Renters’ Rights Act action plan

Phase 1 – 1 May 2026

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Tenant placement

What is changing?

• Discrimination against tenants claiming benefits or those with children is banned.

• Asking for or accepting more than one month's rent in advance is no longer permitted.

• Agencies and landlords cannot request or accept any amount of rent until the tenancy has been signed by everyone and enacted.

Preparing for the change

• You can continue to place tenants based on their ability to afford the rent. However, you cannot discriminate based on whether the prospective tenant has children or receives benefits. Keep clear records of why you accepted or rejected a tenant.

• Choosing the right tenant is crucial, as it takes on average 27.9 weeks to repossess a property once an eviction notice is served – these delays may get longer after May 2026.

• Professional guarantor services are available for tenants with poor credit ratings, which could help them find a property if they have been previously turned down after referencing.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Using Reapit Bookings, you can tailor forms to add in questions about affordability before offering a viewing. Prospective tenants’ responses are recorded, giving you evidence in case they want to know why they didn’t secure the property. Learn more about Reapit Bookings here, or if you already have it, check out our training videos.

• For thorough vetting, Reapit’s strategic partners HomeLet and Let Alliance Vista integration uses advanced tenant referencing tools to root out tenant fraud and identify the best prospective tenants.

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Property pricing

What is changing

• Bidding wars are outlawed, meaning you cannot advertise rental properties for ‘Offers in excess of’ or accept rent over what you have advertised the property for.

• You must include a price in every property advert; this includes messages to prospective tenants on WhatsApp.

• Advertised rents are expected to be at a fair market rent.

• If a tenant accepts a rent above fair market rent, they can challenge the rent at the First-tier Tribunal to have it reduced.

• Bidding up to an asking price is permitted, but again the tenant can challenge the rent at the First-tier Tribunal to have it reduced.

Preparing for the change

• Make sure your adverts include the price of the property, and ensure your team knows what forms of communication are counted as adverts.

• Price properly, if you inflate the rent above market rates tenants can ask the First-tier Tribunal to reduce it within the first six months of the tenancy.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit’s in-built protection will warn users if they try to increase the rent above the advertised price.

• If you’re branching out into new areas and don’t have comparable rentals on your books, Reapit’s Insights integration will help give you a benchmark of local rent prices.

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Pets

What is changing?

• No additional deposits or charges for pet insurance are allowed and a request to keep a pet in the property cannot be “reasonably refused”.

• If the property is leasehold, you can refuse a pet request if the lease with the superior landlord has a clause that prohibits pets, and upon request they have refused to change it.

Preparing for the change

• Ensure your team has read the “If a tenant wants a pet to live with them”  government guidance and understand how this process works.

• If you need to refuse pets, establish on what grounds.

• You will need to record communications with any superior landlords to request a pet. It must cover reason for refusal and the timeline.

• If there are no grounds, you must inform your landlord that banning pets is against the law.

• Help landlords feel more comfortable about pets by offering pet damage insurance to reduce the risk.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Pet requests can be managed through Reapit, helping you action any request from tenants.

• You can also offer more regular inspections through our strategic partner Inventory Base to ensure if a pet causes damage, it is noted and repaired quickly and professionally.

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New tenancies

What is changing?

• All Housing Act (1988) tenancies will be an Assured Periodic Tenancies (APT).

• APTs have no tenancy end date.

• Tenants can give two months’ notice at any point during the tenancy.

Preparing for the change

• As APTs do not have tenancy end date, you may need to review your terms and conditions with your landlords as references to renewal increase will no longer be in effect.

• You may also want to review your tenancy income streams to evaluate how the move to APTs will impact your agency and assess new income opportunities.

• Evaluate the impact that a standard two-months’ notice could have on your landlords. This may vary depending on location and stock.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit’s new notice management feature can help you record and keep track of any tenancies ended by the tenant.

• Lost revenue from tenancy renewals can be earned by managing the annual Section 13 rent increase process for landlords, which can be managed through Reapit’s new rent review feature.

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Existing tenancies

What is changing?

• Assured Shorthold Tenancies automatically become Assured Periodic Tenancies.

• Fixed terms in existing tenancy agreements will no longer apply.

