Renters’ Rights Act implementation day: Your April action plan

The implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is exactly one month away. After years of foot-dragging, political back-and-forth, and more than a couple of Prime Ministers, the Private Rented Sector (PRS) is about to go through the greatest shake-up since the Housing Act of 1988.

At Goodlord, we've been monitoring the Act from its very introduction as the Renters (Reform) Bill. We've seen, studied, and projected how it will affect the PRS and how we can best prepare our customers for what's coming.

Time is running out to get your ducks in a row. The Renters' Rights Act is here, and it's not going anywhere. Failure to act now could cost hundreds of admin hours and thousands of pounds in fines.

Even with implementation day so close, it's not too late to build a better understanding of what's changing. To help, we've compiled this useful article filled with the most important and pertinent information for private landlords and letting agents.

• When does the Renters' Rights Act come into force? 

• Your one-month checklist: April action plan
• Common questions (and quick answers) 
• What's actually changing on 1st May 
• Conclusion

When does the Renters’ Rights Act come into force?

The first phase of the Renters' Rights Act comes into force from 1st May, 2026. While there are other phases still to come later this year and over the next decade, this first will bring in some immediate changes to how agencies manage their portfolios.

From 1st May, your business must comply with a wide breadth of new tenancy reform legislation. Local authorities have already been granted expanded investigatory powers to ensure adherence to the new legal framework.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed has been clear that he and the Government expect agencies and landlords to be compliant with the legislation from day one. With only a month to go, there is very little time left to prepare if you haven't already.

Thanks to our expert team of account managers and automated processes, Goodlord customers will be covered on the compliance side. Let's take a look at what phase one of the Renters' Rights Act will entail.

Your one-month checklist (April action plan)

If you’re starting your preparation in April, now is the perfect time to focus your efforts and build momentum to launch successfully into a post-Renters’ Rights Act world. From here, taking a structured and deliberate approach will help you make the most of the time available.

"I'd urge all agents to make a clear, up-to-date list of all the actions they need to take in the coming weeks - such as the mandatory distribution of the Government's information leaflet to all tenants - to ensure nothing slips the net. They also must make sure that their teams are across all the details of the new rules and ready to field the likely waves of calls and emails from tenants that will be unlocked in 4 weeks time. Don’t let knowledge and preparation be siloed - this must be a whole team effort. It might seem overwhelming, but agents really cannot afford to delay any longer. Operational systems must be updated now, before the risk of fines kicks-in.” - Tom Goodman, B2B managing Director

To help you get fully compliant by 1st May, here's your week-by-week April action plan.

Week 1: Audit

In the day-to-day running of an agency, it can sometimes be difficult to see the wood for the trees. A comprehensive audit will help you better understand where your business stands and what you need to prepare for what's coming.

• Review all your fixed-term assured tenancies - These will be changing into periodic assured tenancies overnight, so your landlords and tenants will need to be aware.
• Identify any planned Section 21 notices and assess your timelines - At this point in the timeline, you may not have time or capacity to execute any planned Section 21 evictions. You and your agents should be prepared to start issuing Section 8 notices and inform your landlords of the expanded notice periods.
• Flag potential problem properties and processes - The fact of the matter is that some of your properties and tenancy agreements will not be compliant with the upcoming legislation.
• Check your documentation - The Act will require you to tighten up your documentation and audit trails. Check your current processes and make sure your contracts and information sheets are up-to-date and trackable. If you're a Goodlord customer, the majority of this will be done for you automatically.

The goal of this week: Auditing your agency to ensure you have a clear picture of where you are in terms of compliance and what needs to change.

Week 2: Update documentation

In your week-one audit, you should have identified any gaps in your processes and documentation. In week two, it's time to update your agency as quickly as you can.

• Issue new tenancy agreement templates - The switch from fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies to periodic tenancies means that your templates will almost certainly be out of date. Goodlord customers will have their contracts updated automatically. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has also released guidance on this.
• Update your notice processes - Section 8 notices require more time and clearly defined grounds to start the possession period. Educate your staff and make sure your processes and knowledge align with the Act
• Refresh your workflows - Ensuring your tenants have all the required literature and information sheets on time will take a lot of admin work. Your processes need to be watertight; you can't afford to miss even one tenant in your send.

The goal of this week: Ensuring all agency paperwork and processes are legally aligned with the legislation.

Week 3: Train your team and align processes

A well-prepared team will help your agency fly through the coming changes. Your team should already be experts in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), so training them on the Renters' Rights Act should be straightforward.

• Hold regular staff briefings - The better trained your team is, the better service they can offer your customers. By holding regular briefings, you can teach them all about the legislation while also allowing them to ask questions and build trust.
• Update your management workflows - the act will bring a lot more admin into your team's day-to-day operations. By updating your workflows, you'll make their lives easier and reduce the risk of mistakes and human error.
• Create communication scripts for landlords and tenants - Make no mistake, your team is about to be inundated with more questions and concerns than ever before. Preparing scripts for commonly asked questions will give them the security they need to answer them with confidence.
• Stress-test new processes - Test, test, and test your new process as often as you can. This will allow you to identify pain points and tighten up your processes before the Act comes in.

The goal of this week: Building up team confidence and consistency in our agency.

