UK guidance for landlords, tenants and councils.
It is a starting point for a conversation with your compliance lead, not a certificate.
10 · Where AI helps
Consistent answers on every call
An illustrative applicant question, answered the way the new rules require.
The Act does not mention AI, but it raises the cost of an off-script answer.
An AI assistant that answers your phones and portal enquiries can be set up to give the same compliant answer every time: the advertised rent, no talk of other offers, and no screening on children or benefits.
It can also capture the landlord who rings at 19:30 worried about section 21, and book them in with a negotiator.
It does not replace legal advice or your judgement. Read more in AI for letting agents UK and how to automate tenant enquiries.
Illustrative answer, not a recording of a real call. Your own rules and wording are set with you.
11 · Still to come
What the Act has not switched on yet
Several parts of the reform have a target year but no commencement date, and one has no date at all.
Plan for them, but do not tell landlords they are law yet.
12 · Action list
What to do this week
Five jobs, in the order we would do them. None needs new software.
If your systems cannot support them, our guides to letting agent software and property management software cover what to look for.
This page is general information about the law in England as at 29 September 2026, not legal advice. Check the GOV.UK guidance and take professional advice for specific cases.
FAQ · Renters’ Rights Act
Questions, answered
The things agents ask us first, in plain English.
Sources · every figure on this page