Section 21 Abolished 1 May 2026

Renters Rights Act Compliance Software for UK Letting Agents and Landlords

Section 21 is gone. Periodic tenancies are mandatory. The Information Sheet must reach every tenant by 31 May 2026. Landlord registration for the PRS Database rolls out region by region from December 2026 (GOV.UK, 9 September 2026). Rentalize keeps the records behind these duties today: safety certificates, deposits, repairs and documents. Dedicated Renters Rights Act workflows are on the roadmap, not in the product today.

Free PRS Database Checker
Gas and Electrical Certificate Alerts
Repair Requests with SLAs
UK Arrears, ASB and Disrepair Cases
Key Dates What Changed Compliance Checklist How Rentalize Helps Section 8 Grounds FAQ
KEY DATES

The Renters Rights Act Implementation Timeline

The Renters Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Implementation is staged. These are the dates every UK letting agent, landlord, and Build to Rent operator needs in their calendar.

Royal Assent

The Renters Rights Bill became the Renters Rights Act 2025 on 27 October 2025. Secondary legislation and the PRS Database followed.

Oct2025
1 May2026

Section 21 abolished. Assured tenancy regime begins.

All new and existing assured shorthold tenancies convert to periodic assured tenancies. No more fixed terms. No more no-fault evictions. Section 8 grounds become the only route to possession.

Information Sheet deadline

Every existing tenant must receive the statutory Information Sheet explaining their rights under the new regime. New tenancies must include it from day one. Failure to serve is grounds for civil penalty.

31 May2026
Dec2026

PRS Database landlord registration begins

The Register your rental property service rolls out region by region from December 2026, starting with properties under let (GOV.UK, 9 September 2026). Every landlord and every privately rented property will need to be registered on the Private Rented Sector Database. Letting agents cannot market a property that is not registered. Local authorities use the Database to enforce.

Awaab's Law extends to PRS

Strict timescales for investigating and remedying serious hazards (damp, mould, structural issues), in force for social housing since 27 October 2025. The Act lets the government extend them to private landlords in Phase 3 of its roadmap, with timing set after further consultation. See the full Awaab's Law timescales and phase dates.

Phase 3TBC
From2035

Decent Homes Standard extended to PRS

The new Decent Homes Standard will apply to the private rented sector for the first time from 2035, under the government's Decent Homes Standard policy statement (GOV.UK, January 2026). It is not in force for private landlords today. Once it is, councils can issue improvement notices and civil penalties of up to GBP 7,000.

WHAT CHANGED

Eight Changes Every UK Letting Agent and Landlord Needs To Action

The Renters Rights Act is the most significant overhaul of the private rented sector in 35 years. These are the eight operational changes you cannot ignore.

01

Section 21 abolished

No-fault evictions are gone. The only routes to possession are the discretionary and mandatory grounds in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, expanded by the new Act. Existing Section 21 notices already served retain validity for a transitional period.

Mandatory
02

Periodic tenancies only

Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies cannot be created. All tenancies are periodic from day one. Tenants can give two months notice at any time. Landlords can only end the tenancy under a Section 8 ground.

Mandatory
03

PRS Database registration

Every landlord and every property must be on the Private Rented Sector Database. Letting agents cannot list, market, or let an unregistered property. Civil penalties of up to GBP 7,000 for first breach, GBP 40,000 for repeat or serious breach.

Mandatory
04

Pet ownership rights

Tenants can request to keep a pet. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. The decision must be given in writing within 28 days, extendable if the landlord asks for more information or needs a superior landlord's consent. The Act as passed gives landlords no power to require pet insurance; GOV.UK guidance says the tenancy deposit covers pet damage.

New right
05

Bidding wars and rent in advance restricted

Landlords must advertise an asking rent and cannot accept offers above it. Asking for rent in advance beyond one month is restricted. Rent reviews are limited to once per year via the statutory Section 13 mechanism.

Mandatory
06

Discrimination ban

Blanket bans on tenants with children or in receipt of benefits are unlawful. Letting agents and landlords cannot refuse to rent to a prospective tenant on those grounds. Local authorities can investigate and fine.

Mandatory
07

Decent Homes Standard for PRS

The standard has applied to social housing since 2001. The Act lets the government extend it to the private rented sector, and the January 2026 policy statement says the new standard applies to both sectors from 2035. Properties will need to meet a minimum standard of repair, modern facilities, and thermal comfort, enforced by local authority improvement notices.

From 2035
08

Awaab's Law for private landlords

Strict statutory timescales to investigate and remedy serious hazards: damp, mould, fire risk, structural issues. Tenants can take direct action through the courts. Failure exposes landlords to compensation orders.

Phased
COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

A Practical Compliance Checklist for Letting Agents

Tick through the operational steps your agency or portfolio needs to complete before, during, and after 1 May 2026. This is the same checklist Rentalize uses internally.

