Renters’ Rights Act 2025: A New Framework for Private Renting
Introduction The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which took effect for most private rented tenancies in England on 1 May 2026, represents one of the most significant reforms to residential landlord and tenant law in decades. Its central aim is to move the private rented sector away from insecurity and “no fault” eviction, and towards a system in which tenants have greater stability while landlords retain defined routes to possession where there is a proper reason. The end of section 21 The main reform is the abolition of section 21 “no fault” evictions. Under this provision, a landlord could recover possession of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) without proving breach or any substantive reason, provided the statutory notice requirements had been satisfied. That route is now removed. In future, private landlords must rely on statutory possession grounds. If a tenant does not leave after notice is served, the landlord must go to court and prove that the relevant ground is made out. This...
