Renters’ Rights Bill
If you are a landlord of a residential property in England, you may have seen the news around, originally, the Renters’ Rights Bill, and now, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The main talking point has, of course, been the abolition of the Section 21, no fault eviction, process. But the government have been talking about this for years… So why is it a popular topic now? Because the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 passed into legislation on 27 October 2025.
The result? New rules and regulations around agreements under which accommodation is privately rented, new penalties for non-compliant landlords and an overhaul of the ways in which private landlords can regain possession of their rental properties.
What are the changes to the current legislation and how will this impact on private landlords?
The biggest change is, of course, the abolition of the Section 21 eviction procedure. The Section 21 eviction procedure will no longer exist from 1 May 2026. This is a significant change for residential landlords in England. Landlords will instead need to evidence one of the specified grounds as set out in the Housing Act 1988 in order to obtain possession. If the landlord cannot do this, the tenant will retain a right to remain in the property.
The only way for a residential landlord to regain possession of their rented property in England is now to use the Section 8, grounds-based, procedure. Which begs the question, what are the proposed changes to that process?
There are new grounds, one ground has been removed, and some changes to the grounds themselves, too.
The following are a few of the entirely new grounds which The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has introduced:
Ground 1A: A landlord can obtain possession if they intend to sell the property.
Ground 2ZA: A landlord can obtain possession where their superior lease ends.
Ground 2ZB, C & D: A landlord can obtain possession in certain situations where they have a superior lease.
Ground 6B: A landlord can obtain possession to allow compliance with enforcement action.
Aside from the above, Ground 3, which relates to tenancies of less than 8 months which have been used as a holiday let at some point in the preceding 12 months, will be repealed. There have also been some changes to the previous grounds for possession.
For example, Ground 1, which previously allowed a landlord to obtain possession if, prior to the tenancy, a notice was given to the tenant that this ground may be relied upon and:
a) prior to the tenancy, the landlord occupied the property as their principal home; or
b) the landlord requires the property as their, their spouse’s or their civil partner’s principal home.
1b above has now changed to also include cohabiting couples, siblings, parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. Further, the landlord no longer has to serve a notice at the beginning of the tenancy in order to rely on this ground.
In addition to the above, the amount of rent which must be due and owing in order to obtain vacant possession on the grounds of rent arrears has also changed.
Other revisions include changes to the notice periods which landlords must provide to tenants in their Section 8 Notices, changes with regards to rent increases, changes to what the landlord can place blanket bans on (children and pets being of note) and the consequences for landlords who do not comply (including fines and committing criminal offences).
What happens if a landlord has served a Section 21 Notice before the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 was passed into legislation?
Providing the Section 21 Notice was validly served, it will remain valid and proceedings may still be issued in reliance of it, but landlords should be aware of the relevant timeframes. Proceedings relying on a Section 21 Notice which was served before the passing of the Act must be issued either within 6 months of service of the Notice or within 3 months of expiry of the commencement date (being 27 October 2025), whichever is the sooner.
For residential landlords who have not served a valid Section 21 Notice prior to 27 October 2025, the last day on which a Section 21 Notice can be validly served is 30 April 2026 as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides that Assured Shorthold Tenancies will be automatically replaced with Assured Periodic Tenancies from 1 May 2026. If, as a residential landlord, you are keen to use the Section 21 eviction procedure before it is abolished, it is vital that you are confident that the notice you serve is valid.
As the Section 8 possession route is a grounds-based procedure, compared to the Section 21 route, there is often far more evidence to be considered and a hearing to attend. As a result, the Section 8 procedure to obtain possession often demands far more time and expense than the Section 21 route. There will likely, therefore, be many landlords who wish to begin the process of obtaining vacant possession of their properties immediately, while it is still possible to use the Section 21 route.
If you are a landlord seeking to obtain vacant possession of your rented property and you would like advice on your options, please do get in contact with our Courtney O’Neill who specialises, and has a keen interest, in landlord and tenant disputes. Courtney would be happy to provide you with a no obligation fee estimate.
Courtney can be contacted at c.oneill@bartons.co.uk or on 01548 858618.
