The short version
The Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and its main provisions came into force on 1 May 2026. That is the date that matters — it is when section 21 died and every assured shorthold tenancy converted. But the Act was not switched on all at once. The PRS database, the landlord ombudsman, Awaab’s Law for private rentals and the Decent Homes Standard are still not in force, despite what a great many websites imply.
The dates that actually happened
| Date | What | Legal instrument |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 2025 | Royal Assent — the Act became law but did almost nothing | Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) |
| 27 Dec 2025 | Technical and definitional provisions only | Commencement No. 1 Regulations, SI 2025/1354 |
| 1 May 2026 | Main provisions. Tenancy reform, section 21 abolition, discrimination ban, rental bidding ban | Commencement No. 2 Regulations, SI 2026/421 |
| 31 May 2026 | Deadline to give existing tenants the information sheet | Consequence of 1 May commencement |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Transitional protection for pre-existing section 21 notices ended | RRA 2025 Schedule 6 |
The gap between Royal Assent and commencement is what confuses people. The Act “became law” in October 2025, and a lot of coverage at the time read as though everything had changed. Almost nothing had. Parliament passing an Act and the government switching it on are two separate events, and for six months the old rules continued exactly as before.
Why 1 May and not April? The government committed to a single implementation date with a clear run-up, rather than staggering tenancy reform across months. Landlords got roughly six months’ notice from Royal Assent, and the prescribed forms were published in advance so notices could be prepared.
What came into force on 1 May 2026
Tenancy structure
- ASTs abolished entirely
- All assured tenancies became periodic
- Fixed terms of no effect
- Rent periods capped at one month
- Tenant notice period set at two months
Possession
- Section 21 abolished
- New and rewritten section 8 grounds
- Ground 8 threshold raised to three months
- Grounds 1 and 1A, with the re-letting ban
- Deposit protection now bars section 8 too
Money and access
- Rent increases by section 13 only
- Tribunal can no longer raise rent above the proposal
- Rent in advance capped at one month
- Rental bidding banned
- Discrimination against benefits and children banned
Other duties
- Pet requests and the 28-day clock
- Information sheet to existing tenants
- Written statement of terms for new tenancies
- Increased penalties for unlawful eviction
- Rent repayment orders up to two years’ rent
What is still not in force
This is the half of the Act most guides get wrong
| Provision | Status | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| PRS database not in force | Not commenced. There is no registration service to register with | Regional rollout from late 2026 |
| Landlord ombudsman not in force | Not commenced. No provider has been designated | 2028 |
| Awaab’s Law (private sector) not in force | Not commenced. Timescales to be set by regulations after consultation | To be confirmed |
| Decent Homes Standard not in force | Not commenced | 2035 or later |
| Social housing tenancy reform not in force | The 1 May commencement applied to non-social-housing tenancies only | To be confirmed |
Two of these are worth understanding now even though they’re years off, because they change what compliance looks like when they land.
The PRS database will bar possession. Once it is live, a landlord not registered in respect of a dwelling will be unable to obtain a possession order for it — the same hard-bar mechanism that deposit protection uses, with the same two antisocial behaviour exceptions. That makes registration a first-order compliance item rather than administrative box-ticking, and it is worth being ready for it rather than surprised by it.
Awaab’s Law is not the social housing version. Awaab’s Law already applies in social housing under separate legislation, and a lot of the coverage you’ll find describes that regime. The private rented sector provisions in this Act have not been commenced and no timescales have been set. Don’t plan against social housing deadlines.
Does anything apply to tenancies signed before 1 May?
Yes — all of it. This is the point landlords most often hope is otherwise.
Every existing assured shorthold tenancy converted automatically on 1 May into a periodic assured tenancy. The tenancy itself continued; there was no surrender, no re-grant and no need to issue new paperwork. But from that date the new rules governed it: no section 21, section 13 for rent increases, the pet regime, the new possession grounds.
There is one narrow exception worth knowing. Ground 1A — possession because you’re selling — does not apply to “legacy assured tenancies”, meaning genuine old-style assured tenancies that pre-date 1997 and were never ASTs. If you converted an AST, you are fully within Ground 1A. Only the genuinely old tenancies are carved out, and most landlords will never encounter one.
The transitional windows have closed. A section 21 notice served before 1 May only survived if you had already requested the claim form from the court. Everything else expired on 31 July 2026. If you were holding a notice and waiting, it is now dead, and section 21 no longer exists to serve a new one.
Questions
The statute is the 2025 Act — Royal Assent October 2025. Most people call it the 2026 Act because that’s when it started applying. Use 2025 in anything formal.
Yes, on 1 May 2026, whatever your agreement says about a fixed term.
No. It was abolished on 1 May 2026 and there is no version of it left to serve.
No — it does not exist yet. Registration will be mandatory when it launches, expected from late 2026 onwards.
No. England only. Wales and Scotland have their own separate regimes.
Stay ahead of what’s coming
The Landlord Alliance tracks every date in the implementation timetable and tells you what it means for your properties. £10 a month, first month free.
See what’s includedEngland only. Position as at 20 August 2026. General information from a landlord, not legal advice.
Sources: Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c. 26); SI 2025/1354; SI 2026/421; RRA 2025 Schedule 6; GOV.UK implementation roadmap.
Related: the full guide · what changed on 1 May · the information sheet · section 8 grounds