Published 15 September 2026. Rules from the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the GOV.UK guide to the Act and the government's information sheet for tenants; costs from court fees, insurer data and our own calculators. Not legal advice.

Renters' Rights Act: What It Costs Landlords in 2026

The Renters' Rights Act's tenancy reforms have applied to every private tenancy in England since 1 May 2026. Most of what changed is a cost rather than a fee: longer voids because tenants can leave on two months' notice, a court fee and months of waiting for every possession, one rent rise a year, and civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first breach and £40,000 for a serious one. The database opens on 15 December 2026 at £65 per property a year, and the ombudsman follows it. This guide goes through each change, says what it costs a typical landlord with one £1,200-a-month property, and shows which costs you can avoid.

The cost of the Act in one table

Court fees at September 2026. Void estimate assumes tenancies average 30 months rather than 36 and 2 extra weeks empty per change, at £1,200 a month.

Periodic tenancies and voids

On 1 May 2026 every assured shorthold tenancy in England, including fixed terms still running, became an assured periodic tenancy with a rent period of a month or less. A tenant can now end the tenancy at any time with two months' written notice; there is no minimum term and no early-exit fee. For landlords who relied on a 12-month fixed term to plan, the cost is in voids. Where a tenancy used to run for the full year and then roll, the average tenancy is now expected to shorten and each change of tenant brings the usual two to four empty weeks, the re-let costs and a new set of checks. On a £1,200 property the difference between a 36-month and a 30-month average tenancy is about £550 to £1,100 a year once re-let fees are included, which the yield calculator models as the void weeks line.

The mitigation is unglamorous: a fair rent, quick repairs and a good relationship. Tenants leave more often when the rent is above market or the boiler keeps failing. The Act also removed the tenant's incentive to leave at a fixed date, so a tenant who is happy has no reason to go.

Rent increases and rent in advance

Rent can be increased once in any 12 months and only by a section 13 notice on the prescribed form giving at least two months' notice. Rent review clauses in old agreements no longer work. The tenant can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal, which sets the rent at the market rate or the landlord's figure, whichever is lower, and can defer the start of the new rent by up to two months in cases of hardship. The tribunal cannot set a higher rent than you asked for, so there is no risk in the tenant challenging beyond delay: on a £100-a-month rise deferred two months, £200.

For tenancies created from 1 May 2026 you can take no more than one month's rent in advance, and you cannot ask for rent before the tenancy agreement is signed. Tenancies agreed before that date with a rent-in-advance arrangement can keep it until the tenancy ends. The deposit cap of five weeks' rent under the Tenant Fees Act is unchanged. The practical effect is on cash flow for landlords who used six months' rent up front to let to tenants who could not pass referencing; for them the answer is a guarantor or rent guarantee insurance.

Possession without section 21

Section 21 is gone. Every possession now needs a ground under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended, the right notice period, and a court order. The grounds landlords use most:

The costs are the court fee (£404 for a possession claim in 2026), a bailiff or High Court enforcement (£130 to £400 or more), and the rent lost while it happens. The mandatory arrears ground now needs three months of arrears rather than two, so the earliest realistic timeline for a non-paying tenant is three months to reach the threshold, four weeks' notice, then a hearing date that in many courts is three to five months away. Budget six to nine months of lost rent for a bad case: £7,000 to £11,000 on a £1,200 let. That single number explains why rent guarantee and legal expenses cover have become cheap by comparison, and why referencing and a guarantor matter more than before.

Pets

A tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet. You must reply within 28 days and can refuse only on reasonable grounds, such as a superior lease that bans animals, and a tenant can challenge a refusal through the ombudsman once it exists. The Act as passed does not let you require pet insurance or a larger deposit, so damage beyond the five-week deposit is your risk. Several insurers now sell a pet damage extension for £20 to £40 a year, and a written pet clause (one animal, professional clean at the end, no breeding) is enforceable.

Bidding wars, benefits and children

You must advertise a rent and cannot invite or accept offers above it. You cannot refuse a tenant, or discourage an application, because they have children or receive benefits, though you can still reference for affordability. Neither costs money in itself; both are civil penalty risks for the landlord or agent who ignores them, at up to £7,000 for a first breach. Adverts and agent instructions written before May 2026 are worth re-reading.

