There is quite a bit in the new legislation about rent, and the ever-increasing rent levels have been a concern for this government.

Why rent levels are of concern

For years, decades even, tenants have been intimidated from challenging rent increases, due to the overt or implied threat of a section 21 eviction. So, in many areas, rents have been increasing at above the rate of inflation for a long time.

Partly as a result of this, housing is more expensive in the UK than in almost any comparable country.  It also absorbs a larger share of household spending than in any other OECD country apart from Finland.

But the new Act is designed to change this.

Rental bidding

There has also been the problem, caused mainly by the shortage of decent accommodation in areas where it is needed, of ‘rental bidding’. Or tenants pushing up rents by offering higher and higher rents in an attempt to secure a home.

The government hope to stop this by:

• Requiring all property adverts to state a ‘proposed rent’ which landlords cannot charge more than, and
• Giving Local Authorities the power to fine landlords who either fail to cite a proposed rent, or who allow tenants to bid above this.

Then, there are new laws against:

Rent in advance

This has been another reason why renting property has become so expensive for many tenants.

Landlords are requiring increasingly large sums paid in advance, particularly where tenants have a less than satisfactory credit record.

So now if landlords accept any rent in advance of the tenancy agreement being signed, this is a breach for which they can be fined up to £5,000 per offence by ‘local weights and measures authorities’.  In other words, Trading Standards.

Increasing rent

Up until 1 May, landlords could increase rent by

• Agreement – normally by the tenant signing a new tenancy agreement with the increased rent, at ‘renewal’
• A rent review clause in the tenancy agreement, and
• By the statutory notice procedure set out in section 13 of the Housing Act 1988.

However, now landlords can ONLY increase rent via the statutory notice procedure.

This does not mean that rent levels can’t be agreed with tenants.  But new rents can only be implemented if the section 13 notice (form 4A) has been served first.

Any rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are now unenforceable.

Challenging rent increases

The thing about using the section 13 notice procedure is that tenants can challenge the proposed rent to the First Tier Tribunal on the basis that it is not a ‘market rent’.

The Tribunal will only be able to review the rent down, not up, and the new rent will be payable from the date of the Tribunal’s determination.  Or up to two months later if the Tribunal considers it would cause serious hardship to tenants.  So the rent increase will no longer take effect from the date in the notice.

Many landlords are seriously annoyed about this.  It will delay rent increases, whether or not the challenge is justified.  The Tribunals are overstretched and are likely to be more so if more tenants decide to challenge rent increases.  In which case, the delays could become unacceptably long.

The government has reserved to itself the power to change this if the delays become too serious.  We shall have to wait and see whether this happens.

The effect of these new rules

These new rules will undoubtedly make life easier for many tenants. Up until 1 May 2026, many were having to pay not only a deposit of up to five times the weekly rent, but also six months’ (or sometimes more) rent in advance.  Not to mention quite high rent increases every six months or so (in some cases).

However, the new rules will also create a problem for many tenants. In particular, tenants with a poor credit record.  These will likely struggle to find anywhere to live.  As landlords will undoubtedly become more picky about the tenants that they accept.

So far as the rent levels themselves are concerned, the government hopes that these new rules will slow down the rate of increase.  Making tenancies more affordable over time.

To prevent a downward drift in rent levels, landlords will need to ensure that rents are increased regularly.  Small annual rent increases are better anyway, as they are more affordable for tenants and less likely to cause problems.

However, rent levels are ultimately driven by the market.  At present, good properties are in short supply in many areas.

So rents are likely to remain high, and those with poor credit records are likely to struggle to find a suitable property.  Unless and until the government is able to honour its promise to build more social and other housing.  In particular, for low-income tenants.

Tomorrow I want to talk about the forthcoming new Database and Ombudsman services.

Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

Yesterday I talked about the new rules which will force Local Authorities to carry out enforcement work.

Today, I want to talk about the new powers they have been given by the Act and the significantly increased fines they will be able to charge.

What is enforcement?

Local Authorities are now under a duty to enforce the landlord legislation in their area. Enforcement action means one of the following:

• Issuing a Civil Penalty Notice with a fine
• Bringing a prosecution, normally through the Magistrates’ Courts, and
• Bringing a claim in the First Tier tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order.

Civil Penalty Notices

Most Local Authorities will, for the most part, opt to issue a Civil Penalty Notice (CPN).

