Consumer rights expert Martyn James explains everything you need to know about the new Renters’ Rights Act 2025
There are an estimated 11 million private renters in the UK and until very recently, I was one of them.
I know full well what it feels like to be at the mercy of landlords who can strip you of your home with just a few months’ notice if you have the audacity to complain about poor service, mould or overcharging.
So any legislation that protects renters from being turfed out on to the streets by unscrupulous landlords is a good thing.
There are, of course, many great landlords. But the behaviour of a notable percentage has made the new rules necessary. And though not perfect, renters can sleep a little easier in the future.
So what are the new rules, how do they work and what can you do if you’re in dispute with your landlord? Here’s my guide.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025
After seemingly endless battles in the House of Commons and Lords, the Renters’ Rights Act has received royal ascent. This means the bill is now law.
Don’t get too excited though. Laws are often rolled out in stages, so many of the new rules will be introduced over the coming months and in to mid-2026. Shelter has a great guide to the new rules.
Here’s my plain English guide to what that means for you.
The new law abolishes ‘no fault’ evictions. Known by their technical term – Section 21 evictions – no fault evictions allowed landlords to give tenants just two months’ notice to leave a property. As the name suggests, they didn’t have to give a reason. They could just tell you to leave.
Instead, tenancies will become ‘Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs)’. This will mean you won’t have an end date, the tenancy will just continue until you or the landlord ends it. Your landlord will have to give an appropriate reason to end the tenancy, like anti-social behaviour, rent arrears or selling the property with variable notice periods. Your notice period will usually be two months.
Rent can still go up though. However, your landlord can’t pester you for an increase mid-term. They can increase the rent once a year and they must give you two months’ notice before doing this.
If you are asked to leave because you’ve broken the rules, you must be served with a ‘Section 8’ notice. You can find out more about how these work on the Shelter or Citizens Advice websites.
The rules around chucking you out are known as ‘grounds for possession’. These reasons must now be fair to both parties. But the law also ensures that landlords can recover their property ‘when reasonable’.
The law aims to clamp down on what the government is excitingly calling ‘backdoor eviction’. This is where a landlord may charge an excessive rent hike to get you out so they can let the property for much more money.
You can already appeal excessive rent increases. This is through the less excitingly named ‘First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber – Residential Property)’.
The tribunal can cover a range of issues for landlords, tenants, freeholders, leaseholders, park home occupiers or site owners. We’ll get more information on how this might change at a later date.
After over a decade of campaigning by me and my fellow consumer rights experts, a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman will be introduced that will provide ‘quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlords’.
Regular readers will know that I’m a huge fan of ombudsman services. Who doesn’t love a free way to sort out a complaint without having to go to court! Watch this space for more info. In the meantime, social housing tenants already have the Housing Ombudsman.
Are you a pet lover? The rules will give tenants more rights – but not definitive ones – to request if they can have a pet in the property. I’m not sure how I feel about this one.
Living next to a barking dog or an incontinent cat can be no fun. So your landlord can still say no, but they can’t ‘unreasonably refuse’.
You may have heard of Awaab’s Law. This is being introduced in tandem with the Renters’ Rights Law – it’s official name is ‘ the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025’.
Awaab Ishak was a two year old child who died as a consequence of untreated mould in his family’s property. It’s not just a law about mould though. The law sets out a range of ‘hazards’ that landlords must sort out and timescales for doing so. As yet it’s only social housing tenants protected by Awaab’s Law, but this will be extended to private renters at a later date.
Discrimination against someone with a protected characteristic is already illegal. However, the new law will make it illegal to discriminate against new tenants who are on benefits or who have kids. That doesn’t mean they have to reduce their rent to an affordable level though.
A Private Rented Sector Database will be created so landlords understand their legal obligations which will also provide information for tenants so they understand more about their rights.
