Originally published: September 2024
The Renters’ Rights Bill is the most significant reform the private rented sector (PRS) has seen since the Housing Act 1988. First introduced to Parliament on September 11, 2024, the Bill has wide-ranging implications for landlords, tenants, and letting agents alike.
But you’ll arguably be impacted most by the changes.
As the Bill is expected to become effective in a matter of months, letting agents need to know everything about what's in store so you can set your agency up for success. Because while there will be challenges, there are also lots of opportunities to take advantage of.
In this blog we’ll cover all of the key talking points, while signposting in-depth resources where you can learn more.
The Renters’ Rights Bill is a piece of upcoming legislation designed to deliver “long overdue” reforms to the Private Rented Sector (PRS). Its primary goal is to give tenants more security to stay in their homes and more freedom to leave substandard properties.
The Government believes this is necessary because: “While the majority of landlords provide a good service, the [PRS] currently provides the least affordable, poorest quality and most insecure housing of all tenures.”
The Bill will:
| Renters Reform Bill | Renters' Rights Bill | |
| Abolish Section 21 | ✅ With court reform |
✅ Without court reform |
| Expand grounds for possession | ✅ | ✅ |
| Decent Homes Standard | ✅ | ✅ Plus Awaab's Law |
| Limit rent increases to once per year | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prohibit discrimination | ✅ | ✅ |
| Allow renting with pets | ✅ | ✅ |
| Introduce a landlord ombudsman | ✅ | ✅ |
| Ban rental bidding wars | ❌ | ✅ |
| Create a PRS database | ✅ |
✅ |
| Strengthen enforcement of non-compliance | ✅ |
✅ |
The Renters Reform Bill is the predecessor of the Renters’ Rights Bill, explaining why they both look so similar.
The former was conceived by the Conservative Government towards the end of their term, but didn't pass before they were defeated by Labour in the General Election. It proposed to:
The latter was proposed by the new Labour Government, building on the above by banning rental bidding wars.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will also abolish Section 21 without court reform and apply Awaab’s Law to the Decent Homes Standard.
Learn more in our Renters’ Rights Bill vs Renters Reform Bill 👈 blog
While we've touched on all the key changes proposed by the Renters’ Rights Bill, here are the ones that are set to have the biggest impact on letting agents.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will convert all fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) to periodic tenancies overnight. Any fixed-term tenancies you sign now will be affected by this when the Bill becomes effective.
In other words, a three-year tenancy signed in December 2025 would instantly become periodic if the Renters’ Rights Bill became effective in February 2026, replacing the fixed term.
Tenancy reform is one of the Government’s biggest priorities and they believe that this move will “empower tenants to challenge bad practice without fear of retaliatory eviction”.
Despite this, lettings industry data from Goodlord revealed that tenants actually prefer fixed-term tenancies. For example, 58.5% of tenants prefer fixed-term, renewable tenancy agreements, while 29.7% prefer rolling, open-ended agreements.
Learn how you can prepare your agency for these changes in our periodic tenancies 👈blog
In the current system, landlords can raise the rent in several ways, including rent review clauses, renewing fixed-term tenancies, and mutual written agreements during the tenancy. However, due to the abolition of fixed-term tenancies, Section 13 notices will be the only way to raise rent, which you can only serve once per year.
Learn how to serve notices quickly and compliantly in our Section 13 👈 blog
The abolition of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions is one of the Government’s flagship rental reforms. Although letting agents and landlords appreciate the convenience of Section 21 notices, the Government feels that tenants are getting a raw deal.
“Uproot[ing] renters from their homes with little notice and minimal justification” is something they want to end as early as possible.
Learn more about the implications of abolition and how you can prepare for the changes in our Section 21 👈 blog
When the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes effective, serving Section 8 notices will be the primary way landlords can evict tenants. As a letting agent, you need to be be able to advise landlords on which mandatory and discretionary possession grounds they can cite to evict a tenant from their property.
