The much heralded Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will be the biggest change in the law between landlords and tenants of residential property since the Housing Act 1988. It received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and once fully enacted, it will directly impact how landlords with assured shorthold tenants manage their properties, and their legal rights.
In this blog, Simon Tucker explains what’s changing, and what landlords need to do to stay compliant when the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 becomes law.
Renter’s Rights Act 2025 – key changes at a glance
- End of fixed-term tenancies. All new and existing assured shorthold tenancies will become will convert to periodic tenancies, meaning they continue indefinitely unless ended by the tenant or under specific legal grounds.
- Abolition of section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions. Landlords can no longer evict tenants without reason. Evictions must now be based on section 8 fault-based grounds or exceptional circumstances such as a genuine need to sell.
- Stronger tenant protections. In all potential eviction cases,
- tenants will be entitled to an extended notice period
- possession can only be obtained by court order or by voluntary surrender by the tenant
- tenants can challenge unfair rent increases.
- Ongoing section 21 notices. Any notice under section 21 served by a landlord before the act becomes law must be proved to be valid (and therefore compliant with all current relevant legislation) and must be capable of being followed up by court proceedings within six months of the date of the notice.
Renter’s Rights Act 2025 – what landlords should do now
- Review your tenancy agreements in preparation for the shift to periodic tenancies.
- Audit any recent section 21 notices to ensure they’re valid and actionable.
- Familiarise yourself with updated section 8 criteria.
- Keep up to date on these changes as implementation timelines vary, with some changes taking effect immediately, whilst others will roll out over the next 6–12 months
- If you want to avoid a potentially long-term relationship with your current tenants, you will need to assess whether and when you can serve a valid section 21 notice and that you are capable of enforcing that notice by court proceedings, within six months of issuing the notice..
If you are a landlord and would like tailored advice on how these changes can affect your properties, please contact Simon Tucker or Sophie Taylor.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.