• They will be easier (particularly if the Local Authority uses the CPN generator software developed by Justice for Tenants)
• They will be considerably quicker – it can take up to a year or more to bring a prosecution through the court, by which time many of the witnesses may have left, and
• They (ie the Local Authority) can keep the fine money! This is a deliberate ploy by the government to make enforcement action self-financing.

So I suspect that in the vast majority of cases, CPNs will be the order of the day, unless the Local Authority is looking to impose a banning order.

New breaches and offences

• Breaches are the less serious issues which carry a fine of up to £7,000
• Offences are the more serious issues which carry a fine of up to £40,000

In addition to the existing breaches and offences, there are a number of new ones introduced by the Act.

New breaches include: 

• Attempting to give a tenant a fixed-term tenancy
• Failing to give a tenancy agreement/statement of terms
• Failing to give the information sheet to existing tenants at 1 May 2026
• Failing to provide a ‘proposed rent’ in advertisements
• Illegal discrimination against applicants on benefit or with children
• Less serious offences relating to eviction

New offences include:

• Knowingly or recklessly using an incorrect ground for possession – if this causes tenants to vacate
• Re-letting a property within 12 months of using grounds 1 (recovering possession for you or your family to live in) or ground 1A  (to sell)
• Unlawful eviction and/or harassment under the Protection from Eviction Act.

Eye-watering fines

However, landlords need to take note that the fines available for Local Authorities to impose for these are eye-watering indeed.

For the less serious issues, breaches, the fines are limited to £7,000, but this is still a significant sum. Particularly bearing in mind that if there are several breaches, they can issue a CNP fine for EACH of them.

For example, where landlords have breached several of the HMO Management rules.

More serious issues (offences), for example, landlords trying to bully tenants into leaving by issuing possession notices for grounds they know full well are not enforceable, carry a maximum fine of £40,000.

This includes situations where landlords have illegally harassed and evicted tenants in breach of the Protection from Eviction Act – something that up to now (May 2026) could only be punished via the courts.

Continuing or repeated breaches

Then there are ‘continuing or repeated breaches’. If a landlord (or an agent, or property manager) is hit with one CNP or prosecution, and they

• Commit the same breach again after 28 days, or
• Commit another breach of offence within 5 years of the initial penalty

This alone will allow the Local Authority to fine them up to £40,000 IN ADDITION to the CPN fine for the second breach or offence.

This is because, for many rogue and criminal landlords, the fines, (if they pay them) are a minor irritant, something to be treated as a ‘business expense’ and which is insignificant bearing in mind the income they get from their illegal behaviour.

These very high fines for serious matters are an attempt to make sure that illegal behaviour does not pay.

Enforcing the fines and awards

At the moment, many, or more likely most, rogue and criminal landlords just don’t pay the fines.

Research by the NRLA shows that of the almost £30 million penalties issued, around 54% was unpaid.

This may change through, with the launch of JFT Legal Limited, a specialist law firm focusing entirely on collecting Local Authority fines, which I discussed here.

Once fines are being properly enforced, things may start to change.

Rent Repayment Orders

Finally, Local Authorities can also issue applications for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO) if any of the rent was paid by benefit. These are also likely to net significant amounts of money.

The maximum awards have now gone up to 24 months’ worth of rent. Plus, if the Local Authority apply for their RRO after a successful prosecution or unchallenged CPN (or a CPN where the challenge failed) the First Tier Tribunal will have no alternative but to award the full amount possible.

It is hoped by the government (and many others) that these new powers to fine rogue and criminal landlords will discourage them and hopefully result in their exit from the Private Rented Sector.

Good landlords will not be immune, but are less likely to be targeted by Local Authorities.

However, all consumer-facing trades and professions are regulated and subject to fines for breaches of those regulations. Why should landlords be exempt?

Tomorrow I want to talk about the new rules about rent.

Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

This is the third in my series of posts on how the Renters Rights Act will change the private rented sector for good. And today I want to talk about Local Authority Enforcement action.

Laws to make landlords behave

Now, the Renters’ Rights Act is not the first act intended to make landlords behave properly towards their tenants and provide a decent home for them.

But up until now, tenants have mostly been intimidated by the prospect of eviction under section 21 to enforce their rights.  To ask, for example, their landlords to carry out repairs and keep the property fit for human habitation under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

However, much of the other legislation is down to Local Authorities to enforce. Such as the Housing Health and Safety Rating System standards under the Housing Act 2004 and the HMO Management Regulations.

The problem is, though, that with a few honourable exceptions, few Local Authorities do much enforcement work and some do none at all.

