The Renters' Rights Act Is Now Live: What Changed Today (1 May 2026)

Phase 1 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect at 00:01 today, 1 May 2026. The commencement order is S.I. 2026/421 reg. 2(b). Section 21 is retired. Every assured shorthold tenancy in England has converted to a periodic tenancy. Form 4A has replaced Form 4 for rent increases. The four-week deposit cap is in force. Rent bidding is banned.

If you're a landlord or letting agent reading this on commencement day, you do not need to redraft your portfolio overnight. You do need to know what changed at midnight, what you're now allowed and not allowed to do, and which tasks should land on this week's tab.

What changed at 00:01 today

A summary of the Phase 1 provisions now in force, drawn from the Schedule 1 amendments to the Housing Act 1988 + the new sections inserted by RRA 2025 ss.1–7.

1. Section 21 is gone

You can no longer serve a Section 21 "no-fault" notice. The mechanism has been removed from the Housing Act 1988 by RRA 2025 s.2, which omits Chapter 2 of Part 1 of HA 1988 — the chapter that contained the assured-shorthold-tenancy regime that Section 21 sat within. Notices already served before 1 May 2026 remain valid but only within the transitional applicable periods set by Schedule 6 — the longstop is 31 July 2026. After that, an unactioned pre-commencement Section 21 notice expires regardless of when it was served. See Section 21 abolished: what landlords and agents need to do now for the two transitional regimes (s.21(4DA) for standard notices and s.21(4EA) for "longer-notice" variants — the dates differ).

The only possession route from today is Section 8 with a specific statutory ground.

2. ASTs converted to periodic tenancies — automatically

Every existing assured shorthold tenancy with a fixed term is now a periodic tenancy. The conversion is statutory and automatic — neither party signs anything. Fixed-term clauses, contractual break clauses, and contractual rent review provisions in your existing AST templates have no effect from today. The tenant can end the tenancy with two months' written notice; you can end it only via Section 8 (a specific ground) or with a court order.

The term "assured shorthold tenancy" is retired by RRA 2025 s.2, which omits Chapter 2 of Part 1 of HA 1988 (the chapter that defined the AST). The fixed-term-to-periodic conversion is achieved by RRA 2025 s.1, which inserts a new s.4A into HA 1988 — modifying assured tenancies generally so that fixed-term clauses have no effect and rent periods must be 28 days or shorter, or monthly. New tenancies created from today are assured tenancies — periodic by default. See AST to periodic conversion explained for the operational detail and the AST Conversion Impact Calculator for tenancy-specific impact.

3. Form 4A replaces Form 4 for rent increases

Form 4 is no longer the prescribed notice. From today, the only valid statutory rent-increase route is Section 13 served via Form 4A. The watermarked preview has been on GOV.UK's assured-tenancy-forms page for several weeks; the usable version goes live on that page today.

You still need at least one month's notice and you can only increase rent once every 52 weeks (the wording is "52 weeks" in HA 1988 s.13(2)(b)(ii) — not "12 months"). The tenant retains the right to challenge any increase at the First-tier Tribunal within the notice period. Tribunal determines market rent; it can set the rent at, below, or between the current and proposed amount. See How to increase rent under the RRA: Form 4A explained and the Section 13 / Form 4A Rent Increase Calculator for the date arithmetic.

4. Possession notice periods — new s.8(4AA)

RRA 2025 s.3(3)(e) inserts a new Housing Act 1988 s.8(4AA) setting the notice period required for each possession ground. The headline numbers operators need on hand:

Ground	Notice period	What it covers
1	4 months	Landlord or family member moving in
1A	4 months	Landlord selling the property
4A	4 months	Student HMO — possession to re-let to students
6	4 months	Demolition / major redevelopment
8	4 weeks	Mandatory rent arrears (now 13 weeks / 3 months — see below)
14	Same-day possible	Anti-social behaviour (retained s.8(4)/(4ZA) carve-out)

The full table — including all the 5/5A/5B variants and the 7/9 family — is on the verbatim statute. Grounds 1, 1A, and 6 cannot be used inside the first 12 months of a tenancy (anti-eviction-churn protection added by RRA 2025 Schedule 1).

5. Ground 8 threshold raised to 13 weeks / 3 months

For mandatory rent-arrears possession on Ground 8, the threshold has changed. The old "two months / eight weeks" rule has been replaced — RRA 2025 Schedule 1 substitutes "thirteen" for "eight" weeks (weekly tenancies) and "three" for "two" months (monthly tenancies). The dual-trigger rule survives: the threshold has to be met both at the date the s.8 notice is served and at the date of the court hearing. Tenants who pay arrears down between service and hearing can defeat the ground.

6. Four-week tenancy deposit cap

The deposit cap remains on the prescribed scale (max 5 weeks where annual rent < £50,000) but the cap on advance rent is now four weeks. Demanding more than four weeks' rent up front is a council enforcement matter from today — civil penalties up to £40,000.