After all, citing incorrect possession grounds will result in the courts rejecting your application, further delaying the eviction process.
Learn about the practical steps you can take to prepare your agency for these changes and how to serve notices correctly in our Section 8 👈 blog
Goodlord's Managing Director of Insurance, Oli Sherlock, and leading property lawyer, David Smith, tackle your burning Renters' Rights Bill questions ☝️
There are a range of other reforms the Renters’ Rights Bill proposes that you should know about…
Bidding over the rental asking price will no longer be allowed when the Bill becomes effective. While the Government clarifies that most landlords don’t encourage rental bidding wars, it aims to “crack down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who make the most of the housing crisis by forcing tenants to bid for their properties.”
Awaab’s Law has already been introduced into the social housing sector as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act and will expand into the PRS as part of the Renters' Rights Bill.
It means landlords must follow strict timescales to inspect and repair hazards, such as damp and mould. The Government has claimed that the introduction of this law will “ensure that all renters in England are empowered to challenge dangerous conditions”.
The Renters’ Rights Bill intends to make renting with pets easier. Tenants will be able to request a pet both before and during a tenancy and landlords can't unreasonably refuse their request.
A new digital PRS database will provide visibility on who landlords are and any historical banning orders they've received so tenants can make more informed choices.
The Bill introduces a new private rented sector ombudsman, offering a fair and impartial resolution service to settle disputes without the need for court involvement.
The Bill will outlaw blanket bans on tenants with children or those on benefits, ensuring fair access to housing.
The Renters' Rights Bill will receive Royal Assent and become law after Parliament returns from the summer recess. Monday, September 8 is the provisional date that the Commons will consider the Lords’ amendments. The government will hope to achieve Royal Assent before the conference recess starts on September 16.
The Bill was initially expected to become law after Easter, but a delay to the committee stage pushed timelines back.
The commencement date of the Bill – in other words, when it comes into effect – will likely be in early 2026. While the Government is keen to implement the abolition of Section 21 and ASTs as soon as possible, other parts of the Bill won’t take effect immediately.
The Bill is edging closer to Royal Assent. It completed the report stage in the House of Lords on July 15, 2025. The Bill’s third reading was completed on July 21. It will now return to the Commons for consideration of the amendments made in the Lords on September 8. Once both Houses agree on the Bill, it will be passed to the King for Royal Assent.
The third reading of the Bill in the Lords was completed on July 21, 2025. In this final stage, the Lords passed two amendments without a vote, which you can see below:
During the brief debate, Peers, officials, and other stakeholders who had worked on the Bill were thanked and congratulated.
The government scheduled three report stage sittings on July 1, 7, and 15. This stage gives the Lords time to consider and vote on amendments proposed by their colleagues.
The Government itself made an amendment, removing landlords’ ability to require tenants with pets to take out pet damage insurance, which had made the prospect of renting to this demographic more attractive to landlords.
However, unless the government accepts a pet damage deposit amendment proposed by Lord de Clifford, this decision could neutralise the impact of proposed pet reforms. Without sufficient protection, landlords could be more likely to use legal loopholes to continue avoiding renting to tenants with pets.
In the three sessions, the House also voted on and approved several other amendments, put forward by the government, the Opposition, and Backbench peers.
July 15
In the third and final session of the report stage, the Lords discussed these amendments:
Passed without a vote:
Passed:
July 7
During the second session, the Lords passed the following amendments:
Passed without vote:
Passed:
July 1
During the first sitting, the following amendments were passed by the Lords:
Passed:
The House voted on and rejected these amendments:
Rejected:
Goodlord's Managing Director of Insurance, Oli Sherlock, and leading property lawyer, David Smith, explain why a wait-and-see approach to the Bill won't work ☝️
The government will most likely reject any amendments proposed by the Opposition or Backbench peers that it did not support and were approved by a vote, for example, any related to Section 21 and periodic tenancies. The only amendments it is likely to accept are those proposed or supported by Ministers themselves. This is because:
The Bill completed its Third Reading in the Lords on July 21, and will now return to the Commons for consideration of the proposed amendments made in the Lords around September 8.