• Any rent review or automatic rent increase clause will be void.

• Any clauses stating the tenant needs to give more than two months’ notice will be unenforceable.

• A government-produced document informing tenants of the changes to the law must be sent to all tenants between 1 and 31 of May 2026.

Preparing for the change

• Check the terms of your current AST agreement. The Renters’ Rights Act says tenants and landlords can agree shorter terms. If your current AST tenancy agreements require one month’s notice after the fixed term ends you may want to seek legal advice.  

• Review the current tenancy types across your portfolio. The change to APTs only impacts Housing Act (1988) tenancies and the government document outlining what has changed should only be sent to tenancies where you are not relying on clauses within the existing AST. For example, any evictions or enforcement already in process should not be sent the document until these processes have been completed.

• Make sure that all tenancies have a written tenancy on record. If a tenant was not issued a written tenancy agreement or it cannot be located a new agreement must be issued by 31 May 2026.

• Ensure your landlords know that any rent increase clauses in tenancy agreements no longer apply. If the rent needs to be increased, a valid Section 13 notice must be served to the tenant two months before the rent increase takes effect.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit has created a new tenancy type that will allow you to track your tenancies. As part of your preparation this includes a bulk upload option. Your Reapit CSM can give you more information.

• Reapit will help you check existing tenancies for expiring EPC, gas and electrical safety certificates to help you advise landlords and prepare for these changes. It will also help you ensure the right prescribed information has been shared with the tenant in case your landlord needs to rely on it for eviction grounds under an existing AST.

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Rent increases

What is changing?

• Rent review or increase clauses in tenancy agreements will be void.

• Landlords and agents can increase rent every 12 months from the last rent increase but must use a Section 13 notice.

• If the tenant thinks the rent increase takes the rent above fair market rent for the property, they can ask the First-tier Tribunal to rule on the rent increase.

Steps to safeguard your business and customers

• Assess the service you can provide for serving a Section 13 notice. You will have more experience working across your portfolio of rental properties and will have the market knowledge to set a fair market rent.  

• Provide comparable rents for local properties to the tenant when issuing the notice. This will help show tenants that the rent increase is fair.

• If a tenant challenges the rent increase at the First-tier Tribunal, the date the rent increase is applied will be determined by the expiry of the Section 13 notice period or by the tribunal determination date. The determination date may vary depending on the demand for tribunal services so recording the date a rent increase takes effect will be essential to ensuring you don’t accidentally break the law.

• Review if your agency will provide further tribunal services should the Section 13 notice be challenged.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit’s new rent review feature helps you plan for and conduct annual rent reviews across your portfolio.

• Data from Reapit’s Insights integration can also help provide comparable properties and rent prices.

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Evictions

What is changing?

• Section 21 “no-fault” evictions will be banned.

• Agents and landlords must use a ground under Section 8, and all grounds will be evidence based.

• Section 8 has been expanded to include grounds for persistent arrears and shorter notice periods for anti-social behaviour.

Steps to safeguard your business and customers

• Educate landlords on Section 8 grounds, as those are the only way you can evict a tenant once the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented.

• When taking on a new landlord or property, ask them why the last tenant left. If the tenant was evicted under Section 8 Ground 1 or 1a, you cannot market or let the property until 12 months after the expiry of the eviction notice.

• Current court capacity mean landlords are waiting on average 27.9 weeks to repossess a property once an eviction notice is served. These delays may increase under the Renters’ Rights Act.

• Ensure your team understands the new Section 8 process fully, as any mistakes found at court will mean the process starts again which could cost your landlords.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit will help you proactively record and manage Section 8 notices.  

• Use the automated arrears reminders features in Reapit or PayProp to follow up with any tenants with outstanding rents and provide evidence if you are using an arrears ground under Section 8.

• Diligently track arrears. Reapit’s automated and bank-integrated rent payment platform PayProp allows you to monitor arrears 24/7 and know the minute rent is late allowing you to start chasing earlier than if you wait until the end of the month to reconcile and chase any arrears.

• Consider taking out rent guarantee insurance for your agency and selling it on to your landlords in case the tenant does not pay. Our strategic partners HomeLet and Let Alliance both offer these policies.

