Renters’ Rights Act: Implementation roadmap now published

Whilst the previous government had said reforms would not be brought in until the court system had been improved to cope with an anticipated influx of landlord and tenant cases under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“RRA 2025”), and whilst those improvements certainly haven’t yet happened, the current government is not hesitating to bring forward these significant changes to the residential property landscape.

Digging deeper into the MHCLG Policy Paper published on 13 November 2025, there is an ambitious roadmap of “milestones” to full introduction of all parts of RRA 2025, including the introduction of a new database of PRS properties and a new Landlord Ombudsman for the PRS sector “from late 2026”, and then measures to raise standards through adoption of an updated Decent Homes Standard.

Here is what the milestones look like in full:

Phase 1: From 1 May 2026

In Phase 1 the government will:

1. abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – landlords in the PRS will no longer be able to use section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict their tenants.
2. introduce Assured Periodic Tenancies in the private rented sector (PRS) – the vast majority of new tenancies and existing tenancies in the PRS will become Assured Periodic Tenancies. This means tenants will be able to stay in their property for as long as they want, or until a landlord serves a valid section 8 notice. Tenants will be able to end their tenancy by giving two months’ notice.
3. reform possession grounds in the PRS – landlords will only be able to evict tenants on specific grounds. Possession grounds will be extended to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour, or who are in serious persistent rent arrears.
4. limit rent increases to once a year in the PRS – landlords will have to follow the revised section 13 procedure and provide the tenant with a notice detailing the proposed rent increase at least 2 months before it is due to take effect.
5. ban rental bidding and rent in advance – landlords and letting agents will not be able to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that is higher than the advertised rent. Landlords and agents will also not be able to request more than 1 month’s rent in advance.
6. make it illegal to discriminate against renters who have children or receive benefits – landlords and letting agents will not be able to do anything to make a tenant less likely to rent a property (or prevent them from renting it) because they have children or receive benefits. This includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), stopping someone from viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy.
7. require landlords in the PRS to consider tenant requests to rent with a pet – landlords will have an initial 28 days to consider their tenant’s request, and they will have to provide valid reasons if they refuse it.
8. strengthen both local council enforcement and rent repayment orders - civil penalties will be expanded, and there will be a new requirement for local councils to report on enforcement activity. Rent repayment orders will be extended to superior landlords, the maximum penalty will be doubled, and repeat offenders required to pay the maximum amount.

These measures will all take effect on 1 May 2026.

New investigatory powers giving local councils a stronger ability to inspect properties, demand documents, and access third-party data and enforce housing standards more effectively will come into effect on 27 December 2025.

The abolition of section 21 and tenancy reforms during Phase 1 will not apply initially to the social rented sector. This will happen during Phase 2, and the government is working with social housing landlords and the Regulator of Social Housing on implementation for the social rented sector.

Phase 2: From late 2026

During Phase 2 the government will introduce the PRS Database and PRS Landlord Ombudsman. It will do this in 2 key stages, beginning from late 2026:

Stage 1 of Phase 2: Regional rollout of the database for landlords and local councils

(a) The government will commence roll out of the Database from late 2026. Signing up to the PRS Database will be mandatory for all PRS landlords and they will be required to pay an annual fee which will be confirmed closer to launch.

(b) Regulations will mandate landlord registration, payment of a fee and the provision of key information by landlords. Subject to the will of Parliament, the government states that it expects this to include at minimum, for each PRS property:

• The landlord’s contact details, the property details including the full address, type of property (flat/ house), number of bedrooms, number of households/residents and confirming whether the property is occupied and furnished, etc. and safety information – Gas, Electric and Energy Performance Certificates – so tenants are assured about the safety and energy efficiency of the property.

Stage 2 of Phase 2: Further roll out of the database and introduction of the Ombudsman

1. Public access and data sharing will be enabled following the launch of landlord registration.
2. The government will also establish the PRS Landlord Ombudsman during Phase 2. The Ombudsman will provide a redress service for PRS tenants. It will also support landlords with tools, guidance and training on handling complaints from tenants early. The Ombudsman scheme will be mandatory for PRS landlords. Landlords will be required to fund the service through a fair and proportionate charging model, confirmed closer to launch.
3. Implementation of the Ombudsman will happen after the introduction of the Database. The government is exploring ways to share information between the Database and the Ombudsman to minimise landlord sign-up burden.
4. The development of the Ombudsman will happen in stages:

• Stage 1 will happen at least 12 to 18 months before implementation. The Secretary of State will choose a scheme administrator to run the new service, which will then need time to scale up.
• Stage 2 will require landlords to be members of the new service – the government expects this to be in 2028, when the Secretary of State is confident the service is ready for delivery. The government has said it will make sure landlords are given sufficient notice in advance of requiring them to be members of the scheme.

Phase 3: A new Decent Homes Standard in the PRS (dates settled following consultation)

1. The government will introduce a Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to the PRS for the first time. This will ensure that all PRS properties meet a minimum standard of housing quality and provide local councils with powers to take enforcement action if PRS properties fail to meet it. The government consulted on the updated DHS between 2 July and 12 September 2025, and proposed that it is brought into force in either 2035 or 2037.
2. The government has said that they are currently considering the consultation responses and will announce details of the standards and confirm the implementation timeline as soon as possible. While they are proposing a long-term deadline, their expectation is that landlords should commence works earlier wherever feasible, remaining mindful of the effect on tenants.
3. The government has consulted on plans to require all domestic privately rented properties in England and Wales to meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) of EPC C or equivalent by 2030 unless a valid exemption is in place .Further details will be set out in the government’s response to the consultation.
4. As part of the pathway to applying the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS, the government has confirmed it will implement a review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
5. The government will extend Awaab’s Law to the PRS, setting clear legally enforceable timeframes within which PRS landlords must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards. This will empower tenants to challenge dangerous conditions in their homes. The government will consult on the details of this policy and implementation “in due course”.

Secondary legislation

While many of the changes to the PRS are contained in the Act itself, the government will need to make secondary legislation (in the form of regulations) to add further detail to some provisions and to bring the Act’s measures into force. The full Roadmap is set out here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renters-rights-act-2025-implementation-roadmap/implementing-the-renters-rights-act-2025-our-roadmap-for-reforming-the-private-rented-sector

The Roadmap says that from 1 May 2026 there will be a PBSA exemption (Exempts private PBSA that complies with UNIPOL and ANUK student housing codes approved under section 233 of the Housing Act 2004 from the assured tenancy system and ensures providers have access to an amended “Ground 4A” (the student possession ground) for existing tenancies).

As ever, we will be keeping an eye on how things pan out in practice. Will the courts be overwhelmed by the number of tenancy termination cases brought under RRA 2025? And will those later milestones be achieved within the promised timescale? We will no doubt be returning to this subject again soon.

Authored by Tim Reid, Stella Bliss, Ingrid Stables, Lucy Redman.