The Government have now published their roadmap with the dates when the Renters Rights Act will come into force.
Some of the keys dates and the headlines are as follows:
1 May 2026 is Phase 1. On this date, the following will come into force:
- The abolition of Assured shorthold tenancies and the end of the s21 notice ‘no fault eviction process’ for all of the private rented sector (PRS).
- All new PRS tenancies will become assured periodic tenancies and existing fixed term tenancies automatically converting to periodic assured tenancies.
- All the new and amended grounds for possession.
- Rent increase changes and pet provisions that apply only to the PRS.
- Guidance for landlords is promised in November 2025 and for tenants in April 2026.
In 2027, the above will come into force for the social housing sector - PRPs and Local authority RPs.
Phase 2 is described as late 2026. The new PRS landlord database (and PRS landlords will have to be registered to get a possession order) will apply and the new PRS Ombudsman will begin work.
Phase 3 includes the extension of Awaab's Law to the PRS. No date given yet but it does also refer to 2035 or 2037 for the new Decent Homes Standard coming into force.
In terms of court reform, the paper refers to the full possession process in the county court going fully online, partly from 2026.
‘HMCTS are building a new digital end-to-end service for resolving all possession claims in the County Courts in England and Wales. The service will offer an online route for making and responding to possession claims, filing documents, and receiving updates and outcomes, offering improved user experience through guided journeys.
This service will be rolled out in stages with a first release in 2026, building up to the full service which will be operational 18 months after the Act received Royal Assent. In the meantime, we will ensure that existing possession processes are updated to reflect the reforms in the Act and that sufficient capacity is in place for the courts to handle new possession cases until the introduction of this new digital service’
The shared ownership changes are not mentioned in the Roadmap but they already have a date they come into force in the Act itself which is 27 December 2025. From that date, shared ownership leases will cease to be treated as assured tenancies and possession cannot be pursued via a s8 Notice and assured tenancy grounds as currently. Shared ownership leases will then be treated in the same way as long leases with forfeiture the route to termination. Now is the time to review your policies and procedures for shared ownership arrears and breaches as a result.
For more information
Please contact me for more information or to discuss training or policy and procedure reviews.
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