This process, sometimes called “ping pong”, refers to “the to and fro of amendments to Bills between the House of Commons and the House of Lords” when both Houses disagree on the content of a Bill.
While the Lords can use “ping pong” to delay a Bill, they can’t ultimately stop it because of the Parliament Acts, which limit the powers of the House of Lords to reject legislation.
Put simply, the final Renters’ Rights Bill will closely resemble its original form when it takes effect in early 2026.
Here's everything you need to know about the committee stage in the Lords👇
The Parliament website says: "Committee stage involves detailed line by line examination of the separate parts (clauses and schedules) of a bill. Starting from the front of the bill, members work through to the end."
It continues:
"Before committee stage begins, amendments (changes) are gathered together and placed in order, then published in the ‘marshalled list'. Updated lists are produced before the start of each day of committee stage.
"During committee stage every clause of the bill has to be agreed to and votes on any amendments can take place. All suggested amendments have to be considered, if a member wishes, and members can discuss an issue for as long as they want.
"If the bill has been amended it is reprinted with all the agreed amendments."
The Lords held committee sessions on:
The Government initially announced six sessions but added another on May 15 to complete the stage.
During the committee stage, Peers suggested hundreds of amendments, including to some of the Government's flagship rental reforms. These include:
Renting with pets, guarantors, and RoPA were also discussed. Here are some of the key takeaways from the sessions…
As expected, the Government declined all of the amendments proposed by Opposition and Backbench peers during the Lords committee stage. So far, it has only passed its own amendments.
Lord Best used the committee stage once again to emphasise the importance of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA). He said:
"The Renters’ Rights Bill presents an important opportunity to take a first step towards creating a proper regulatory framework for the property agency sector."
Despite earning the support of several Peers during the committee stage, RoPA won’t be part of the Renters’ Rights Bill. However, the Government has committed to revisiting the regulation at a later date.
While the Government has included anti-discrimination laws in the Renters’ Rights Bill, some Peers feel they don’t go far enough.
For example, Baroness Lister proposed limiting the circumstances in which landlords can ask for guarantors, providing data on how their use disproportionately disadvantages low-income renters. She said:
“Over the last five years, 550,000 private renters were unable to rent a home that they wanted because they did not have a guarantor that met the landlord’s requirements.”
She continued:
“Some 45% of benefit recipients and 43% of families struggle to provide a guarantor, compared with just 24% of those not receiving benefits or without children.”
The Government rejected the amendment. Many still believe that requesting a guarantor remains vital for managing landlord risk.
Despite the Government proposing measures to make renting with pets easier, Peers sought clarity on several key issues, suggesting multiple amendments. For example, Lord Black argued that without firmer protections:
“Families with pets will remain in an ongoing state of housing insecurity, with the threat of eviction always looming around the corner.”
Because of this, he proposed that landlords shouldn’t be able to withdraw consent to keep a pet, once it has been granted.
In response, Housing Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, said:
“When a landlord gives permission for a tenant to have a pet, that consent is binding and cannot be revoked, with the exception of the very rare occasion when that becomes an anti-social behaviour issue.”
The Shadow Housing Minister, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, touched on a widespread concern in one of her amendments. Many in the private rented sector believe that the court system needs significant investment; otherwise, it will be unable to process the increased volume of Section 8 notices effectively. She said:
"This amendment would require the Lord Chancellor to assess the operation of the possession process to ensure the court service has the capacity to deal with the increased demand expected because of this Bill."
The Government rejected this amendment, emphasising its commitment to court digitisation to improve efficiency.
Lord Willetts suggested that the Government should extend Ground 4A to smaller properties, proposing that:
"Smaller rented accommodations of one or two bedrooms should also be exempt from the general provisions of the Bill and instead be recognised as academic accommodation."