14-point Renters Rights Act readiness audit
0 of 14 complete
Audit your tenancy book. Identify every fixed-term AST. After 1 May 2026, all become periodic. Update the system of record.
Pull every tenant contact record. Email and postal addresses must be current. The Information Sheet has to be served and proof of service kept.
Serve the statutory Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. Existing tenants must receive it within 30 days of 1 May. Track delivery, not just dispatch.
Withdraw all unserved Section 21 notices. Audit any historic notices and decide whether to proceed under transitional rules or restart under Section 8.
Update all tenancy templates. Replace AST templates with periodic assured tenancy templates. Remove fixed-term clauses, rent-in-advance clauses, and pet bans.
Register every property on the PRS Database. Capture EPC, gas safety, electrical, deposit, and licensing data per record.
Build a pet request workflow. Capture every request, log the decision, issue a written response within 28 days, store reasons for refusal.
Update marketing copy. Remove "no children", "no DSS", "no benefits", and similar phrases from listings, brochures, and websites. Train staff on the discrimination ban.
Set advertised asking rents and lock them. Stop accepting offers above the asking rent. Document the policy in the agency operating procedures.
Switch to Section 13 rent reviews. Plan annual rent reviews using the statutory form. Tenants can challenge increases at the First-tier Tribunal.
Map your Section 8 grounds library. Every possession scenario needs a documented ground. Train staff on the new and amended grounds.
Plan a Decent Homes audit programme. The standard reaches the private rented sector from 2035, and the government expects landlords to start works earlier where feasible. Inspect managed properties against the standard and plan remediation for homes likely to fail.
Build an Awaab's Law response process. Define investigation and repair timescales for hazards. Log every report. Notify tenants in writing at each stage.
Run a redress scheme audit. Confirm every property is associated with a registered landlord on a redress scheme. The Database checks this on registration.

Tap each item to mark it done. Progress saves to your browser only.

Licensing sits alongside this. The Act raised civil penalties to GBP 40,000 and doubled rent repayment orders to 24 months, which applies to unlicensed properties too. See HMO licensing and the free licence checker and selective licensing.

Tracking these deadlines by hand across a portfolio does not scale. Our AI property management software monitors certificate expiry, deposits and open repairs continuously and raises them before they become a breach.

HOW RENTALIZE HELPS

What Rentalize Covers Today, and What Is on the Roadmap

Rentalize keeps the records the Act turns on: safety certificates, deposits, repairs, cases and documents. The dedicated Renters Rights Act workflows listed further down are on the roadmap, not in the product today, and we will not claim them until they ship.

Safety certificates and deposits
Gas, electrical and fire safety tracked per property, with certificate expiry reminders and daily monitoring. Deposit tracking and protection on every tenancy. Use the free PRS Database Readiness Checker to see what registration will ask for.
Available today, every plan
UK case management
Jurisdiction-aware case types for arrears, anti-social behaviour and disrepair, with guided checklists, statutory notice and letter generation, and a full audit trail on every case. Use it to organise the evidence a Section 8 ground relies on.
Available today, Professional and above
Repair requests with SLAs
Tenants raise and track repair requests from the tenant portal. Each request carries an SLA, a contractor assignment and a complete work history, so a damp or mould report has a timestamped record from report to fix.
Available today, every plan
Documents, inspections and audit trail
Document vault with expiry alerts, tenant-signed digital inventories, scheduled property inspections and a compliance audit trail per property. Branded PDF and CSV exports on every report.
Available today, every plan

On the roadmap, not in the product today. PRS Database submission from the property record, a bulk Information Sheet service with proof of delivery, a pet request register with a 28-day countdown, asking-rent enforcement and Section 13 notice forms, listing language screening, a Decent Homes Standard survey workflow, Awaab's Law response clocks for private landlords, and one-click tribunal evidence packs. If any of these decides your purchase, ask us for the current status before you buy.

FREE TOOLKIT

The Renters Rights Act Compliance Toolkit for UK Letting Agents

A 32-page operational guide your agency can use today. No sales call required, no email gate beyond a single business address.

  • The 14-point readiness audit in printable form
  • Section 21 to Section 8 grounds mapping table
  • Information Sheet service template and proof-of-service log
  • PRS Database submission checklist per property
  • Pet request response templates and refusal-reason library
  • Decent Homes Standard inspection sheet
  • Awaab's Law triage and timescale flowchart
  • Sample staff training agenda for the new regime

rentalize-rra-2025-checklist.pdf

32 pages, printable, A4

POSSESSION GROUNDS

Section 21 to Section 8: The Grounds You Need Now

With Section 21 abolished, every possession case must rely on a Section 8 ground. The Renters Rights Act expanded and amended the grounds. This is the practical mapping.