Week 4: Communicate and implement

In the last week before 1st May, it's time to focus on rolling out your new processes and building awareness across your portfolio.

• Notify landlords - It's vital that your landlords know what's changing and what they need to do. In the short term, they’ll need to know about the switch to periodic tenancies, the new rules about rent in advance and pets in lets, how to raise rents in the new landscape, and the abolition of Section 21 eviction notices.
• Prepare and send tenant communications - Your tenants need to be sent their information pack as soon as possible. The final deadline for this is the 31st May, and by preparing now, you'll give yourself enough time to ensure every tenant receives their packs.
• Have a final compliance check before 1st May - As with the testing you did in the third week, make sure you check and double-check all your active processes to ensure that you are truly compliant with the Act. If you think you've done enough checks, do one more, just to be safe.
• Purge your outdated documents and templates - In your busyness to get ready, one or two outdated documents may have slipped through the cracks. Have your staff do one final sweep and remove any non-compliant templates or documents from your system.

The goal of this week: Enter the new PRS fully compliant with the new legislation and ready to serve your customers.

Common questions (and quick answers)

At Goodlord, we field hundreds of questions about the act every week. Here are some of the most common practical questions we hear coming from the industry.

Can I still evict a tenant after 1 May?

Yes, but only under the revised Section 8 permitted grounds. Section 21 "no-fault" evictions will no longer be available, so you'll need to rely on the updated possession grounds, such as excessive rent arrears or a demonstrable breach of the tenancy agreement.

Be aware that tenants will have recourse to take their cases to the incoming PRS Landlord Ombudsman. If the remediation fails, the case may lead to court proceedings in extreme cases.

What happens to existing tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act?

Most existing assured tenancies will transition to the new system, becoming statutory periodic tenancies. This means tenants will be able to stay until they choose to leave or a valid possession ground applies.

Do I need to issue a new tenancy agreement immediately?

Not necessarily for every existing tenancy, but all new tenancies from 1st May must comply with the updated legal framework. As a matter of course, you should review your contracts to ensure that they align with the legislation.

Can I still raise the rent in my landlord’s properties?

Yes, but only through a formal Section 13 process. This means that:

• Increases are limited to once per year.
• You must give your tenants two months' notice.
• Tenants can pay £47 to challenge increases they believe to be unfairly above market rates.

Should I serve notices before 1st May to avoid the changes?

You are allowed to serve notice before 1st May, but we would advise caution. There is very little time left to issue the notice, and if it contains a single mistake, the process will be invalidated. There is also a reputation to consider for those evicting tenants so close to implementation day.

What’s actually changing on 1 May?

The Guide to the Renters' Rights Act, the Government's official summary of the legislation, outlines which parts of the Act will take effect on the 1st May. Landlords and letting agents must be ready for this first phase in just four weeks.

End of Section 21 (‘no-fault’ evictions)

From 1st May, landlords will no longer be able to issue Section 21 notices to end a private tenancy. The abolition of Section 21 notices means that landlords and letting agents will now need to issue Section 8 notices in possession orders.

Section 8 possession grounds are divided into two groups: "Mandatory" and "Discretionary". Citing the correct ground is vital, as citing an incorrect possession ground will end with the court rejecting your possession claim.

Ministers have said that removing Section 21 claims will help tenants feel more secure in their homes.

Periodic tenancies as standard

Under the Renters' Rights Act, assured shorthold tenancies will no longer be the default rental structure in the PRS. 1st May will see most fixed terms replaced by assured periodic tenancies. This means your tenants can leave their tenancies by giving two months' notice at any time.

Notice periods will also be changing for landlords and letting agents. If you wish to regain possession of your properties, you will need to issue a possession order with four months' notice.

Stronger tenant protections

The Government has framed the Renters' Rights Act as a vehicle to bolster tenant protections and rebalance the rental market. To do this, they're introducing a number of clear, enforceable protections from implementation day.

Rent increases will be tightly controlled, and Section 13 notices will become the only way for landlords to raise rents. These increases will be limited to once per year, and landlords will have to provide two months' notice. In a major shakeup, tenants will be able to challenge rent increases in the First Tier Tribunal and via the landlord ombudsman if they feel the increase is above market rate. It has been confirmed that tenants will have to pay a £47 fee to raise a challenge.

Phase 1 of the Act will also introduce bans on rental bidding wars and control on upfront costs. To ban rental bidding wars, landlords and letting agents will be allowed to accept only bids at the initial advertised rent. Under the Act, landlords can request no more than one months' rent upfront.

Renting with pets will also become easier for tenants. Landlords will no longer be able to apply blanket bans on pets in their properties and must consider all tenant pet requests on a case-by-case basis.

Conclusion

From 1st May, the PRS will be operating under a fundamentally different framework, and expectations from tenants, landlords, and regulators will shift overnight.

If you take one thing from this guide, it’s this: preparation can’t wait any longer.

The good news is that there’s still time to get this right. With a structured plan and the right support, you'll be fully prepared for implementation day and ready to make the most of the new situation.

At Goodlord, we’ve built our platform and processes to help you stay ahead of legislative change. Our expert team is ready and able to help you thrive under the Renters' Rights Act and build a stronger agency.