The next stage of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has now been implemented, meaning private registered providers of social housing (PRPs) with market rent stock should have implemented the changes that have come into effect. 

What impact does the Renters’ Rights Act have?

The Act abolishes assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) and ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions, with all ASTs becoming assured periodic tenancies (APTs). With significant changes affecting rent review processes (but not for social housing stock) and grounds for possession, the Act is bringing greater security and a ‘fairer future’ for millions of social housing private renters following implementation.

The Act applies differently to non-social housing properties (essentially market rent properties) compared to social housing properties: the description of ‘private rented stock’ includes any market rent stock of PRPs. At this stage, the changes in tenure only apply to PRP’s market-rented stock (if any): changes to low-cost rental accommodation are expected to be in October 2027.

What are the main changes and how should they be handled?

Two of the main changes that have attracted mainstream press attention are the right to request a pet and the statutory rent review process. However, these statutory provisions do not apply to social housing tenants even when the Act comes into force in respect of that stock in 2027, only those in private rented homes (i.e. PRPs market rented stock). PRPs must be aware that without clearly identified stock and all staff fully understanding how different rules apply to different types of homes, issues are likely to occur. Misclassification could mean they fail to apply the correct provisions or answer tenants’ queries incorrectly.

To handle tenant enquiries about the new reforms efficiently and accurately, PRPs with a mix of social and market rents must have systems in place to distinguish between the two types of stock. The first step is to identify which, if any type of stock, falls outside the ‘social housing’ definition. This needs to be clearly recorded and accessible to all staff handling queries, not just for statistical data return (SDR) purposes. 

Once understood, PRPs must be ready to communicate the changes to tenants so expectations can be clearly set, depending on the type of property they live in. For tenants in social housing, this will involve confirming which legislative changes will affect and won’t affect them, and for changes that will affect them, when. For assured tenants in non-social housing stock, landlords must send the standard information sheet to existing tenants by the end of May 2026 – see our blog on this. PRPs may wish to send their own communications to supplement this document.

Landlords will not need to issue new tenancies to existing residents, as the changes in tenure will automatically take place on implementation (although a written statement of terms is required before the end of May 2026 if there is no written tenancy agreement). However, landlords should have (if they haven’t already) a new standard form of APT for market rent tenancies, which they should issue for all new lets. This will need to take account of the minimum information to be included in the written statement of terms – see our separate blog on this (which was written before the information sheet referred to above was published). 

Changes to the rent review process

One of the most notable changes to arise from the Renters’ Rights Act is the management of rent arrears for PRPs with market rent properties, with new rules stating that at least two months’ notice must be given ahead of a rent review and the statutory process having to be followed. If a tenant challenges the proposed increase, the new rent cannot be enforced until, on, or after the outcome of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) (FTT) is known. This could delay the rent increase and future annual rent reviews by months (depending upon how quickly applications are processed by the FTT). 

Renters will be pleased to know that challenging rent increases will carry less risk. Under current processes, the FTT can decide that tenants should pay a higher rent than the landlord is asking for, which acts as a deterrent to resident challenges. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, the FTT will only have the power to impose the landlord’s proposed figure or less. This change makes it unlikely that PRPs will be able to operate a standard rent review date for market rent stock. In view of this, an effective system for staggered implementation of rent reviews across market rent stock will be required. 

Regaining possession of a property

Previously, when issuing Section 21 notices, a landlord could give two months’ notice to vacate a property, with no obligation to state the reason why. Under the new rules, all landlords will have to rely on one of the stated grounds for possession. Although the majority of notice periods are shorter than two months for the no-fault route, landlords should bear in mind that it could take much longer than this to secure a repossession order through the court system if this becomes necessary.

What this means for PRPs

To successfully navigate all changes implemented by the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords must ensure proper and thorough training is delivered to all staff, ensuring the nuances of the legislation are understood, particularly where it operates market rent stock. All relevant policies and procedures must be updated to reflect the impact of the Act and (where applicable) the implications for different types of stock.    

Failure to comply with the Act’s provisions could lead to a breach of tenancy claims, loss of income, fines from local authorities, and difficulty regaining possession. PRPs may face further implications such as potential breaches of the Governance and Financial Viability Standard, funding covenants, and reputational issues. Crucially, it could also have a negative impact on individual customer relationships. 

With so much change already underway, PRPs must continue reviewing their stock, systems and policies and procedures to ensure they are ready for any changes still to come. 

Key points

• The Renters’ Rights Act began on 1 May 2026 in respect of tenure and tenancy changes for PRP’s market rent stock.
• As the Act impacts types of property differently, providers must have a clear understanding of how they will be affected and classify their portfolio accordingly. They must also be ready to communicate what the changes are and to what extent individual tenants will be affected.
• The main legislative changes surround the tenancy agreement status, right to request a pet, the rent review process, and the landlord’s grounds for possession.
• For PRP’s stock that is not market rent (which will either be the majority or all), the tenancy agreement changes won’t occur until October 2027. When they do change, the new position about right to request a pet does not apply and for rent reviews, there may still be a contractual rent review provision or if the statutory process applies, the notice period will still be one month.
• Failure to comply could be damaging financially and reputationally.