The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, and it is the biggest change to private renting in England since 1988. Section 21 “no-fault” eviction has been abolished. Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies no longer exist — every private tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy that rolls month to month. Rent can be increased only once a year, using a prescribed form, with two months’ notice. If you let property in Guildford or anywhere else in England, all of this already applies to you, whether your tenancy started last week or in 2019.
This is the overview. Each section below links to a fuller article where the detail matters.
Section 21 has gone, and Section 8 is the only route now
Since 1 May 2026 you cannot serve a Section 21 notice. Every possession claim has to rely on a specific Section 8 ground, and you have to be able to evidence it. The grounds landlords use most are Ground 1 (you or a close family member moving in), Ground 1A (you are selling), and the rent arrears grounds.
Two things catch people out. First, Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and they require four months’ notice — so from the day a tenant moves in, you are realistically 16 months away from vacant possession on those grounds. Second, if you recover possession under Ground 1 or 1A you cannot re-let the property for 12 months. We have written up how the 16-month trap works in practice and which Section 8 grounds actually get used.
Rent arrears notices are shorter — four weeks — but the arrears threshold and the court timetable both changed, and the official possession figures show claims taking around 34 weeks from issue to order nationally. There is no faster local route through Guildford’s county court than anywhere else.
Fixed terms are gone
There is no such thing as a 6-month or 12-month private tenancy any more. All tenancies are periodic, with a rent period of no more than a month. Tenants can leave by giving two months’ notice at any point. Attempting to grant a fixed term is itself a breach, attracting a civil penalty of up to £7,000. If you are wondering what happened to your existing agreement, this explains the transition.
Rent increases: once a year, prescribed form, two months’ notice
Rent can be raised once in any 12-month period, by serving the revised Section 13 notice, giving at least two months before the new rent starts. Rent review clauses in older agreements no longer work — they are simply unenforceable. The tenant can refer the increase to the First-tier Tribunal, which can confirm your figure or set a lower one, but never a higher one. You cannot penalise a tenant for challenging.
The practical consequence is that evidence matters more than instinct. Pricing an increase so it survives scrutiny is now a core landlord skill, and the fee a tenant pays to challenge changed on 13 July 2026.
Money up front is capped
You can ask for a maximum of one month’s rent in advance, and you cannot take any rent at all before the agreement is signed. Rental bidding is banned outright: you must advertise a rent, and you cannot invite or accept offers above it. Deposits remain capped as before and must still be protected. See the rent in advance rules in full.
You cannot discriminate against benefits claimants or families
Refusing to let to someone because they receive benefits, or because they have children, is unlawful and carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000. That includes indirect refusals — “no DSS” wording, or affordability rules set so that benefit income is effectively excluded. It also covers instructions given to an agent on your behalf.
Pets have to be considered properly
A blanket “no pets” clause is unenforceable. A tenant can request to keep a pet, you must respond within 28 days, and you can only refuse for a reason that is actually reasonable — a leasehold prohibition, for instance. What counts as a reasonable refusal is worth reading before you answer one.
Paperwork: the written statement of terms
For any tenancy starting on or after 1 May 2026, you must give the tenant a written statement of terms before the agreement is entered into. Existing tenants with pre-May agreements should have received the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 instead. Getting this wrong is a £7,000 civil penalty and, separately, the reason a lot of otherwise careful landlords are exposed. Full detail in our guide to the written statement.
What is still coming
The Act is being implemented in phases, and three more matter to you.
The Private Rented Sector Database. Mandatory registration of landlords and rented properties begins from late 2026, phased in, with public access following. You will not be able to obtain possession through the courts without being registered. What you will need to register.
A landlord Ombudsman. Membership becomes mandatory for private landlords, expected in 2028, with the scheme administrator appointed well in advance.
Standards. Awaab’s Law will be extended to private rentals following consultation, with the commencement date still to be confirmed — what to do before it arrives. A Decent Homes Standard for the private sector is proposed for 2035 or 2037, and minimum EPC C is targeted for 2030. EPC C is the one with a real cost attached.
The enforcement picture, briefly
Local authorities can now issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for breaches and up to £40,000 for offences, without going to court. A breach left unremedied for 28 days after a penalty escalates to the £40,000 tier. Repeat breaches within five years double the starting point. Rent repayment orders have also been extended to superior landlords. The full penalty schedule is here.
What to do this month
If you only do three things: check every tenancy has either a compliant written statement of terms or a served Information Sheet; stop using any rent review clause and diarise a single annual Section 13 date per property; and make sure your gas, EICR and EPC records are somewhere you can produce them at short notice rather than on a whiteboard. Whether that is a job you want to keep doing yourself is a fair question to ask now.
Two related pieces worth reading. If you’ve become a landlord unintentionally, what the Act means for accidental landlords. And on the transition itself — the Section 21 deadline of 31 July 2026 and where landlords stand once it has passed.
General information, not legal advice. Property Lounge, Guildford.
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