Did you know that the rules are changing from 1 May 2026?
From 1 May 2026 the Renters’ Rights Act will come into effect. This means that residential landlords will no longer be able to use the Section 21 route to obtain possession of residential property as Section 21 will be abolished from 1 May 2026. You will instead only be able to obtain possession of your property through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988.
The key changes, following 1 May 2026, which you should be aware of are summarised below:
Section 21 will be abolished, These are no ‘fault evictions’. Landlords will only be able to use Section 8 to obtain possession of their properties;
Assured Shorthold Tenancies will automatically convert to Assured Periodic Tenancies from 1 May 2026;
Landlords must not unreasonably withhold consent for requests of pets;
If a Landlord wishes to sell their property, they may obtain possession based on the selling ground giving the tenant(s) at least 4 months’ notice, but Landlords cannot obtain possession of the property based on the selling ground for the first 12 months of the tenancy;
If a Landlord obtains possession of a property based on the selling ground, and after obtaining possession the Landlord decides against selling the property, the Landlord will be unable to market or re-let the property for a further 12 months after using the selling ground to obtain possession;
Tenancies will no longer have fixed terms;
Tenants will need to give at least 2 months’ notice to Landlords to end the tenancy;
If a tenant falls into 3 months’ rent arrears, Landlords may obtain possession of the property based on the mandatory rent arrears ground. Landlords will be required to serve notice giving at least 4 weeks’ notice;
If a Landlord wishes to increase the rent to ‘market rent’, they can do so once a year by serving a Section 13 Notice giving at least 2 months’ notice of it taking effect;
Landlords will only be able to require up to one month’s rent in advance.
Section 21 Notices may be served upon tenants until 30 April 2026.
Contact our Litigation Department today on 01827 311411 for advice on the upcoming changes or assistance with obtaining possession.
Article written by Katie Whelan, Solicitor, Litigation department.
