The most significant overhaul of England’s rental market in a generation came into force on Thursday 1 May 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act — first introduced as a Bill under the previous Conservative government and substantially redrafted and passed by Labour in autumn 2025 — abolishes Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, ends rental bidding wars, caps in-tenancy rent rises and introduces a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector. London, where roughly 30% of households now rent privately, is the market most affected.
Section 21 abolished
The single most consequential change is the end of Section 21. Until 30 April, a landlord could give a tenant two months’ notice to vacate a property without giving any reason. From 1 May, that mechanism is gone. Landlords seeking to recover possession must now use one of the strengthened Section 8 grounds, including selling the property, moving in themselves or a close family member, or where the tenant is in serious rent arrears. New mandatory grounds and notice periods apply, and many cases will now require a court hearing.
For tenants, the practical impact is greater security of tenure. Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are replaced by open-ended periodic tenancies from day one, which the tenant can end with two months’ notice but which the landlord can end only with a valid statutory ground. Deposit rules, right-to-rent checks and other compliance regimes carry over largely unchanged.
Bidding wars banned, rent rises capped
Equally significant — particularly in London, where average rents in some inner boroughs exceeded £2,750 a month at the start of 2026 — is the end of rental bidding. From 1 May, landlords and letting agents must publish an asking rent and may not accept offers above it. The aim is to stop the practice of advertising a low headline rent and then encouraging applicants to bid each other up — a phenomenon repeatedly documented in Hackney, Lambeth, Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets in the post-pandemic years.
In-tenancy rent increases are now capped to once per year and must be benchmarked against open-market rents for similar properties. Tenants who consider a proposed rise excessive can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal, which is the only body that can now lawfully impose a higher figure. The tribunal process has been streamlined, but the early weeks are expected to produce a backlog as test cases work through.
Decent Homes Standard extended to private rentals
The Act extends the Decent Homes Standard — previously applied only to social housing — to the private rental sector for the first time. Properties must meet minimum requirements on structural integrity, heating, damp, hazards, and energy efficiency. The full standard takes effect in stages, with the most demanding requirements (particularly around energy efficiency, requiring an EPC rating of C or better for new tenancies) phasing in by 2028.
For landlords with older or poor-condition stock, this represents a significant capital expenditure obligation. Industry estimates suggest approximately 15% of London’s private rental stock would not currently meet the full Decent Homes Standard, requiring upgrades ranging from minor (improved damp protection, basic heating works) to substantial (full EPC upgrades, structural repairs).
What landlords have done in advance
The London rental market has spent the past 18 months adjusting in advance of the Act. According to ONS data, average UK private rents rose 3.5% in the year to February 2026, well below the double-digit increases seen in 2023 and 2024. Some landlords have exited the market: net mortgage data shows the buy-to-let segment has shrunk by around 4% over the past 12 months.
Others have professionalised, registering for the new database, upgrading EPCs to meet looming energy standards and shifting toward longer-term, higher-quality lettings. The professionalisation trend is most visible in newer-build developments, where institutional landlords (Build to Rent operators like Get Living, Quintain, and Greystar) are gaining market share at the expense of small private landlords.
The supply question
The most contested question in the rental market debate is whether the Act will reduce overall rental supply. Critics argue that combined regulatory and tax pressures (the Section 24 mortgage interest deductibility removal, higher stamp duty for additional properties, and now the Act) will push small landlords out of the market faster than institutional players can replace them. Supporters argue that exit and entry will balance, and that the market needs better-quality stock rather than more of the same.
Early data is ambiguous. Buy-to-let mortgage approvals have declined, but new lettings volumes have remained roughly stable. Average rents are increasing more slowly than in 2024, but vacancy rates remain at historically low levels (2% in London), suggesting strong underlying demand pressure that supply has not yet caught up with.
What tenants should know
For London renters, the immediate practical changes are: greater security of tenure (no Section 21 risk), no obligation to engage in bidding processes, and the right to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The Act also introduces a landlord ombudsman for dispute resolution, due to be operational from autumn 2026, providing a faster alternative to court action for many disputes.
Tenants on existing fixed-term tenancies will transition to periodic tenancies at the end of their current term. Those whose landlords had served Section 21 notices before 1 May may still face eviction under those notices, but no new Section 21 notices can be served from 1 May onward.
Looking ahead
The Act’s full impact will become clear over the next 12-18 months. The First-tier Tribunal’s early decisions on rent challenges will set important precedents. The behaviour of landlords during the first year — whether the predicted exit wave materialises or proves smaller than feared — will determine whether London’s rental market tightens further or finds a new equilibrium.
For now, the message to both sides is simple: the rules have changed materially, and both landlords and tenants need to understand their new rights and obligations. Industry bodies, including the National Residential Landlords Association and Generation Rent, have published guidance for their respective constituencies.
— Sarah Mitchell, London Capital Post
