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The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has now completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent.
This new bill will affect both Landlords and Tenants alike, with more stringent guidelines around property standards and rent increases.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government hope that the bill will improve the current private rental system for both the 11 million renters and 2.3 million landlords in England. The key changes are detailed below:
Ending ‘No Fault Evictions’
Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants without providing a valid and legal ground for possession. To end a tenancy, Landlords must be able to provide a specific reason such as; rent arrears or breach of contract. The UK Government are hoping that this will provide tenants with greater security and stability whilst reducing the number of ‘illegal’ evictions. Landlords must, as with the current system, go to court in the event a tenant does not leave after receiving notice, during the court procedure the Landlord must be able to provide evidence that the grounds for possession are met. For mandatory grounds, the courts must award possession to the Landlord if the ground is proven. For discretionary grounds, the court may consider if the eviction is reasonable.
The Renters' Rights Bill will abolish the use of Section 21 Notices, meaning that Landlords must instead use the Section 8 Grounds for Possession, which are specific circumstances allowing the Landlord to regain possession of their property. This means that Landlords can enjoy robust grounds for possession, the Landlord will only be required to take the matter to the Courts should the Tenant fail to leave the property at the end of the prescribed notice period.
Transition to Periodic Tenancies
The Renters’ Reform Bill will see the end of fixed-term assured tenancies, instead all tenancies will be periodic. This means tenants will be able to stay in their property for as long as they want, or until a landlord serves a valid section 8 notice and they will be required to provide their Landlord 2 months notice of their intention to leave the property.
Reform possession grounds in the PRS so they are fair for both parties – Landlords will only be able to evict tenants when they have a valid reason but possession grounds will be extended to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour, or who are in serious persistent rent arrears.
Rent Increases
All future rent increases in the private rental sector will be made using the same process. Landlords will be able to apply a rent increase one per year, in line with the market rate, the price that would be achieved if the property was to be newly advertised to let. In order to apply this rental increase, a Section 13 Notice must be served, setting out the new rent and providing the tenants at least 2 months notice of the change.
Make it illegal to discriminate against renters who have children or receive benefits – landlords and letting agents will not be able to do anything to make a tenant less likely to rent a property (or prevent them from renting it) because they have children or receive benefits. This includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), stopping someone from viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy.
During Phase 2 they will introduce the PRS Database and PRS Landlord Ombudsman.
We will introduce a Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to the PRS for the first time. This will ensure that all PRS properties meet a minimum standard of housing quality and provide local councils with powers to take enforcement action if PRS properties fail to meet it.
We are confident that the changes will not effect our landlords for the following reasons -
There is no reason that you would need to evict a good tenant as even if you wished to sell your property you can sell it with the tenant in the property, as there is a a good market to sell to other investors like yourself.
They have made it easier to evict bad tenants.
We already refurbish all of our properties to a minimum of the Durham decent home standard and any applicable selective licencing standards before we sell the properties.
We put good management in place to ensure that the properties are kept to a good standard throughout the tenancy.
All tenants are thoroughly referenced and affordability checked before selecting them.
We have always been happy to accept tenants with children or on benefits.
Insurance backed rental guarantee can be put in place for all new tenants offering peace of mind for landlords.
For more information read the policy paper set out by the government, Published 13 November 2025:
"Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: Our roadmap for reforming the Private Rented Sector, "
click here.
Please give us a call if you wish to discuss in more detail - 01483 663001
