Renters' Rights Act 2025: What London Landlords Need to Know

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the most significant change to the private rented sector in a generation. Its main provisions came into force on 1 May 2026: fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies have gone, Section 21 no-fault evictions have ended, a private rented sector database and a landlord ombudsman are on the way, and the Decent Homes Standard will follow. This guide explains what the Renters' Rights Act 2025 means for landlords now, which obligations already apply, and the steps responsible London landlords should take to protect both their income and their compliance position.

What the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes for landlords

The Act does not simply tighten existing rules. It reshapes the legal architecture of letting. Below are the core changes every London landlord needs to understand now that the main provisions are in force.

The end of Section 21 no-fault evictions

Section 21 has been the default route for ending an assured shorthold tenancy since 1988. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, no-fault Section 21 notices are abolished in full. To regain possession, a landlord must now rely on a strengthened set of Section 8 grounds: including selling the property, moving in, persistent rent arrears, and serious anti-social behaviour. Most grounds require evidence, notice periods of up to four months, and in many cases a possession hearing. For London landlords who have relied on Section 21 to manage turnover, this is a fundamental shift: possession is no longer something you can schedule, it is something you have to justify.

Some grounds are mandatory, if evidence is proven, the court must grant possession, and some are discretionary, meaning the court weighs the tenant's circumstances alongside the landlord's. Ground 1A (selling the property) requires four months' notice and twelve months to have passed since the tenancy began; Ground 8 (at least three months' rent arrears, or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly, on four weeks' notice) is mandatory, but the arrears must be at that level both when the notice is served and at the hearing, which tightens the window in which engagement with a tenant is still possible. The evidence standard is not onerous in most cases, but it is a standard, and landlords without organised records will find it harder to meet.

A shift to periodic tenancies

On 1 May 2026 all assured shorthold tenancies converted to a single system of assured periodic tenancies. There are no fixed terms, no break clauses, and no renewals in the traditional sense. Tenants can end the tenancy by giving two months' notice at any point. Landlords can only end the tenancy by serving a valid Section 8 notice on a permitted ground. In practical terms this means the 12-month renewal cycle most London landlords were used to has gone, and with it the predictable refurbishment and compliance windows that came with each check-out.

New rules on rent increases

Rent can only be increased once per year, by serving a Section 13 notice, and the new rent must reflect market value. Tenants have a statutory right to challenge any proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal, and the Tribunal can only confirm or reduce the rent, never increase it above what the landlord proposed. Rent review clauses and backdated increases written into older tenancy agreements are no longer enforceable. For landlords, this makes accurate initial pricing and annual rent reviews, informed by current comparable evidence, far more important than before.

Pets and reasonable requests

The Act introduces a statutory right for tenants to request a pet, and landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords are entitled to require a reasonable amount of pet insurance to cover damage, and they have a defined window to respond in writing. A blanket "no pets" policy does not survive the new regime. This is a modest change for landlords who already accept well-vetted pet owners, but a significant one for blocks with leasehold restrictions, where the landlord needs to evidence the block rule to refuse reasonably.

A new landlord ombudsman

All private landlords will be required to join a single landlord ombudsman, which is expected to open in 2028. Tenants will be able to bring complaints, about repairs, rent handling, deposit disputes, and communication, directly to the ombudsman without going to court. Its decisions will be binding and can require compensation, and failing to join will be a breach that can attract a civil penalty. This is the first time unmanaged private landlords will fall under a redress scheme equivalent to the one already covering letting agents. In practical terms, a tenant who has waited too long for a boiler repair, or who believes a deposit deduction is unreasonable, will have a free, low-friction route to redress that sits outside the courts.

A private rented sector database

Landlords and their rental properties will need to be registered on a new private rented sector database. Registration opens region by region from 15 December 2026, and London landlords and properties register between 15 July and 14 October 2027, at £65 per property per year. Landlords provide property and tenancy details and evidence of the gas safety certificate (where there is gas), the electrical safety certificate and the EPC. Once it is live, failing to register can lead to a penalty of up to £7,000.

The Decent Homes Standard extended to private rentals

The Decent Homes Standard, which has applied to social housing since 2006, will be extended to the private rented sector, expected by 2035. Properties must be free of category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, have reasonably modern facilities, and be in a reasonable state of repair. Many well-maintained London rentals already meet the Standard in substance, but older flats with tired kitchens, inefficient heating, or damp issues may need targeted investment before inspections begin in earnest.

How the Act is enforced

Enforcement is split across three channels: local authorities (civil penalties of up to £40,000 for serious breaches, and rent repayment orders of up to 24 months), the landlord ombudsman once it opens (binding decisions and compensation for tenants), and the courts (possession claims and banning orders in the most serious cases). Civil penalties are a lighter evidential standard than prosecution, which is deliberately designed to make enforcement faster. Landlords who currently operate informally, without written tenancies, up-to-date certificates, or a registered deposit, are the group most exposed under the new regime.

What London landlords should do now

The main provisions are already in force, so the steps below are ones to take today if you have not already, regardless of when your current tenancy began.

Audit your tenancy paperwork

Review every existing tenancy to confirm the tenancy agreement, deposit protection and prescribed information, right-to-rent checks, and the government information sheet (due by 31 May 2026 for tenancies that existed on 1 May) are all on file. One gap matters most for possession: a landlord cannot get possession, except on anti-social behaviour grounds, while the deposit is unprotected. If you have been managing tenancies in personal email, now is the time to consolidate them into a structured file per property.

Get your safety certificates in order

A valid gas safety certificate, a satisfactory Electrical Installation Condition Report, and an in-date EPC are pre-conditions for lawful letting under the current law and will remain so, and landlords will upload evidence of all three to the private rented sector database once registration opens in their region. Running certificates to expiry and renewing reactively is the single most common cause of preventable compliance breaches.

Work with a letting agent who understands the change

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 rewards landlords with good systems and punishes landlords without them. If your current agent does not have a clear answer on how they will handle pet requests, Section 13 rent reviews, database registration, or ombudsman complaints, that is a question worth asking. A let-only service can handle the initial tenancy correctly; a full property management service handles the whole life-cycle, including the parts of the Act that now apply every year rather than every renewal.

How AIHPG helps landlords adapt to the Renters' Rights Act 2025

All In House Property Group is a London property management and lettings agency that includes cleaning, inventory, EICR, gas safety, EPC, and decoration as standard within its service bundles. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, that bundled model becomes more than a convenience. It becomes a compliance advantage. Our in-house teams schedule certificate renewals before expiry, log every inspection and condition report against the property record, and maintain the paperwork a tenant or Ombudsman would want to see. When a possession ground does need to be relied upon, the evidence is already on file. When a pet request arrives, the response window is managed. When database registration opens in London, the record is ready to be registered.

Our cleaning and inventory service provides the photographic condition record that underpins any Section 8 claim involving property damage, and our in-house decoration and renovation team addresses Decent Homes Standard issues before they become enforcement issues. Because every service is delivered by in-house staff rather than third-party contractors, response times are measured in days rather than weeks, which will matter once the ombudsman is open.