Why Local Authorities don’t enforce

The reasons for this are that:

• They have insufficient funding to pay for staff and staff training (whole teams of enforcement officers were ‘let go’ under Austerity),
• There is no law requiring them to do enforcement work, and also
• I suspect that the difficulties in bringing prosecutions and particularly the low levels of fines awarded, are a big discouragement.

So many Local Authorities have just decided that enforcement against landlords is not something they are able or willing to do. To the enormous frustration of the various tenants’ organisations.

All change today, 1 May 2026

However, all this is going to change from today.  This is due to section 107 of the Act, which says

(1) It is the duty of every local housing authority to enforce the landlord legislation in its area.

This means that Local Authorities are under a legal obligation to do enforcement work.  If they fail to do their duty, they are likely to face judicial review claims from tenants’ organisations.  Not something they will want as it will cost them and use up staff time, which would be better spent doing other work.

So Local Authority enforcement is likely to become much more of a ‘thing’. They know it too, or most of them do, and many are taking on new staff and undergoing training for what will effectively be their new duties.

Good news for good landlords

This is by no means a problem for the many decent landlords. If you manage your property well, keep it in good condition, and comply with the rules, there is no reason for you to face any enforcement action.  100% compliance is 100% protection.

These new rules are not aimed at you. They are aimed at the rogue and criminal landlords who are such a problem.

A problem for their tenants, but also a problem for all of us. For example, a property in poor condition is likely to result in sick tenants. Which will increase costs for the National Health Service, which we all pay for out of our taxes.  They also bring down neighbourhoods and result in other social evils.

If Local Authority enforcement action rids us of the plague of  rogue landlords then this will make things better for all the good landlords.  There will be more of a level playing field (as bad landlords rarely pay for things like property maintenance or safety inspections) and the private rented sector will no longer be tainted by their presence.

Tomorrow I want to talk about the Local Authority fines.

Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

In my last post, I discussed the loss of Section 21. Today I want to talk about the loss of fixed terms (which I also discussed here).

The loss of fixed terms

This is an interesting change.  I think it is going to be the one that causes the most confusion, as for most people a tenancy is for a fixed period of time.

Many have no idea what a periodic tenancy is.  Indeed, for many years, what is a periodic tenancy was the top search term on this blog.

Tenants loss of security

In some respects, the loss of fixed terms is anti-tenant, as it means that tenants will no longer be able to obtain security by negotiating a long fixed term with their landlord.

For example, many tenants will do this to ensure that they will be able to stay in their property during their children’s schooling. Those tenants will probably be horrified to learn that their long fixed term has ended!

Which it will, along with all other fixed terms, which will end automatically on 1 May 2026.

Tenants’ new rights over how long they stay

On the other hand, fixed terms often meant that tenants were forced to remain in and pay rent for properties they no longer wished to live in.

For example, tenants who signed up for a year’s fixed term and then found, once they had been given the keys and moved in, that the property was dripping with damp and mould. Damp and mould, which had been carefully covered up when they visited the property before signing up.

However, before 1 May 2026, they couldn’t end the tenancy without the landlord’s agreement. If they just moved out anyway, the landlord could sue them for the rent on a month-by-month basis. Even though they would have a defence, this is not something they wanted to happen!

Other tenants found they were unable to get out of their fixed-term tenancy if they needed to move elsewhere for work. Which may have cost them that job.

I know that many landlords were understanding and helpful in these circumstances, but by no means all.

Many, probably the majority of landlords, are decent people trying to provide a good service to their tenants (I know, I have met many of them). However, there is no doubt that there are a significant number of landlords who are seriously unpleasant people.

Problems for student landlords

The landlords who will be most negatively affected by this change will be student landlords (which I discussed here). As their tenants will be able to serve a two-month Notice to Quit from the day their tenancy starts.  The landlord will then be left trying to find a replaement part way thorugh the academic year, which could be difficult.

So, for example, if Harold decides that he no longer wants to study Chemistry and instead wants to do voluntary work overseas, he will be able to give notice and leave.

Incidentally, if he is a joint tenant with other students, his notice to quit could put their tenancy at risk.  As the landlord may decide he has had enough of unreliable students, ask them all to leave, so he can re-let his property to a family!

As a Notice to Quit ends the tenancy, he will be legally entitled to do this.  The procedure for recovering possession after a tenant’s Notice to Quit if the tenants fail to vacate is fairly straightforward.  The remaining tenants may also be liable to pay double rent under the Distress for Rent Act.

Problems for all landlords

The other problem for landlords is that from 1 May, creating a fixed term will be a breach of the regulations, punishable by a fine of up to £7,000 (with a government recommended starting point of £4,000).

