What Are the Rules for Landlords in 2026?

What changed for landlords on 1 may 2026?

Every assured shorthold tenancy in England converted to a periodic assured tenancy on 1 May 2026, and Section 21 no-fault possession went with it. Fixed terms can no longer be granted at all.

Periodic tenancies replaced fixed terms

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished assured shorthold tenancies outright. Existing fixed terms converted on the same day rather than running to expiry, which stopped a two-tier market forming.

Tenants can now end a tenancy at any point on two months’ notice. You cannot hold anyone to a twelve-month term, and any clause that tries to is void.

Section 21 has gone and the transition window has shut

Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 stayed alive only if court proceedings were issued by 31 July 2026. That deadline has passed, so an unissued notice is now dead paper.

Every possession claim from here runs through a Section 8 ground. There is no residual no-fault route and no transitional exception left to rely on.

The written statement of terms you owed tenants by 31 may

All tenancies now need a written agreement plus the government information sheet for the tenant. Tenancies already running on 1 May 2026 had to be brought up to date by 31 May 2026.

If you never issued one, do it now and keep the dated proof of service. A missing statement is the first thing a tenant’s adviser looks for when defending a possession claim.

How do you get your property back now?

Only through one of the Section 8 grounds, with notice running from four weeks for serious arrears to four months for sale or moving in. Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy.

The grounds that replaced section 21

You serve these on Form 3A, the notice seeking possession for private rented assured tenancies. The full list of 31 grounds sits in the government’s guide to the Renters’ Rights Act.

What possession costs you in time and money

Ground 8 needs three months of unpaid rent at the notice date and still at the hearing, then four weeks of notice, then a court listing. On a £1,300 a month tenancy that is £3,900 gone before the notice even leaves your printer.

Court capacity is the other half of the problem. The NRLA reported in August 2026 that the courts service is recruiting around 1,000 roles to absorb Renters’ Rights possession demand.

Six to nine months of exposure is now a realistic planning assumption. Rent guarantee cover pays the rent through that period, and loss of rent cover handles the separate case where damage makes the property unlettable.

How do you increase the rent legally?

A Section 13 notice on Form 4A is the only lawful method, once every twelve months, with at least two months’ notice. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are void.

Section 13 and form 4a

You propose a market rent, serve Form 4A, and the new figure takes effect after the notice period. Getting the form or the date wrong makes the increase unenforceable.

There is no rent cap in England and no percentage limit. The constraint is frequency and process, not the number itself.

What happens if the tenant challenges it

A tenant can refer the proposed rent to the First-tier Tribunal before it starts. The tribunal can set the rent at or below what you proposed, never above it.

Increases are no longer backdated to the notice date, so the new rent runs from the tribunal’s determination. In hardship cases the tribunal can push the start back by up to a further two months.

What are the rules on pets, bidding and rent in advance?

You must answer a written pet request within 28 days and cannot refuse without a good reason. Rental bidding is banned, and you can take no more than one month’s rent in advance once the agreement is signed.

The 28-day pet decision

Consent must be given or refused in writing by the 28th day after the request. If you ask the tenant for more information, the clock runs to the 7th day after they supply it.

Blanket no-pets clauses no longer bite, and you cannot make pet insurance a condition of consent. What you can do is check your own policy, because pet damage usually falls under accidental damage cover rather than the standard perils.

Rental bidding and rent in advance

You have to advertise a fixed asking rent and cannot invite or accept offers above it. That applies to the agent acting for you as much as to you.

Before a tenancy is signed you cannot require any rent in advance at all. After signing, the ceiling is one month’s rent, or 28 days’ rent where the rental period is shorter than a month.

The discrimination ban

Refusing a tenant because they claim benefits or have children is now unlawful, and so is advertising that says as much. Specialist DSS landlord insurance exists precisely because these lets are now part of the mainstream market.

Affordability referencing is still allowed, but it has to be applied to everyone on the same basis. Penalties for discrimination sit on the same scale as the rest of the Act.

Which safety checks are you legally required to do?

Annual gas safety, a five-yearly electrical inspection, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, a valid EPC and a legionella risk assessment. None of these changed in 2026, and none of them is optional.

Gas and electrical safety

Every gas appliance and flue needs an annual check by a Gas Safe registered gas engineer, and the HSE sets out the landlord duty in full. Give the record to sitting tenants within 28 days and to new tenants before they move in.

An EICR is required at least every five years from a qualified electrician, with C1 and C2 defects put right within 28 days. Councils can charge up to £30,000 per breach under the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020.

Alarms, fire and legionella

You need a smoke alarm on every storey with a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room containing a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Both must be tested on the first day of the tenancy.

Legionella is covered by a proportionate risk assessment rather than a certificate, and the HSE is explicit that no test certificate is required. Communal areas in a block of flats bring separate fire safety duties for whoever manages the building.

The penalties in one place

What happened to the hhsrs in june 2026?

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System was rebuilt for the first time since 2006, with 21 hazards instead of 29 and plain risk bands. From 22 June 2026 councils can also issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a category 1 hazard.

