If you rent privately in England, your rights changed more on 1 May 2026 than at any point in the previous two decades. Most of the guidance you will find online was written before that and has not been updated.
This is a plain summary of where things stand. It is general information rather than advice about your own tenancy, and the position differs in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have their own systems. If you rent in Scotland, see deposit schemes in Scotland.
What changed on 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force. The headline changes:
Section 21 is abolished. A landlord can no longer end a tenancy by giving two months' notice without a reason. Possession now requires one of the specified grounds, and evidence for it.
Assured shorthold tenancies are abolished. Most private tenancies in England became periodic assured tenancies automatically.
Fixed terms are gone. Tenancies now run month to month. You can stay indefinitely unless the landlord establishes a ground for possession, and you can leave by giving notice rather than being tied to a twelve-month commitment.
Rent increases are restricted. A landlord can raise the rent only once a year, by a formal notice, with at least two months' notice, taking effect on a rent due date. You can challenge an increase you think is above market rate.
Rental bidding is banned. A property must be advertised at a stated rent, and the landlord or agent cannot invite or accept offers above it.
Pets. You can request to keep a pet and the landlord has to consider it and reply. They cannot refuse unreasonably.
Some parts — the private rented sector database, the landlord ombudsman, the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law — are arriving on a phased timetable rather than all at once.
Your deposit
It must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of the landlord receiving it, and you must be given the prescribed information within the same 30 days.
It is capped. Five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks where it is £50,000 or more. Note weeks, not months — two months' rent is over the cap.
If it was not protected, a court can order the landlord to pay you between one and three times the deposit, and you have six years to bring that claim. See what to do if your deposit isn't protected.
You get free adjudication if there is a dispute about deductions, through the scheme. See how the dispute resolution service works.
None of these deposit rules changed in 2026. What changed is that the protection duty now blocks possession on most grounds, not just the section 21 route that no longer exists.
Repairs and condition
Your landlord is generally responsible for:
- The structure and exterior of the property
- Installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation
- Heating and hot water
- Anything they damaged through failing to repair something else
You are generally responsible for minor upkeep, for using the property in a tenant-like manner, and for damage you or your visitors cause.
Report problems in writing and keep the replies. A dated email is the difference between a landlord's repairing obligation being enforceable and being a conversation nobody can date.
Safety, and the documents you should have
- A gas safety certificate, renewed annually, if there is gas
- An electrical safety report, at least every five years
- Smoke alarms on every storey, and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance
- An energy performance certificate
- The How to Rent guide, which the landlord must provide
If you never received these, ask for them in writing. Their absence matters.
Quiet enjoyment, and entry
You are entitled to live in the property without unreasonable interference. A landlord generally must give at least 24 hours' written notice and visit at a reasonable time. They do not have a right to walk in whenever they choose, and they cannot change the locks or remove your belongings to force you out.
Being evicted without a court order is illegal. If it is happening or threatened, contact the council's housing team and Shelter the same day — not next week.
Discrimination
A landlord cannot refuse to let to you because you receive benefits or because you have children, and the Equality Act protections apply to letting as they do elsewhere.
Fees
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, most fees are prohibited in England. A landlord or agent cannot charge you for viewings, for referencing, for an inventory, for renewing a tenancy, or require you to pay for professional cleaning at the end. A holding deposit is capped at one week's rent.
If you paid something that looks like a prohibited fee, you can ask for it back.
The practical advice underneath all of this
Rights are only as good as your ability to show what happened. Almost every dispute — deposit, disrepair, or who broke what — is decided by whichever side can produce a dated record.
So:
- Photograph the property before you move anything in
- Check the inventory properly rather than signing it, and comment in writing
- Take meter readings with the serial numbers visible
- Report every problem by email, never only by phone
- Keep the whole thread, and keep it somewhere you will still find it in two years
Our move-in inventory checklist covers the first three in detail.
In practice, that means recording the property's condition at both ends of the tenancy. Our move-in checklist and move-out checklist walk you through it.
Where to get real advice
This is a summary, not advice on your situation, and it does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. For your own case:
- Shelter — housing law, free
- Citizens Advice — free, and used to these questions
- Your local council's housing team — particularly for disrepair, harassment or illegal eviction
- A housing solicitor — where a claim is involved
Where RentSeal fits
RentSeal keeps the record side: one tenancy, photos by room, notes and documents, dated as you add them. You can see how it works first.
It documents condition. It is not a legal service, it does not give advice, and it does not decide who is responsible for anything.