New Renters’ Rights Act – What It Means for Landlords 

The government’s new Renters’ Rights Act has now received Royal Assent, introducing sweeping reforms to the private rental sector in England. While much of the media focus has been on the 11 million tenants who will benefit, it’s equally important that landlords understand how these changes affect their rights and responsibilities. 

Rob Winder, Senior Associate Chartered Legal Executive and Head of Property Litigation in our Dispute Resolution team provides an update.

At the heart of the legislation is the abolition of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, which marks one of the most significant shifts in landlord-tenant law for decades. The government says the new rules aim to “rebalance” the relationship between England’s 2.3 million landlords and their tenants – giving renters more security, while maintaining fair grounds for landlords to regain possession when needed. 

As a local law firm supporting landlords across Cumbria, we understand the real-world impact these reforms can have on property owners, investors, and letting agents. Our role is to help you stay compliant, protect your interests, and continue to run successful tenancies under the new framework. 

Key points landlords should be aware of: 

• Section 21 evictions abolished: All tenancies will move to a simpler, periodic structure. Landlords will need to rely on strengthened, clearly defined grounds for possession. 
• New and amended possession grounds: The Act includes new grounds to help landlords recover their property when it is reasonable to do so, such as selling, moving back in, or dealing with tenant breaches. 
• Rent increases and challenges: Tenants will have more power to appeal excessive rent rises, so landlords should ensure any increases are justifiable and dealt with using the prescribed method. 
• New Landlord Ombudsman: A mandatory ombudsman scheme will provide resolution of tenant complaints, with the hope that it will help avoid court proceedings – but landlords will need to engage constructively. 
• Private Rented Sector Database: This new national register will help landlords demonstrate compliance and give tenants greater confidence in reputable landlords. 
• Pets in rental properties: Tenants will have a stronger right to request a pet 
• Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law: These measures introduce clearer timeframes and quality standards, particularly around health and safety hazards. 
• Fair access to housing: It will become illegal to discriminate against tenants based on children or benefit status. 
• Rental bidding banned: Landlords must advertise at a set rent and cannot accept offers above that figure. 
• Tougher enforcement: Local authorities will have expanded powers, and penalties for non-compliance – including rent repayment orders – will be strengthened. 

What landlords should do next 

Although the finer details of implementation will be rolled out over the coming weeks, landlords should begin reviewing their tenancy agreements, rent review processes, and property management practices now. Where a Section 21 Notice has already been served it will be permissible to rely on that Notice until its expiry – but only if that notice was valid originally. Professional advice where possession action has already been started is now essential to ensure the option can be utilised. 

We will continue to monitor developments and keep our clients updated as the new rules take effect. 

If you are a landlord and would like advice on how these changes affect your rental portfolio, our team is here to help. Contact Rob on 01228 516666 or click here to send him an email.