Reason for possession Section 8 ground Type Notice period
Landlord wants to sell the property Ground 1A Mandatory 4 months
Landlord or close family wants to move in Ground 1 Mandatory 4 months
Persistent or serious rent arrears (3+ months) Ground 8 Mandatory 4 weeks
Persistent late payment of rent Ground 11 Discretionary 4 weeks
Anti-social behaviour Ground 14 Discretionary Immediate
Breach of tenancy terms Ground 12 Discretionary 4 weeks
Property required for a worker (employment-linked tenancy) Ground 5C Mandatory 2 months
Redevelopment or substantial works Ground 6 Mandatory 4 months
Death of tenant (no qualifying successor) Ground 7 Mandatory 2 months
Student accommodation let to non-students Ground 4A Mandatory 2 months

Procedural risk warning. Every Section 8 notice must use the prescribed form and the correct ground. A defective notice is fatal at court. On Professional and above, Rentalize case management generates statutory notices and letters and keeps them on the case record with a full audit trail. Check every notice against the current prescribed form on GOV.UK before you serve it.

WHO IT IS FOR

Built for Every UK Operator Affected by the Act

Letting agents
Track certificates, deposits and repairs across every landlord you manage from one console. Arrears, anti-social behaviour and disrepair cases with statutory letters on Professional and above, and a landlord portal on Growth and above.
Letting agent solutions
Build to Rent operators
Standardise compliance across every block, unit and tenancy. Schedule inspections, track certificate expiry and run repairs with SLAs at portfolio scale, organised by block, unit and trade.
BTR solutions
Private landlords
From one to fifty properties. Keep gas, electrical and deposit records in date and handle repairs from your phone, then use the free PRS Database Readiness Checker to see what registration will need.
Landlord platform
FAQ

Renters Rights Act Compliance Software Questions

The Renters Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The headline provisions, including the abolition of Section 21 and the move to periodic assured tenancies, came into force on 1 May 2026. The statutory Information Sheet must reach every existing tenant by 31 May 2026. PRS Database registration becomes mandatory in the second half of 2026, and Awaab's Law extends to the private rented sector in 2027.
Yes. From 1 May 2026, no new Section 21 notice can be served. Existing notices that were served before that date and are still within their validity window can be progressed to court under transitional rules, but the route is closed for any new possession case. The only path to possession is now a Section 8 ground.
The Information Sheet is a prescribed statutory document explaining the rights and duties of landlords and tenants under the new regime. Landlords (or their agents) must serve it on every existing tenant by 31 May 2026, and on every new tenant at the start of the tenancy. Failure to serve is grounds for a civil penalty and can affect the validity of subsequent notices.
The Private Rented Sector Database is a national register of private rental properties and the landlords behind them. Each entry holds the property address, landlord identity, redress scheme membership, EPC, gas safety record, electrical safety record, deposit protection details, and any selective or HMO licensing status. Letting agents cannot list a property that is not registered. Local authorities use the Database to enforce. Penalties for non-registration start at GBP 7,000 and rise to GBP 40,000 for serious breach.
No. Blanket bans on tenants in receipt of benefits or with children are unlawful under the Act. Letting agents cannot publish them, and landlords cannot apply them. Refusal must be on a lawful, permitted ground, such as failure to meet objective affordability or reference checks. Local authorities can investigate and fine.
The landlord must consider the request and respond in writing within 28 days. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. The Act as passed does not let the landlord require pet insurance; GOV.UK guidance says the tenancy deposit covers pet damage. A refusal must be reasoned. Refusing without reason, or simply not responding, is a breach.
Rent in advance is restricted. A landlord can no longer demand multiple months of rent up front as a routine condition of letting. Rent must be paid on the agreed cycle. Beyond the first month at the start of the tenancy, advance payments are not permitted. This applies regardless of tenant circumstances.
Rentalize holds Irish and UK regulatory thresholds as configurable settings rather than hard-coded values, so they can be changed as secondary regulations are laid. We do not publish a fixed turnaround for those changes, and the Renters Rights Act specific workflows described on this page are on the roadmap, not in the product today. Always check a statutory form against the current GOV.UK version before you serve it.
Yes. Rentalize 360 is the mobile-first product built for private landlords with one to fifty properties. It covers rent, tenancies, repairs, and certificate and deposit tracking from your phone. PRS Database submission, a pet request log, an Information Sheet service, a Decent Homes audit and Awaab's Law tracking are on the roadmap, not in the product today. The free PRS Database Readiness Checker works for any landlord. There is no enterprise minimum.
This page is operational guidance, not legal advice. Every agency and landlord should take advice from a qualified property lawyer for their specific circumstances. Rentalize provides records, reminders and an audit trail that support compliance, but final responsibility for compliance rests with the landlord and the agent.

See the Records Behind Your Renters Rights Act Compliance

Book a 30-minute compliance demo. See certificate and deposit tracking, repairs with SLAs and UK case management on your own portfolio data, and ask us where the roadmap items stand.