As part of Henry Wiltshire’s continued service to our tenants, it is important that we make you aware of upcoming legislation which will affect landlords, tenants and the lettings market.

What is the Renters’ Rights Bill?

The Renters’ Rights Bill is the most significant reform the UK private rented sector (PRS) has seen since the Housing Act 1988.

The Government’s objective is to rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords by offering greater protection to tenants and ensuring landlords meet higher standards of responsibility.

When does the Renters’ Rights Bill come into effect?

The new legislation is set to come into law on 1st May 2026.

What does the Bill mean for tenancies?

The Renters’ Rights Bill will include the following:

  • Abolishment of the Section 21 (no fault eviction) – the Section 21 will be replaced by a more robust Section 8 notice, but landlords will only be able to regain possession under specific grounds. All evictions must be dealt with via the courts.
  • Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST) will be replaced by periodic tenancies – fixed term tenancies will no longer exist, and all tenancies will become monthly rolling tenancies. The tenancy will have no set end date and the tenant will be able to serve two months’ notice at any time during the tenancy.  Tenants will have a 12 month period from the start date where they are protected from eviction, except where there is a breach of the tenancy agreement
  • Due to the change to periodic monthly tenancies, advance payments for tenancies will no longer be permitted
  • Rent increases must be dealt with via the service of a Section 13 notice, which can be served annually, and the rent must reflect the market rate for the property. The tenant will have the option to refer the matter to the First Tier Property Tribunal if they believe the increased rent is unfair and they will make the final decision.
  • The advertised rent for the property must be the contracted price for the tenancy agreement, landlords/agents can no longer accept offers that exceed the advertised price.
  • Introduction of a Decent Homes Standard which will published and applied to the private rented sector to improve housing standards.
  • Pets – landlords will no longer be permitted to have a ban on pets in their properties, tenants will have the right to request a pet and landlords will only be able to refuse if the head lease prohibits pets. Landlords will be able to insist upon pet insurance for pet related damage.

You can obtain further information at the following Government website:
Guide to the Renters’ Rights Bill – GOV.UK

What will these changes mean for our tenants?

  • Your tenancy will be an ongoing monthly rolling tenancy until either you or the landlord serve notice and there will no longer be a fixed tenancy term or end date, so we will no longer contact you regarding renewal of tenancies
  • You can serve two months’ notice at any time to end your tenancy
  • The landlord can only serve notice under an appropriate ground of the Section 8 notice and the Section 21 notice will be abolished under the new legislation
  • The landlord can assess the rent for increase on an annual basis and can increase the rent in line with market comparables using a Section 13 notice
  • If you wish to have a pet in the property, you can request this and the landlord can not unreasonably refuse
  • If you are currently paying your rent in advance payments, from 1st May 2026 your rent payments will default to monthly payments going forward

These are the most notable changes however for more information you can refer to the Government website.  The new statutory legislation overrides any clause of your current contract.

Need More Information?

We hope that this provides a useful insight into the Renters’ Rights Bill.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to the team if you wish to discuss or have any questions at propertymanagement@henrywiltshire.com

Find Out More on GOV.UK