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- Assured Shorthold Tenancies (“AST”) will become assured periodic tenancies (no more fixed term tenancies) in the private rented sector (“PRS”).
- Any rent increases will be limited to once per year and the procedure under s13 of the Housing Act 1988 must be followed giving at least two months’ notice.
- No fault evictions will be abolished under s21 of the Housing Act 1988 in the PRS.
- New ban on rental bidding wars thus limiting the rent to the advertised price.
- New ban restrictions limiting rent to one months’ rent in advance.
- New rules being introduced against discrimination in respect of those with children/those in receipt of benefits.
- Tenants will have right to request pets which must consider reasonably. Strict deadlines for a response will also apply.
- Reform of possession grounds including new grounds and changes to others
- Strengthen enforcement powers and rent repayment orders including expanding civil penalties and rent repayment orders. New investigatory powers already came into force on 27 December 2025.
As a result, there is a likely to be a push for anyone wishing to recover possession under the no fault eviction process in the PRS to start that process now. In respect of the social rented sector, the changes are not likely to come into force until at least 2027.
The Government has produced a roadmap of the key changes and their implementation which can be found here. This includes the following:
- January 2026 – Government to provide draft wording for tenancy agreements which will be created after 1 May 2026.
- March 2026 – Government to publish an information sheet which must be issued to existing/current tenants regarding the forthcoming changes on or before 31 May 2026.
- April 2026 – Government to issue guidance to tenants on what changes will mean for them.
- 30 April 2026 – last day landlords can serve a s21 notice.
- 1 May 2026 onwards – all new tenants to be given certain information about their new tenancy before it is granted – this could be by way of a written tenancy agreement.
- 31 May 2026 – deadline for serving information leaflet on existing tenants, written summary of main terms to be given to all existing tenants and notifying students that a landlord may use new Ground 4A to recover possession.
- Spring/Summer 2026 – new financial penalties for Category 1 hazards (following updated guidance).
- 31 July 2026 – deadline to issue possession claim based on a s21 notice.
- From late 2026 –PRS database goes live – this will contain key information relation to tenancies and will have a phased/regional roll out and assist landlords, tenants and councils.
- From late 2026 – Landlord Ombudsman for the PRS to be established to improve dispute resolution without court proceedings and likely require landlords to be members in 2028.
- April/May 2027 – deadline Government expects for the end-to-end digitisation of the courts to simplify the process for obtaining possession.
Currently, whilst mentioned in the Act there are no dates set for introducing Awaabs Law to the PRS. The Decent Homes Standard could be brought into force in either 2035 or 2037. Both are designed to improve the standard of housing but are subject to further consultations. Key to this is reviewing the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (“HHSRS”) which could possibly take place in Spring/Summer 2026.
Following the introduction of the reforms, in May 2028 the Government will then publish an initial evaluation of the impact of the Act and another one in May 2031. There are also various discussions on a new body to decide initially if any rent increase is within market rates.
Clearly landlords in the PRS have a lot of changes to contend with in 2026 and it remains to be seen what the overall effect will be on the rental market as a whole.
If you need assistance recovering possession of a property or and have any property related questions, please feel free to speak with one of our real estate dispute lawyers to discuss your options. You can send us an email or call +44(0)3333 231580.