This said, he didn't press his amendment to a vote.
The Government maintained its position on periodic tenancies, and rejected extending Ground 4A to smaller student properties.
The Government previously added Ground 4A to the Bill to enable the landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), exclusively let by students, to make annual agreements in line with the academic year.
Housing Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said:
"We recognise that the student market has a cyclical business model and have therefore introduced Ground 4A, allowing landlords to evict full-time students from HMOs in order to house incoming groups in line with the academic year."
Under the Renters' Rights Bill, tenants can dispute rent increases through the First-tier Property Tribunal if they disagree with them. There are also no plans to backdate rent increases if courts rule in favour of a landlord, which many believe will incentivise tenants to appeal.
Addressing this concern, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich suggested that appeals should be reviewed before they’re sent to the tribunal. She said:
"All appeals against rent increases should go in the first instance to the Valuation Office Agency and progress to the First-tier Tribunal only if there is a clear case to answer."
The Government praised Baroness Wolf's intentions while citing concerns about resource implications and potential delays. They also acknowledged that filtering out unfounded cases would help to alleviate pressure on the tribunal system.
Peers debated the Government's proposals for the PRS in the second reading of The Renters' Rights Bill in the House of Lords on February 4.
The issue of student tenancies, supply and demand, pets in lets, and legal enforcement were key themes, with many questions remaining unaddressed.
According to the Parliament website:
"Second reading is the first opportunity for members of the Lords to debate the key principles and main purpose of a bill and to flag up any concerns or specific areas where they think amendments (changes) are needed."
It continues:
"The Government Minister, spokesperson or a member of the Lords responsible for the bill opens the second reading debate," which was, in this case, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government), Labour.
"Any member can speak during second reading – this stage can indicate those members particularly interested in a bill, or a specific aspect of it, and those who are most likely to be involved in suggesting changes at later stages."
The Government made several amendments in the third reading on Jan 14 including:
Despite pressure from Labour backbenchers and Green MPs, the Government once again rejected calls to introduce rent controls.
Below, we've compiled an FAQ on some of the finer points of the bill that may not have been covered in the blog.
The Government is expected to provide a slightly longer transition period than the standard two months after the Renters’ Rights Bill reaches Royal Assent and becomes law.
On the commencement date, all ASTs will automatically convert into assured periodic tenancies, meaning no new Section 21 notices can be served.
If a Section 21 notice has been served before the Renters Rights Bill is enacted, landlords will have up to two months after the commencement date to apply to the court, as long as the notice is still within its six-month validity period.
The government has provided a range of new and updated mandatory and discretionary eviction grounds for Section 8. These include:
Mandatory
Discretionary
The new Section 8 grounds include provisions for landlords wanting to move back into their property. This has been expanded to allow not only the landlord but also their children to move in. However, landlords must give tenants four months’ notice and can only serve the notice after a minimum 12-month tenancy period.
Once we get a commencement date for the Renters’ Rights Bill, all ASTs will automatically become periodic overnight. Section 8 will be the main way to evict tenants, meaning landlords must rely on the newly expanded grounds for possession.
There is a restriction period of 16 months from the service of notice before the property can be re-let.
The government has the power to dictate the format of tenancy agreements. It is expected to introduce a new standardised agreement that incorporates elements of the current tenancy agreement and the “How to Rent” guide.
It’s unclear whether existing tenancy agreements will need to be redrafted immediately, and there may be a grace period for transitioning to the new format.
No, corporate tenancies are not subject to the new rules in the vast majority of cases.
The only wiggle room given to student landlords so far is the addition of ground 4A in Section 8, and the fact that private, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) won’t have to use periodic tenancies.
It’s unclear whether landlords providing non-purpose-built accommodation to students will receive similar exemptions at this stage, and it’s at the Government’s discretion to accept any proposed amendments by the Lords.
This remains a major concern. Without fixed terms, tenants could leave at any time, making it harder to manage void periods between academic years. The industry has raised concerns, but there are no confirmed exemptions or solutions yet.