Looking for a new flat? You can’t be charged six months up front anymore. That’s now capped at one month max. ‘Rental bidding’ where landlords or their agents can gazump you if someone offers above the advertised price will be banned and prices must be published in advance and not increased. I’m not sure how this will be policed in practice though, so be vigilant.
Finally, there will be tougher fines for errant landlords and fines – Rent Repayment Orders (RPOs) – can be applied to the ‘superior landlord. Sometimes you might rent from someone who is already renting (subletting). So that person is the ‘immediate landlord’. The superior landlord is the one who owns and rents the property at the top of the chain.
All that sounds good – so what’s the problem?
There’s been a lot of carping from landlords and their supporters about tax requirements, tougher rules and higher costs. Some of these complaints are fair, so let’s look at some of the potential unintended consequences of the new law.
It’s possible that rents could go up if enough landlords sell up and leave the market after the rules kick in. Rents are already at ludicrous levels – over a third of all income in the UK or up to half or more in London.
Protections against rogue landlords are all well and good but there are a lot of rogue tenants too. The process of removing a troublesome tenant isn’t as easy as just sending them an enforcement notice.
The already overloaded court system may become even more clogged with people appealing Section 8 notices. This could also leave other tenants stuck with antisocial neighbours while the appeals process is exhausted.
We’re still missing the details on how some of these new rules will be enforced and I can spot lots of loopholes. For example, I once signed up to what I thought was a long-term tenancy in East London from landlords who assured me that it would be just that. They served me with a no-fault eviction notice 10 months in. It turns out I was funding their round-the-world holiday.
While no-fault evictions are banned, I could still be evicted if I were renting today if after 12 months the landlord tells me they want to move in to the flat or sell it (they have to give 4 months’ notice now).
So how do I prove I’ve been tricked? How can I prove another prospective tenant has outbid me ‘off the books’ if I don’t know what they’ve agreed to pay each month or upfront? We’ll find out more in the coming months.
How to make a complaint about a landlord
Even though the new law isn’t fully in yet, you can still complain about your landlord.
If you identify something wrong with the property, politely notify the landlord – ideally in writing by email. Your contract will set out what your landlord’s obligations are when it comes to repairs.
Existing laws make it clear that you home must be ‘fit for purpose’ – though that phrase is rather vague.
To give you an example, you could have black mould in your bathroom, but if you can control it with a spray it may not meet the definition of ‘hazardous’. As a general rule, if there’s a risk to your health or safety you should be able to make a complaint.
I’d recommend taking lots of pictures of any problems that emerge with your property and keep them saved. A file of evidence, proving that you’ve had ongoing problems can be very helpful when pursuing a complaint against an errant landlord. Even outside of tribunals or court action, your evidence can lead to warnings, fines and even legal action from your local council.
If you’re not making any progress, you should make a formal complaint. Landlord disputes that you can usually take further include:
- Harassment, abuse and illegally entering your home
- Refusal to carry our repairs as guaranteed in the contract
- Discrimination
- Health and environmental risks
The new law bans landlords from evicting you for complaining or asking for repairs. However, until they’ve kicked in properly, it makes sense to keep things civil and in writing, so you can prove that you’ve been reasonable.
In worst case scenario, you can use this evidence to ensure that the landlord has breached the new laws deliberately before they formally come in.
You can usually ask a third party to mediate on your behalf. This could include an organisation like Citizens Advice, who have loads of great advice on their website. Housing charity Shelter also has a range of services available to help people find out more about their rights and services available.
You can also contact your local council’s Environmental Health Officer to seek advice or take the complaint further. If your landlord isn’t playing ball, they can issue formal warnings requiring them to take action. Finally, if your landlord has misled you then you can report them to your local Trading Standards Officer.
If none of this works, then it’s time to make a pragmatic decision. If you think things might get unpleasant, you can still make a complaint after you’ve left a property, including shopping them to the council.
You may want to consider legal action if the situation has become untenable. I’d recommend getting some initial legal advice before going down this avenue, ideally before you’ve moved out, in case you need to gather some evidence to support your case.
- Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist
