Government launches Renters Rights Act awareness campaign
The government has launched an awareness campaign to increase landlords’ knowledge of the Renters Rights Act.
The guidance takes the form of a suite of notes explaining how different parts of the Act will work. Additional guidance on some elements will be issued next year.
In a statement to Landlord Today, representatives of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) say that: “As a landlord, it is your responsibility to read the guidance in full. You must make the necessary changes to your letting practices to ensure you’re compliant with the new law when it’s implemented on 1st May 2026.”
And the department gives this list of what it believes landlords must do:
Provide information to your tenants:
- you’ll need to give a government-produced information sheet to your tenants which will explain what the new rules mean for the tenancy.
- we’ll publish the information sheet on our website in March 2026. You’ll need to send this to your tenants on or before 31st May 2026.
- if your current tenancy is based entirely on a verbal agreement, you’ll need to give your tenant a written record of specific terms of the agreement. You will have to do this instead of providing the information sheet.
- we’ll publish further guidance in January 2026 on the information you’ll need to provide. You will have to give this to your tenants in writing on or before 31st May 2026.
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Prepare your new tenancies created on or after 1st May 2026:
- if you create a new tenancy on or after 1st May 2026, you’ll need to provide the tenants with certain information about the tenancy in writing. You can do this by including it in a written tenancy agreement.
- we’ll publish further guidance in January 2026 on the information you’ll need to provide, to give you time to update your tenancy agreement templates.
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Prepare to use Ground 4A, if you’re a student landlord:
- if you’re a student landlord and want to use Ground 4A to evict your tenants in the future, you’ll need to write to them to let them know.
- we’ll publish further guidance on how to do this in March 2026.
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Read the guidance and think about how you can prepare for your next new tenancy:
- for example, on or after 1st May 2026, you’ll need to publish an asking rent for your property in any written adverts you put out.
- you won’t be able to ask prospective tenants to bid above this amount (or accept any such bids), and you won’t be able to ask them to pay more than a month’s rent in advance.
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Familiarise yourself with the new forms
- we’ll publish new forms that you’ll need to use under the new system, including to increase the rent on your property.
- you should familiarise yourself with these forms when we publish them in early 2026.
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And the MHCLG adds: “If you’re using a letting agency, you should consider talking to them about what these changes mean for you. You should also consider taking your own legal advice about complex matters. Our simple checklist will also help show what you need to do to prepare you and when.”
This is where you can read the guidance on the current rental system
This article is taken from Landlord Today