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Students

What is changing?

• Student housing providers and landlords operating an HMO where all the tenants are students and not related can use Ground 4 or 4a under Section 8 as the only grounds allowed to end a tenancy at the end of the academic year.

• The Section 8 notice must be served between 1 June and 30 September and the landlord seeking possession must intend to relet the property to full-time students.

• There are also restrictions on when you can sign a tenancy agreement for the academic year ahead.

• Student tenancies let on a joint basis will only need one tenant to give notice to end the tenancy.

Steps to safeguard your business and customers

• Post implementation, these grounds are only valid if it is included in the tenancy agreement, so you may want a separate tenancy agreement for students if your agency covers student rentals.

• Existing student tenancies will need to be converted by a written notice from the landlord informing the tenants they intended to rely on Ground 4 or Ground 4a to end the tenancy. This notice must be issued before 31 May 2025.

• Agents may want to consider individual tenancy agreements for students rather than joint tenancies.

• Student properties with two or fewer bedrooms cannot use Ground 4a. If you have any landlords looking to buy properties for student rentals advise them against these smaller properties.

• Ground 4a has a four-month notice period so must be served between 1 December and 1 April for the tenancy to end between 1 June and 30 September.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit’s notice management feature will help you keep track of any notices you serve to student tenants to ensure vacant possession for the next academic year.

• For joint tenancies, Reapit’s notice management feature will help you keep track of any notices served by tenants.

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Phase 2 – late 2026

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Landlord database and ombudsman

What is changing?

• Landlords will need to register on a database, providing key compliance documents and their personal details once the database is live.

• This database will be used by local authorities for enforcement.

• They will also need to register with the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman once they are appointed.

• Tenants will be able to raise any issues they have with landlords via the Ombudsman.

• Both services will require a subscription, paid for by the landlord and will be needed for new and existing tenancies.

Steps to safeguard your business and customers

• Once implemented, you will need to check that a landlord has completed both steps before advertising their property.

• Ensure landlords are aware these services are mandatory, their costs, and penalties for non-compliance.

• If a landlord is struggling with either of these tasks, you may want to help them and examine how this service fits into your fee structure.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Reapit allows you to store all the property, certificates, landlord and tenant information required for the government database – making it easy for you to assist landlords with registration.

• We will be building additional features and functions to help you record landlord membership of both the database and ombudsman.

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Phase 3 – TBC, possibly mid 2030s

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The Decent Home Standard & Awaab’s Law

What is changing?

• Strict deadline on addressing maintenance requests.

• Minimum standards for rental properties will be enforced.

Steps to safeguard your business and customers

• Before advertising a property, ensure it meets the Decent Home Standard.

• If the property is not up to standard, you can earn commission by referring your network of expert contractors to your landlords and managing the repair work.

How Reapit and our partners help

• Changes to Reapit’s works orders help you categorise maintenance requests by level of hazard according to the decent home standard and let you set review dates – so you can prioritise the repair work based on the set timelines.

• Prevention is better than a cure, so regular inspections are essential. Our partners Inventory Base can help speed up inspections using Base AI to turn your notes and photos into audit-ready reports. That way, if a tenant complains about an outstanding damage or maintenance issue, you have evidence to show the condition of the property.

• Use the PayProp property account to keep a maintenance float available for your landlord’s properties so that payment issues don’t stop you from getting repair work done within the set limits.

Giving you confidence in a changing market

At Reapit, we’re committed to helping your agency by being ahead of the curve and standing ready to support you with the Renters’ Rights Act reforms from 1 May 2026. Our platform and strategic partnerships are designed to help you navigate every change seamlessly, so you can focus on running your business without disruption.

For more about the challenges and opportunities the legislation brings, see the enhancements we’re making to Reapit and to watch our on-demand webinar, where we break down all the details visit our Renters' Rights Act hub. After viewing this webinar, 99% of participants told us they felt confident that Reapit can support them in being Renters’ Rights Ready for May 2026, and our entire team is here to make sure you feel the same.

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_{Please note that this content is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. No recipient should act, or refrain from acting, based on this content without seeking appropriate counsel. The authors and contributors disclaim all liability for any actions taken or not taken on the basis of this information.}

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