When the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, periodic tenancies will replace all fixed-term tenancies. Put simply, this means that landlords will only be able to raise the rent through Section 13 notices, and you can only serve them once per year.
Previously, landlords only needed to give one month’s notice of a rent increase in a Section 13. Under the new legislation, however, they must provide two months’ notice.
No, landlords won’t be required to set annual rent increases at the outset of a tenancy. Rent increases must follow the Section 13 process, where the landlord gives the tenant notice of the increase, and the tenant has the right to challenge it before a tribunal.
The government is not imposing fixed rent increase clauses in tenancy agreements as it stands.
You can serve a Section 13 notice up to four months in advance, provided the rent increase becomes effective after the tenant has spent 12 months in the tenancy. At a minimum, you must give two months’ notice of a rent increase.
No. This is a key concern raised by members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as industry experts. There are genuine fears that tenants could be incentivised to appeal rent increases without proper safeguards; however, these concerns currently remain unaddressed.
The government has acknowledged affordability concerns, especially in outer London and the Home Counties, where rents are still increasing. However, there are no specific new affordability tests for periodic tenancies beyond standard referencing checks.
Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, landlords will have a few reasonable excuses for not accepting pets. These include:
If a head lease specifically includes a “no pets” clause, this right remains enforceable, meaning a landlord in such a property can refuse pets without violating new pet-friendly provisions. In these cases, landlords can still advertise properties as “no pets allowed” and refuse tenants with pets at the application stage.
No, landlords can’t charge pet fees under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The Government also removed the option for landlords to require tenants with pets to take out pet damage insurance. The Government’s current stance is that the standard deposit should cover pet-related damage.
If a tenant moves in with a pet despite a valid no-pet clause, the landlord can either take action for breach of contract or seek resolution through the redress scheme or court.
If the tenancy was originally an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) and later transitions to the new periodic tenancy under the reform, landlords may be required to reassess the pet request. If the property is deemed suitable for pets, the landlord may not have grounds to refuse.
It is not yet confirmed whether existing tenancies will require formal amendments. The transition will be automatic, meaning all ASTs will convert into periodic tenancies on the implementation date. The Government may introduce a notification process, but full contract amendments have not been confirmed.
Whatever happens, the Government is keen to avoid a two-tier system where different groups of tenants have different rights packages.
Lettings software like Goodlord helps you to automate 38 compliance processes. Training staff and updating fee structures is essential, as renewal fees will no longer be viable.
The current tenancy deposit rules remain unchanged under the new system, meaning you can still take them in advance. Deposits must still be protected in approved schemes.
Yes, agents must hand over keys even if the first month’s rent hasn’t been paid. The new regulations require tenancy agreements to be signed before collecting rent, giving tenants legal rights to occupy the property regardless of payment.
This means agents must release the keys even if rent hasn’t cleared, creating a risk of tenants moving in while in arrears. While this aims to protect tenants from unfair practices, it increases financial risks for landlords and agents if tenants fail to pay on time.
No, under the new rules, funds cannot be required before the agreement is executed.
You can’t charge renewal fees since fixed-term tenancies are being abolished. Instead, you should revise your fee structures and communicate these changes to landlords ahead of time.
Charging for a Section 13 notice is one potential option agents should explore to help replace renewal revenue. Offering a Rent Protection and Legal Protection service can also help to plug the gap.
While legal support won’t be mandatory, letting agents and landlords should have a thorough understanding of the new Section 8 eviction grounds as they will become the primary tool for regaining possession. If you incorrectly cite eviction grounds, courts will throw out your application, further delaying an already cumbersome process.
The government is proposing a redress scheme, but there are concerns that it may not be efficient, as the Housing Ombudsman has a poor track record for handling disputes quickly.
If you need help to prepare for the Renters' Rights Bill, we've got you covered. Goodlord:
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This article is intended as a guide only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit gov.uk for more information.