The landlord database and ombudsman

The private rented sector database opens on 15 December 2026. It rolls out region by region over twelve months, starting in the West Midlands, and each region gets a three-month window once it is called forward; every actively let property in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. Each landlord and each property must be registered before the property is marketed or let, with contact details, the address, ownership and tenancy details, and copies of the gas safety record, EICR and EPC. The fee is £65 per property a year, so a three-property landlord pays £195 a year. Letting an unregistered property or failing to keep the entry current is a breach with civil penalties and, importantly, a bar on using most possession grounds until it is fixed. Our database and ombudsman guide covers what to upload.

The landlord ombudsman follows once the database is operating. Membership will be compulsory for every private landlord, with a fee still to be set; existing redress schemes for agents charge £100 to £250 a year for a small business, and the government has indicated the landlord fee will be lower. The ombudsman will handle tenant complaints about the landlord's conduct and repairs and can order compensation of up to £25,000. Keep a written record of repair requests and responses from now; that is the evidence the ombudsman will ask for.

Decent Homes and Awaab's Law

The Act gives the government the power to apply a Decent Homes Standard to private rentals, with 2035 as the announced target, and to extend Awaab's Law (fixed timescales to investigate and fix damp, mould and other hazards) to the private sector, with no date yet; 2027 is the earliest realistic point. Neither costs anything today, but both reward the same work as the EPC C standard: insulation and ventilation are what stop damp. A landlord who plans the 2030 upgrade now will meet most of the Decent Homes fabric requirements in the same job. Add the dates to the compliance calendar when the government sets them.

Penalties and rent repayment orders

Councils can impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first or minor breach (for example failing to give the written statement, or marketing without the database entry) and up to £40,000 for serious or repeated breaches, including unlawful eviction and using ground 1A then re-letting. Rent repayment orders, which let a tenant reclaim rent through the tribunal, were extended to two years of rent (from one) and to more offences, and they can be made against a superior landlord in rent-to-rent arrangements. The realistic exposure for a compliant landlord is nil. The exposure for a landlord who has not served the written statement, has no certificates or misuses a ground is a five-figure sum, which is why the cheapest items on this page are the ones to do first.

What you can avoid paying

• Serve the written statement. A template costs nothing and removes a £7,000 exposure.
• Get the certificates in date before the database. The certificate cost calculator prices the set; done as a bundle it is about £300 to £400 for a house.
• Use section 13 properly. One form, two months' notice, market rent. A rise that survives a tribunal costs nothing; an informal one is void and the tenant can recover it.
• Reference and insure. £250 a year of rent guarantee against a £7,000 to £11,000 worst case.
• Do not use grounds 1 or 1A casually. The 12-month re-letting ban and the £40,000 penalty make them expensive if the circumstances change.
• Keep records. Repair requests, responses, notices and access attempts are the whole case at the ombudsman and the tribunal.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Renters' Rights Act come into force?

The tenancy reforms commenced on 1 May 2026 for all private tenancies in England, new and existing. The landlord database opens on 15 December 2026, the ombudsman follows it, and the Decent Homes Standard has a 2035 target.

Can I still evict a tenant?

Yes, on a ground: serious arrears (three months, mandatory), other arrears, breach, antisocial behaviour, selling, or moving in yourself, each with its own notice period and always through the court. Section 21 no-fault notices no longer exist.

How much can I raise the rent?

To market rent, once a year, by section 13 notice with two months' notice. The tenant can ask the tribunal to check it; the tribunal cannot set more than you asked and can delay the start by up to two months in hardship cases.

What is the fine for breaking the Renters' Rights Act?

Civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first or minor breach and up to £40,000 for serious or repeat breaches, plus rent repayment orders of up to two years' rent for the offences listed in the Act.

Do I have to join the landlord database?

Yes, every private landlord in England. Registration opens on 15 December 2026 and runs region by region, with every actively let property on the database by 14 November 2027, at £65 per property a year.

Can I refuse a tenant with a pet?

Only for a reasonable reason, given in writing within 28 days. You cannot demand pet insurance or a bigger deposit under the Act as passed; a pet damage extension on your own policy costs £20 to £40 a year.

Sources

The Renters' Rights Act 2025; GOV.UK guide to the Renters' Rights Act; the government's Information Sheet 2026; House of Commons Library briefing on renters' reform implementation; HM Courts and Tribunals Service fees; insurer premium data, September 2026. See the methodology.