As I will be discussing later in this series, Local Authorities will be under pressure to enforce the rules.  And it will be easy to prove breach of the ‘no fixed terms’ rules.  A tenancy agreement containing a fixed term will be their evidence!

So landlords need to be very careful about the tenancy agreements they issue to tenants from now on.  Not only because of the prohibition against fixed terms, but also because of the required information their tenancy agreements will need to contain.

Incidentally, my Landlord Law tenancy agreements are as compliant as I can make them.

I daresay that there will be many landlords who are unaware of the new legislation and their obligations under it.  Indeed, a Pegasus Insight report shows that some 25% of the Private Rented Sector are ignorant of the new Act.   As ignorance of the law is never a defence, these landlords may find this rather expensive.

Tomorrow I want to talk about Local Authority enforcement.

Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

This is a big act and will bring about big changes.

Long term, the changes will undoubtedly be as significant as the changes brought in by the Housing Act 1988, more than 30 years ago (as I discussed here).

In this series of posts, I will be discussing six issues which I think will be instruments of change. My first issue is

The loss of section 21 no-fault evictions

This is the ‘headline’ change brought about by the new legislation and the one that people tend to talk about the most. I discussed some of these issues in my post here.

Although the loss of section 21 is not the only significant change, there is no doubt that its loss will bring about big changes.

Here are some of the changes that I think will follow:

Tenants will feel empowered

One of the problems tenants face is that if they challenge their landlord in any way, for example, requesting them to do repair work, or challenging rent increases, they are always aware that landlords have the right to evict them arbitrarily (after their fixed term has ended).

Now, many landlords will have no intention of doing this, but the fact remains that if they wanted to, they could.

And tenants, aware of the shortage of suitable accommodation, tend to play safe and accept what comes along, as they do not want to risk losing their home.

However, once the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, this implied threat will no longer be there. So, once in occupation, tenants will be able to:

• Refuse to sign documentation such as guarantees and new tenancy agreements – unless it is in their interest to do so
• Challenge rent increases to the First Tier Tribunal, and
• Request landlords to carry out essential repair work, and bring claims for compensation if they don’t

The change will also probably have the effect of allowing them to remain in the property for longer. Indeed, it sounds from articles in the press as if tenants are already looking to do this.

Note by the way that landlords still have the ‘no fault’ grounds to evict if they want to live in the property themselves or sell it (grounds 1 and 1A).  But if they then re-let the property within 12 months, they can be fined up to £40,000.

So many, if not most, landlords will not be willing to risk this.

Landlords losing rights over ‘their’ property

Many landlords will be unhappy about what they will see as a loss of rights over ‘their property’, particularly their ability to get it back as of right.

But the trouble is, once a property is let under a tenancy, it is no longer ‘their’ property. This has always been the case. A tenancy is a type of lease, which is one of the two main legal interests in land as per section 1 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

Which is why in some of my older posts, I referred to tenants ‘owning’ their rented property.

When a landlord rents a property to a tenant, they are exchanging the rights they currently have over it (such as the right to enter it when they want and deal with it as they wish) for the right to receive rent, and the right to get the property back when the tenancy ends (known to lawyers as the ‘reversion’).

Many landlords totally fail to realise this. This is largely due to the no-fault section 21 eviction procedure, which has allowed them to recover possession in circumstances which will now no longer be possible. It has also enabled the less pleasant and rogue landlords to bully their tenants into compliance.

The abolition of section 21 alone will bring about big changes in attitudes and in the power balance between landlords and tenants.

Tomorrow I will be looking at the loss of fixed terms.

Read the other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |

This was one of the most important (and time-consuming!) tasks in preparing Landlord Law for the implementation of Stage 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on 1 May.

The new agreement is now live and available for members to use. So I thought it would be helpful to bring all the posts in the series together in one place.

Why this matters

The Renters’ Rights Act represents the biggest change in landlord and tenant law for many years.

With the abolition of fixed terms and section 21, and new requirements for written terms and information, tenancy agreements need to be carefully drafted to ensure they are:

• Legally compliant
• Clear and fair
• Robust if challenged

A poorly drafted agreement could expose landlords to penalties or make enforcement more difficult.

The series – an overview

Here is a summary of each part of the series, with links.

Part 1 – Initial thinking and structure

In this part, I explained the early thinking behind the new agreement, including the decision to include a ‘Key Information’ section.  I also explained how the Landlord Law document system works.

