Renters' Rights Bill

KEY CHANGES FROM 1ST MAY 2026

End of fixed-term tenancies

All assured shorthold tenancies will become periodic agreements, regardless of whether they currently in a fixed term or not. This means that the contract will become a rolling month to month tenancy which either can be ended by the tenants from a two month notice or from yourselves under a specific ground for eviction which can be between 2 weeks to 4 months, depending on the ground used.

Changes to tenant eviction

Typically, if a tenant is evicted, we submit Section 21 (no fault) evictions which will be abolished with the focus being on the existing Section 8 notices. Whilst there has been a vast increase with the number of grounds used in a Section 8 notice to evict a tenant, the timespan for eviction can vary between 2 weeks to 4 months. Some of the grounds will cover property condition, sale of property, rental arrears, redevelopment, ownership or purpose change and breaches in tenancy. If you currently have an active Section 21 on a tenant dated before 1st May 2026, this will still be active, even if the date the tenants are due to vacate is after 1st May 2026. However any active Section 21's much be actioned or escalated before 31st July 2026.

Right to keep a pet

Landlords must reasonably consider pet requests from existing tenants. These requests will still rejectable but typically up until now, Charter Whyman just reject most of these on your behalf but moving forward you may get a request for a pet. We will also advise accordingly if it does arise.

Compliance, Registration and Schemes

Over the next several months, landlords will have to have details registered on the new Private Rented Sector Database and a Landlord Ombudsman. The database is being introduced to ensure that properties remain complaint and to reduce the number of rogue landlords avoiding certain laws. The Landlord Ombudsman will be designed to facilitate tenants to raise disputes against landlords who refuse to action work which would be deemed important or a risk to property, but this will primarily focus landlords who don’t have any managing agent to take accountability and complaint handling for them.

Property Standards

Within the property, there will be more responsibility to deal with serious hazards from neglected properties. For example, if a property is susceptible to damp and mould, there will be further responsibilities for landlords to rectify if it is not a fault from the tenant and lifestyle. So far there is a few mentions regarding overall property condition and updating the property every few years but nothing concrete has been submitted yet.

Restrictions on Tenants

Tenants are going to be restricted when signing up for the property as they won’t be able to pay in full. Typically, this method is used if there is an applicant who has a high amount of funds but no regular income. This can in turn be beneficial for you and can assist us in ensuring referencing is fully complete.

Rental Increasing and Bidding

Rental increases may only happen once in a twelve-month period for a tenancy which may only be via a Section 13 notice. This notice is designed to submit a rental increase in line with current market rates which would be applicable to any tenancies where there is room for a rental increase or if area’s start to increase in value over time. Furthermore, there will no longer be any more bidding which whilst we don’t engage it currently, it limits multiple tenants increasing their rental offers or letting agents using tenant desperation for gain.

What This Means For You?

We personally believe that these changes will not be majorly impactful to landlords we currently manage properties for. Provided that the same level of service, responsiveness, and willingness to maintain the property is upkept. Obviously the changes in the eviction process will be initially quite intimating but these can be easily overcome and planned accordingly.

Currently we are already preparing our tenancy agreements, strengthening compliance checks, reviewing processes and updating our agency terms and fees to reflect a rolling periodic contract as opposed to a fixed term tenancy. We will likely reissue you with a new agency agreement but please note that existing management fee’s will not be altered.

The vast majority of landlords who may feel this significantly more are landlords without any guidance, unmanaged and typically take advantage of tenants and their positions which is a reason why this have been brought to attention.

Why Full Management Matters More Than Ever

As regulations tighten, professional management is invaluable. With our full management service, we ensure:

• Legal compliance at every stage
• Correct handling of tenancy changes
• Minimised risk and protected income
• Confidence and clarity for you, every step of the way