If you’ve ever so much as dipped your toe in the murky waters of London’s rental market; you’ll know it’s neither for the faint of heart or the weak of bank balance. With prices rivaling the height of the Shard, landlords that reply to your emails with the urgency of a sloth, and the fact that the rug could – quite literally – be yanked from beneath your feet at a moment’s notice; it’s all been rather bleak in the rental department over the past few years. But all that is about to change, folks.
On Friday (May 1), a long-awaited landmark legislation will come into effect in the form of the Renters’ Rights Act. Having been approved back in October 2025, the bill will see a rather significant shake-up to renting in England. The introduction of the act is set to rebalance the private rented sector by improving security and housing standards. And as the countdown to the law coming into effect is officially almost over, we thought we’d give you a handy rundown of everything that’s changing.
The Renters’ Rights Act
With over 11 million people in the UK gearing up for what has been hailed one of the biggest changes to renting laws in history, here are the main things that will be changing from May 1 (this Friday) under the new Renters’ Rights Act.
Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions will be abolished
No-fault evictions will be banned in England from May 1, meaning that landlords will need a ‘legal reason’ to evict tenants.
There will be no more fixed-term contracts
From May 1, all properties will be rented out on a rolling basis, instead of a fixed-term contract. This is in a bid to prevent tenant s paying for sub-standard properties by allowing them to give just two months notice if they wish to vacate the property.
Bidding wars will be prohibited
Under the new laws, landlords will no longer be able to pit prospective tenants against each other in ‘bidding wars’ – something that has become increasingly common in recent years.
Tenants will have the rights to request a pet
Tenants will have the right to ask for permission to keep a pet in the property, and landlords can only say no if they have a ‘good reason’.
It will be illegal to discriminate against renters with children or those who receive benefits
The Renters’ Rights Act will also make it illegal to refuse or blanket ban renters with children or people on benefits.
Landlords will only be able to raise rent once a year
This one does what it says on the tin, really. Renters’ Rights Act will make it illegal for landlords to increase rent prices more than once a year. And they must give at least two month’s notice before doing so.
There will be limits on rent-in-advance requests
From May 1, it will also be illegal for landlords to ask a tenant to pay more than one month’s rent in advance.
The Renters’ Rights Act comes as a rather sizeable step forward in the world of renting, creating a fairer and more stable system for tenants in England. You can find out more about it here.