Part 2 – Drafting the agreement

This post looks at the drafting process itself, including removing clauses no longer permitted (such as fixed terms and section 21), and dealing with issues such as bills, deposits and Equality Act requirements.  I also discuss working with ChatGPT.

Part 3 – Refining and building the system

Here, I discuss refining the wording, considering guarantees (including feedback from members), and creating the Gravity Forms system used to generate the final document.

Part 4 – Final amendments and testing

This post covers final revisions, including further work on the Key Information section, and the first look at the completed agreement.  Plus further comment on ChatGPT and the doomscroll

Part 5 – The agreement goes live

The final post explains the finishing touches, new features, and confirms that the agreement (along with a ‘room in a shared house’ version) is now available for members to use.

About the process

It took me some 12 days to get this online, not including the initial thinking period.  A long process with a lot of checking.

I have to say that I couldn’t have done it without my immensely knowledgeable but intensely scatty and somewhat unreliable writing partner, ChatGPT.  Which I discuss in the series.

I hope that the agreement will be useful for Landlord Law members.  The old agreement was one reason why members stayed with me so long.  I hope they find this version both practical and reassuring to use in this new legal landscape.

If you want to find out more of the details, I did a post on Landlord Law, which you can read here.

And finally

I now need to summon up the energy to do a version for student landlords, but I will have to wait a few days before I can face this!

The post Drafting a new Renters’ Rights Act Tenancy Agreement – Series Overview appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.]]> 0 Tessa Shepperson http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/?p=96413 2026-04-17T07:19:44Z 2026-04-17T07:19:44Z

Landlord Law Newsround brings you all the latest news.

Government release funding to councils

The government has handed out £41 million to 317 councils across England to help them with their new enforcement responsibilities in readiness for the Renters Right Act coming into force on 1 May.

This is on top of the £18.2 million that was allocated to them last autumn. Steve Reed, Housing Secretary said

We’ve been preparing councils to use their new powers on the minority of landlords who rip off their tenants, and this new funding will help councils carry out their duties.

A further £50 million will be assigned to modernising the civil courts and and another £5million a year will be given to the housing legal aid sector to help provide free advice and support for tenants who are being evicted.

However, leading lawyer David Smith has commented that in view of the chronic shortages of enforcement staff at Local Authorities, this is not going to be sufficient.

High-profile property guru defends landlords

Kate Faulkner a leading property expert, has defended landlords’ right to use section 21 before 1st May, as Housing Secretary Steve Reed called it out as ‘disgraceful behaviour’.

Acorn, a Renters Union claim that section 21 notices were at 22% in 2024 but in 2026 they have risen to 31%. Reed said

 Kicking tenants out before they receive stronger rights is the type of disgraceful behaviour from shameless landlords which our act will stop.

However Faulkner tempered this with the fact that some tenants only pay rent in cash upfront, which is banned from 1 May so asking them to leave now is a decision some landlords have had to make. Also, some landlords are now retiring as they have been in the rental market for many years, whilst others do not feel it will be financially beneficial to remain in the rental market with onerous compliance and high fines.

Further complications for landlords are new EPC requirements where their properties will be hard to improve, evicting and selling now will be easier than once the Act is in place.

Council offers free damp & mould training

Wiltshire Council is offering landlords and letting agents a free course on how to tackle damp and mould to help them understand their legal duties and improve the standard of rented homes. It gives practical guidance on preventing and identifying damp and mould issues.

It also covers effective treatment methods how best landlords should manage damp & mould with their tenants and how to identify damp and mould. Anyone can sign up to the online course and there is an in person event next month covering landlord basics such as tenancy agreements, deposits and certificates.

The council says ‘By offering clear, practical guidance, from tackling damp and mould to understanding the Renters Rights Act, we’re helping landlords continue to provide safe homes while meeting their duties with confidence’.

Let’s hope more councils offer courses and events like this.

Spring is the most popular month for large landlord repairs

New data out from Rushbrook & Rathbone a property management specialist, claims that the more complex maintenance jobs are generally carried out in the spring period. The average cost per maintenance job is now as high as £797 according to April figures.

Sarah Rushbrook said

Whilst the number of maintenance jobs carried out in April is lower than in many other months, the average spend per job is the highest of the year.  landlords are using the spring period to get their properties back to full working order by tackling fewer, but more substantial, tasks.

You can read more here.

Snippets

University students could quit tenancies early under Renters’ Rights Act
Renters’ Rights Act Masterclass – Are you ready for 1 May?
Room rents stall as supply stalls
Landlords told to avoid Right to Rent discrimination

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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