The Renters' Rights Act's main provisions took effect on 1 May 2026, and almost all of the coverage was about Section 21. Six months on, the questions landing in our inbox aren't about possession at all. They're about the everyday stuff: can I put the rent up, can I take six months upfront, do I have to say yes to the dog. Here's where each of those stands, with the figures.
1. Rent increases: Section 13, once a year, two months' notice
If your tenancy agreement has a rent review clause, it is now decorative. Contractual rent reviews are unenforceable for new increases, and the only route for an assured periodic tenancy is a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. The rules:
- No more than one increase in any 12-month period.
- At least two months' written notice, taking effect at the start of a rent period.
- The tenant can refer the new rent to the First-tier Tribunal. The Tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed, even if market rent is higher.
- If it goes to the Tribunal, the new rent runs from the date of the Tribunal's determination, not from the date in your notice. It is not backdated.
The practical consequence is that a rent increase is now a dated event per tenancy, and a badly-evidenced one costs you months of the uplift. Before you serve, have three or four comparable listings saved. And put the anniversary in a system, not your head — a notice served a week early is a notice served again two months later.
2. Rent in advance: one month, and you can't make it more
This is the one catching student and overseas-applicant landlords. Under the Act, rent cannot be required before the start of the rent period it covers. In practice that means a maximum of one month in advance. The only pre-tenancy payment allowed is a refundable holding deposit of up to one week's rent.
- A tenant may choose to pay further ahead, but the tenancy agreement cannot require it.
- Where the agreement is signed before the term starts, the first period's rent can fall due after signing but before move-in.
- Existing tenancies that already required quarterly or annual payment keep those terms.
- Demanding a prohibited payment is a Tenant Fees Act matter: a financial penalty of up to £5,000 from Trading Standards.
If you used to take six months upfront instead of referencing, that option has gone for new tenancies. What's left is the thing it was standing in for: a proper reference, a guarantor where the applicant's own income or credit history is thin, or both.
3. Bidding wars: advertise a rent and stick to it
Any advert for an assured periodic tenancy must state the proposed rent, and you (or your agent) must not invite, encourage or accept offers above it. If you've got more demand than houses, the answer is to price correctly up front, not to run an auction after the viewings.
4. Pets: 28 days to answer, in writing, with reasons
Every assured periodic tenancy now carries an implied right for the tenant to keep a pet with the landlord's consent, which can't be unreasonably withheld. Mechanically:
- The request must be in writing and describe the animal.
- You have 28 days to respond. The clock can be extended if you reasonably need more information, need a superior landlord's consent, or the tenant agrees.
- A refusal must be in writing with reasons, and a tenant can challenge it.
- If your own lease (a flat, say) requires the freeholder's consent and you've taken reasonable steps to get it and failed, refusing is reasonable. If the superior lease has an absolute ban, you don't have to ask.
The easiest way to get this wrong is silence. A request that sits in an inbox for five weeks is a problem of your making. Decide a position for each property in advance, so the reply is a formality rather than a debate.
5. Written statement of terms: before the tenancy starts, not after
For any tenancy granted from 1 May 2026, section 16D of the Housing Act 1988 requires you to give the tenant a written statement of terms before the tenancy is entered into. The prescribed content comes from the 2026 regulations and includes the parties, the property, an address for service in England and Wales, the rent, and statements covering the rent-increase procedure, the pet right, and your repairing, gas and electrical safety obligations.
You can satisfy this by building the required terms into the draft tenancy agreement itself, as long as the tenant has time to read it before signing. Which is one more argument against the "sign here, keys are in my other hand" move-in.
For tenancies that already existed on 1 May, the duty was different: the government's Information Sheet should have gone to every tenant by 31 May 2026. If you missed that, send it now and keep a record of when and how. Local authorities can issue civil penalties for failing to provide the sheet or statement; published guidance suggests a starting point of £4,000, rising to £7,000 in some circumstances and up to £40,000 for repeated breaches.
Deposits haven't changed. The consequences have.
The cap is still five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 (six weeks at £50,000 or more). What's sharper is the link to possession: if the deposit wasn't protected and the prescribed information wasn't served, you can't get a possession order on anything except the serious anti-social behaviour and criminal grounds. Since Section 8 is now the only route to possession, a deposit admin slip from 2024 can block you in 2027.
What's still to come
| Measure | Status |
|---|---|
| Private Rented Sector Database | Rolling out in stages. Not expected to be fully operational before 2027. Once it applies to you, registration is required before you can get a possession order on most grounds. |
| Landlord Ombudsman | Compulsory membership expected from 2028 at the earliest. |
| Decent Homes Standard (private sector) | Government policy statement points to 2035. |
| Awaab's Law (private sector) | Date not confirmed; a further consultation is planned. |
| Enforcement | Civil penalties up to £7,000 for a first, less serious breach; up to £40,000 for serious or repeated ones. Councils received £41.12m of enforcement funding in April 2026, so expect them to use it. |
A six-month housekeeping list
- For every tenancy, note the date of the last rent increase (or the start date) and diarise the earliest next Section 13 date.
- Check no agreement template still relies on a rent review clause, a fixed term, or more than one month's rent in advance.
- Write down a pet position per property, including whether a superior lease constrains you.
- Make sure your new-tenancy pack includes the written statement content, and keep a dated record of sending it.
- Confirm the Information Sheet went to every pre-May tenant, and that you can prove it.
- Check every deposit is protected and the prescribed information was served, with the certificate on file.
Slatebase tracks compliance items per property with a red/amber/green status, and tenancy agreements signed through it keep a timestamped record of what was sent to whom and when. That record is the thing you'll want in front of a council officer or a Tribunal, and it's much nicer to have it generated than to reconstruct it from your sent folder.
This article is general information for landlords in England, correct to the best of our knowledge at the date of publication, and is not legal advice. Secondary legislation under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is still being made; check current GOV.UK guidance or take advice before acting on a specific tenancy.