21 hazards and simpler risk bands

The old 29-hazard list has been consolidated to 21, and the alphabetical scoring bands have gone. The landlord and agent guide to the HHSRS was republished on 23 June 2026 to match.

A score of 1,000 or more is a category 1 hazard and the council has a duty to act. Anything below that is category 2, where enforcement is discretionary.

The £7,000 penalty that changes the calculation

Before June a category 1 hazard usually meant an improvement notice first and a penalty only if you ignored it. A council can now impose a financial penalty of up to £7,000 the first time it takes action.

Damp, mould, excess cold and excess heat are the hazards most likely to catch a private let. Fixing the cause is cheaper than the fine, and landlord buildings insurance will not pay for a gradual damp problem you were told about and left.

Where do EPC and mees rules stand in 2026?

The legal minimum is still band E, exactly as it has been since April 2020. The government confirmed a band C target for 1 October 2030 on 21 January 2026, but the regulations have not been laid yet.

Band E is the rule you can be fined on today

You cannot let or continue to let a property rated F or G without a registered exemption, and the MEES landlord guidance lists six of them. Penalties reach £5,000 per property per breach.

The high-cost exemption still bites at £3,500 of recommended works and lasts five years. Register it before the tenancy starts rather than after a council letter arrives.

What the 2030 band C plan says

The January 2026 response set a single compliance date of 1 October 2030 and a £10,000 cost cap with a ten-year exemption. Legislation is expected to be laid in 2027.

Treat 2030 as a budgeting date, not a live legal duty. Loft and cavity insulation, glazing and heating upgrades are the measures that move a band E property to C.

Do you still need a licence, and what about deposits?

Mandatory HMO licensing applies to five or more occupiers in two or more households, and hundreds of councils run additional or selective schemes on top. Deposits are capped at five weeks’ rent and must be protected within 30 days.

HMO and selective licensing

A mandatory licence lasts up to five years and is property-specific, so a portfolio needs one per house. An unlicensed HMO risks an unlimited fine and a rent repayment order, now worth up to 24 months of rent rather than 12.

Selective licensing can cover ordinary single-family lets in a designated area. Check the council’s own map before you advertise, because the boundaries change.

Deposits and prescribed information

The cap is five weeks’ rent where annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks above it. Protection and prescribed information both have to be done within 30 days of receiving the money.

Miss it and a court can order compensation of one to three times the deposit. It also blocks most possession grounds until the money is returned or protected.

Right to rent and consent to let

Every adult occupier needs a right to rent check before they move in, whether or not they are named on the agreement. The civil penalty is £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat.

If the property is mortgaged you also need consent to let, and a buy-to-let mortgage will carry its own conditions on tenancy type and insurance. Letting short term instead moves you outside the assured tenancy regime and into holiday let and Airbnb cover.

Which rules are law but not yet in force?

The private rented sector database, the landlord ombudsman, Awaab’s Law for private rentals and the Decent Homes Standard are all in the Act but none of them is live as at September 2026. No commencement dates have been announced.

The database and the ombudsman

Once the database opens, every landlord letting on an assured tenancy will have to register the property. Being unregistered will block a possession order except on the antisocial behaviour grounds.

The ombudsman will be compulsory for private landlords and its decisions binding. It will be able to order an apology, remedial work or compensation.

Awaab’s law and the decent homes standard

Awaab’s Law has applied to social housing since 27 October 2025 and will be extended to private rentals in a later phase. It sets fixed timescales for investigating and fixing damp, mould and other serious hazards.

You are not off the hook in the meantime. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 already lets a tenant sue directly, and a fast repair response backed by home emergency cover is the cheapest defence against both.

Status at a Glance

What do you have to do for making tax digital?

If your combined property and self-employment income was above £50,000, you have been inside Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026. That means digital records and quarterly updates to HMRC through compatible software.

Who is in scope and when

Qualifying income is gross rent and trading income before expenses, which catches more landlords than people expect. The HMRC guidance on Making Tax Digital sets out the sign-up process and the software list.

The penalty regime is points-based

Each missed quarterly update or return earns one penalty point. Hit four points and you get a £200 penalty, plus another £200 for every later miss.

Late payment is charged separately at 3% of the tax owed at day 15 and again at day 30 for 2026 to 2027, rising to 4% the year after. Landlords running several properties should check whether a portfolio landlord policy or a multi-property policy would simplify the paperwork at the same time.

This is general information rather than tax advice. Check your own position with an accountant before you sign up or opt out.

Which dates should be in your compliance diary?

Four dates have already passed this year and three more are coming. The two that catch landlords out are the 31 May written statement deadline and the 22 June hazard penalty regime.

The 2026 compliance calendar

What to check before your next renewal

Possession now takes longer, hazard penalties start higher and empty periods between tenancies are more common. Check that your policy still covers voids, because most restrict cover after 30 to 45 days and longer gaps need unoccupied property cover.

Rent guarantee and legal expenses cover are the two sections that have gained the most value since May. Neither costs much next to a single defended possession claim.