For UK letting agents + property managers
Renters' Rights Act 2025 — what changes for letting agents
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 no-fault eviction in England from 1 May 2026. Letting agents now operate exclusively under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 for any repossession claim, with new mandatory and discretionary grounds plus a replacement prescribed form for periodic notices. The 2025 Act also adds property-condition prerequisites (Awaab's Law + gas safety + EICR) before serving Section 8 on rent-arrears grounds. Existing tenancies switch to the new regime at next periodic-renewal or after a 6-month transition.
The Section 8 grounds that replace Section 21
New mandatory grounds: landlord-needs-to-sell (must serve at next periodic + 4-month notice), landlord-or-family-moving-in (4-month notice + cannot re-let for 12 months), persistent rent arrears (now 3 months in any 36-month window, replacing the previous 8-week trigger). Existing mandatory grounds (significant-rent-arrears, anti-social-behaviour) carry over with notice-period changes. Discretionary grounds (rent-arrears < 3 months, property-condition disputes) are weighed by the court against the tenant's personal circumstances. Each ground has its own prescribed form; a Form 6A served before 1 May 2026 stays valid through its 4-month enforcement window.
Property-condition prerequisites now apply
A landlord cannot use the rent-arrears mandatory ground (3 months in 36) if the property has unresolved Category-1 hazards under Awaab's Law (Social Housing Regulation Act 2023, extended to private-rented by RRA-2025), missing gas-safety certificate, or expired Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). The court will reject a Section 8 claim where these prerequisites are unmet. Letting agents should run a property-condition compliance check before serving any Section 8 notice on rent-arrears grounds — the agent's file should evidence current gas + EICR + (where applicable) damp/mould assessment.
What letting agents need to do
First: review every existing tenancy against the 2025-Act grounds before any repossession step. Second: confirm property-condition compliance evidence is current for every let property — outdated certificates make any future Section 8 unmaintainable. Third: update the firm's tenancy-administration template to use the new prescribed forms (Form 6A is replaced). Fourth: brief landlord clients on the timeline implications — landlord-needs-to-sell + landlord-or-family-moving-in both carry 4-month notice + 12-month re-let ban, which materially changes the property's sale-or-let optionality. The Stratum letting-agent suite + property-risk overlay surface the property-condition + MEES + flood data at the tenancy-pre-check stage so the tenancy-decision lifecycle is informed before the contract is signed.
Frequently asked
When does Section 21 fully disappear?
Section 21 notices issued before 1 May 2026 remain valid for their statutory 4-month enforcement window — so the last Section 21 enforcement action lands around September 2026. From 1 May 2026 onwards, no new Section 21 notice can be served; all repossession claims use Section 8.
Are existing tenancies automatically converted?
Existing fixed-term tenancies switch to the new periodic-tenancy regime at the next periodic renewal date or after a 6-month transition (whichever is sooner). Landlord and tenant cannot contract out of the new regime.
Does this affect tenant referencing or AML obligations?
Not directly — referencing (Goodlord / HomeLet / Vouch) and AML (Stratum / Certaby / SmartSearch / Veriphy) sit in separate regulatory lanes. RRA-2025 does interact with AML at the landlord-onboarding stage where the landlord declares an intent to use the landlord-moving-in ground; that's a documented future-intent claim the agent should evidence.
Where does Awaab's Law fit?
Awaab's Law (originally Social Housing Regulation Act 2023, extended to private-rented by RRA-2025) sets timeline obligations on responding to damp + mould complaints. From 1 May 2026, a property with an unresolved Category-1 damp/mould hazard cannot ground a rent-arrears Section 8 claim until remedied.
Is a separate Section 8 form needed per ground?
Each Section 8 ground has its own prescribed wording. The replacement Form 6A consolidates the periodic-tenancy notice format; a single notice can claim multiple grounds where they apply. Use the GOV.UK template from 1 May 2026 onwards.