7. Rent bidding ban

Asking for or accepting rent above the advertised amount is unlawful from today. The ban applies at marketing stage (the advertised rent is the maximum) and at re-letting. Enforcement sits with local councils; civil penalties up to £40,000 apply. See What is a fair rent increase under the RRA? for how this interacts with Form 4A increases (new tenancies) and post-tenancy negotiation.

8. Discrimination ban — benefits and children

A landlord or agent cannot refuse to let, refuse to view, or impose worse terms on a prospective tenant because they receive benefits or have children. This includes "no DSS" type advertising, blanket-policy refusals, and stricter affordability tests applied to benefit recipients. Civil penalties apply.

9. Council investigatory powers — already in force from 27 December 2025

This is not new today — the council enforcement powers commenced on 27 December 2025, four months before Phase 1 (RRA 2025 Schedule 7 paras 1-3). They've been live since late December 2025. Today simply moves the substantive offences they investigate (unlawful eviction, prohibited fees, advance-rent overcharges, rent-bidding offences) into force.

What you should do this week

This is not a redraft-the-portfolio week. It is a check-the-fundamentals week.

1. Audit any Section 21 notices in flight

If you have a pre-1 May Section 21 notice on which you haven't yet started court proceedings, work out which transitional regime applies — standard or longer-notice — and the deadline for filing. Don't trust calendar arithmetic alone for the longer-notice variant: the four-month-from-specified-date rule can expire before 31 July 2026. The RRA Deadline Tracker shows the cutoff per notice type.

2. Replace your AST template with an assured-tenancy template

For new lets from today, your tenancy template needs to drop the "AST" label, drop the fixed-term language, and drop contractual rent-review and break-clause provisions. The Written Statement requirement (regulations made under RRA 2025 s.45 — the prescribed clauses are listed in the regulations' Schedule 1) means you must give every tenant a written statement of tenancy terms covering the specified matters. See AST template: what changes under the RRA for the clause-by-clause rewrite.

3. Update marketing copy

Any listing that says "AST" or "12-month fixed term", any "no benefits" or "no children" wording, and any advertised rent that you'd routinely "negotiate up" needs to come down today. Council enforcement teams have powers to investigate today's listings under powers that have been live since December 2025 — they did not need Phase 1 to start checking.

4. Reissue your tenant-information process

There's no legal requirement to write to tenants about today's changes — the conversion is automatic. There is a statutory requirement under RRA 2025 s.45 to provide the government's Information Sheet 2026 to existing tenants by 31 May 2026. If you haven't sent it yet, this week is the right time to do it — alongside a one-paragraph plain-English note explaining the conversion. The Information Sheet is free from gov.uk.

5. Run a Phase 1 readiness pass on each property

A few minutes per property — under five for self-managing landlords with a handful of tenancies, longer for agents managing 30+ properties (the RRA Readiness Checker does this in batch and produces a per-property action list):

• Does the tenant have a current EICR, EPC E or above (where MEES applies), and Gas Safety Certificate on file?
• Is the deposit registered with a scheme and the prescribed information served?
• Does the tenancy file include a Section 48 notice of address for service that is still valid?
• Are there any council notices outstanding (HHSRS, improvement, EPC)?

If any of these are missing today, the property is materially exposed: most Section 8 grounds are unavailable to a landlord who can't evidence a clean compliance trail.

What did NOT change today

Equally important — the things that are still on Phase 2 or Phase 3 timelines and don't take effect today:

• The Private Rented Sector Database is Phase 2 (regional rollout from late 2026). You don't need to register a property today.
• The Landlord Ombudsman scheme is Phase 2 (expected ~2028). You don't need to join today.
• The Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector is Phase 3 (target dates 2035-2037 per the implementation roadmap). The MEES regime continues to govern energy efficiency in the meantime.
• Council enforcement of the new offences is live, but the Lead Enforcement Authority — the body that backs up under-resourced councils — is being stood up in stages; some councils will lean on it more heavily than others through the rest of 2026.

Useful references for today

• The full Act: Renters' Rights Act 2025 (c. 26)
• The commencement order: S.I. 2026/421 reg. 2(b)
• The notice-period table (HA 1988 s.8(4AA)): RRA 2025 s.3(3)(e)
• Schedule 1 (changes to possession grounds): RRA 2025 Schedule 1
• Schedule 6 (Section 21 transitional rules): RRA 2025 Schedule 6
• The new Form 4A: GOV.UK — assured tenancy forms (1 May 2026 onward)

For deeper coverage of every provision in force from today and what comes next in Phases 2 and 3, see the Renters' Rights Act 2025 definitive guide and the RRA key dates timeline. The pillar landlord compliance checklist is the operational checklist version of the same content for self-managing portfolios. Letting agents managing more than five properties should also check the bulk AST conversion impact calculator per tenancy.

This guide covers Phase 1 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as it applies to private rented sector tenancies in England only. Scotland operates under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. Wales operates under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. This is not legal advice — for specific notices, possession proceedings, or enforcement responses, consult a solicitor specialising in housing law or your professional body.

Information is current as of the date shown above.