Renters’ Rights Act passed into UK law

The Renters’ Rights Act, which  provides for a suite of reforms relevant to the private rented sector in England, received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 after MPs backed final amendments to the legislation tabled by peers last week.

• The Renters’ Rights Act 2025: a guide for private landlords in England

Natalie Harris of Pinsent Masons, an expert in property law, said the Renters’ Rights Act provides for the biggest shake-up of short-term residential lettings in England in a generation. However, because the Act essentially serves as framework legislation, the government must introduce further regulations to give effect, and add detail, to the basic provisions in the Act. The government has promised to set out a timeline for implementation “as soon as possible”.

Pinsent Masons has produced a detailed guide to the Renters’ Rights Act to give landlords insight on the effects the legislation will have on, for example, their rights to terminate leases, their grounds for recovering possession, and the impact on rent reviews and payment models in operation in the market. Among other things, the guide also addresses specific issues the Act raises in the context of student accommodation.

Parts of the legislation that drew significant attention as it passed through parliament were provisions that provide for a ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions – where landlords terminate tenancies without giving any reason. While landlords now face being unable to evict on a ‘no-fault’ basis, the Act provides them with a broader set of grounds for obtaining possession of a rental property using court proceedings.

Other reforms that the Act provides for include the extension of 'Awaab’s Law’ to the private rented sector. That law, named after Awaab Ishak, a child who tragically died after exposure to mould in a home his family rented in Rochdale, takes effect for social housing providers on 27 October 2025 and sets out timeframes within which landlords must carry out repairs upon becoming aware of potential serious health hazards.

Further provisions in the Act, when implemented, will bar landlords from operating blanket bans on renting out to people on benefits or with children.

Harris said: “The passage of the Renters’ Rights Act represents the culmination of a long period of parliamentary activity during which reform of the near 40-year-old laws governing the relationship between landlords and tenants in the private-rented sector in England was on the agenda.”

“The Act builds on the Renters (Reform) Bill that the previous Conservative government ran out of time to get onto the statute book before parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election. Whilst the Act reflects core themes of the previous Bill, it makes additional and more far-reaching changes. Landlords and agents should prepare for the new regime to take effect, given the extent of those changes, notwithstanding the further regulations to follow,” she said.

Speaking during a House of Commons debate on the final amendments of the legislation, on Wednesday 22 October, housing minister Matthew Pennycook addressed the issue of the timeline for implementation.

Pennycook said: “Completing the Bill’s final stage today is obviously only the beginning; once the Bill becomes law, we need to implement its provisions. In doing so, we will balance the need to act quickly, so that tenants can soon benefit from the new rights and protections introduced by the Bill, whilst also ensuring that the sector has sufficient time to adjust and prepare for what is a significant change in regulation. The government understand the need for certainty, and we will set out our implementation plans as soon as possible.”