Renters' Rights Act 2026: The Landlord Compliance Checklist (and the £7,000 Fine for Missing It)

The Renters' Rights Act has been crawling through Parliament since 2024, and on 1 May 2026 the first batch of provisions actually came into force. If you are a landlord and you have been treating this as someone else's problem, the next four weeks are uncomfortable. The 31 May 2026 deadline for handing every tenant the new Information Sheet is the first serious one, and ignoring it costs up to £7,000 per tenancy.

Here is what has actually changed, what you need to do, and by when.

Section 21 is gone. For real this time.

No-fault eviction was the headline policy on death row. From 1 May 2026, you can no longer end a tenancy under Section 21. Every eviction now has to be a Section 8 with a specified ground. The most relevant ones for landlords are:

• Ground 1: you or a close family member want to move into the property. 4 months' notice. The tenancy must have run at least 12 months.
• Ground 1A: you want to sell. 4 months' notice. Same 12-month minimum tenancy.
• Ground 8: at least 2 months of rent arrears at the time you serve notice and at the hearing.
• Ground 14: anti-social behaviour. Notice period varies; courts have discretion on whether to grant possession.

Ground 1A is the one most landlords care about. If you served a Section 21 before 1 May 2026, it is still valid and you can proceed. If you did not, you cannot suddenly retrofit one. You will need Section 8 and you will need to meet the new conditions.

The Information Sheet (the £7,000 trap)

Every existing tenant must be given an official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. Every new tenant must get one before they sign. The sheet is published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and explains the tenant's rights under the new law.

Failure to provide it is a civil offence punishable by a fine of up to £7,000 from a local council. You cannot withdraw a Section 8 notice if you have not served the Information Sheet, so you also cannot get the tenant out.

The sheet is free. Download it from gov.uk, attach it to every tenancy folder, and email or post it to current tenants with proof of delivery.

Periodic tenancies replace fixed terms

Assured shorthold tenancies are abolished. Every new tenancy is a periodic tenancy that runs month-to-month. Existing fixed-term tenancies will automatically convert to periodic on 1 May 2026 unless they were already periodic.

Tenants can give 2 months' notice at any time. Landlords can only end the tenancy via one of the Section 8 grounds above. You cannot ask for more than one month's rent in advance under the new rules.

Rent increases: once a year, via Section 13 notice only

Rent can be raised once per year, via a Section 13 notice. Tenants can challenge any increase at the First-tier Tribunal, and the tribunal cannot raise the rent above the level the landlord proposed. So if you ask for £200 extra and the tribunal disagrees, you can end up with less than £200, but never more.

In practice this changes the negotiation. Landlords have less leverage to use rent rises as a covert eviction. Tenants who suspect a punitive raise will challenge it.

The Decent Homes Standard is coming for the private rented sector

Currently the Decent Homes Standard applies only to social housing. Phase 2 of the Act, due later in 2026, will extend it to private landlords. That means:

• The property must be in a reasonable state of repair.
• Modern facilities (kitchen under 20 years old, bathroom under 30 years old).
• Reasonable thermal comfort (insulation, working heating).
• Free from category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

If you have been renting out a tired property, budget for the upgrade now. The earliest enforcement begins phasing in late 2026.

Awaab's Law for private landlords

Awaab's Law forces landlords to investigate damp and mould reports within 10 working days and complete repairs within strict windows. It came into force for social housing on 27 October 2025. Phase 2 of the Renters' Rights Act extends it to the private rented sector during 2026.

Get ahead of this by inspecting all your properties now. Mould complaints have a specific paper trail under the new rules: when the tenant reported, when you visited, what the diagnosis was, what the repair plan is. A casual response email is no longer enough.

Discrimination bans tighten

You can no longer refuse a tenant on the basis that they have children or are claiming benefits ("No DSS"). Both are now explicit protected categories. Letting agents need to update their systems. The Property Ombudsman scheme will take complaints from rejected tenants and can compel evidence.

A national landlord database

A central database of landlords and properties is being built. Registration will be mandatory before you can serve a Section 8 notice. The database is planned to go live in 2027 but registration is opening earlier in 2026. Cost is expected to be modest (single-figure pounds per property per year), but you will need to register every property you let.

What to do this week

1. Download the official Information Sheet from gov.uk.
2. Send it to every existing tenant by post or email with proof of delivery (recorded post or email read receipt). Deadline: 31 May 2026.
3. Audit any tenancy you were thinking of ending. If you have not already served Section 21, you cannot anymore. Consider whether Section 8 Ground 1A applies.
4. Review your tenancy agreement template. Strip Section 21 references. Update the rent review clause to reflect Section 13 only. Remove any "more than one month in advance" rent clauses.
5. Inspect each property for damp, mould, working heating and any Cat 1 hazard. Document everything.
6. Set a calendar alert for the national database opening (likely Q4 2026).

What this means for buy-to-let returns

The Act tilts the cost-benefit further toward larger landlords with managed compliance. Self-managing landlords face more admin, longer void periods after problem tenants, and tighter margins. Combined with Section 24 mortgage interest restriction (still in force), Section 21 abolition, and the EPC C deadline in 2030, the regulatory loading on small landlords is now genuinely heavy.

That said, with around 93,000 UK landlords leaving the market in 2025, supply is tight, rents are climbing, and the operators who stay in the game with proper systems are doing well. The risk now is non-compliance, not market exposure.

Sources

• Renters' Rights Act 2025 Information Sheet (gov.uk)
• No-fault evictions to end May 2026 (gov.uk)
• Awaab's Law guidance (gov.uk)