Anticipation is growing as landmark legislation relating to the rental property sector edges closer to becoming a reality.

From May 1, the long-awaited Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will come into force, bringing sweeping reforms to England’s private rental sector.

“We’re now in touching distance of the game-changing protections that The Renters’ Rights Act will deliver when it comes into force,” says Tarun Bhakta, policy manager at Shelter, a charity that campaigns for housing justice and defends the right to a safe home.

“These changes aim to give renters much greater stability and confidence in their homes, which not only helps to protect renters from the threat of homelessness, but also hopes to give people the confidence to put things right in their homes and to uphold their right to good-quality, safe homes.”

Here’s a breakdown of all they key changes that renters should be aware of…

Landlords will no longer be able to serve a section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction notice

“Currently, landlords are able to serve an eviction notice without providing a reason and give tenants only two months to find a new place to live,” says Bhakta. “We know from our work in our services that we provide across the country, but also from our research, that this is simply not enough time for people to find a new place to live, and leads to families ending up in temporary accommodation, and can dip people over into homelessness.”

This instability can impact what renters will put up with in their homes.

“Section 21 evictions make it really hard for people to complain about poor conditions and get issues resolved in their homes,” adds Bhakta. “It creates a fear of complaint, a fear of speaking up about poor conditions or poor landlord practice, and also impacts people’s physical and mental health, as they worry.”

However, the new Act abolishes these no-fault evictions.

“When we move to the new system, landlords will have to provide a legitimate reason for an eviction, and in some cases, they may have to prove that reason in court,” says Bhakta. “They will also have to provide renters with four months notice for the most common types of evictions which gives renters that extra buffer time to be able to find a new place to live and avoid that really difficult cycle of homelessness.

“This change should give renters a greater level of security and greater confidence to be able to complain about poor conditions in their homes.”

There will be no more fixed-term contracts

“We’ll be moving to a system of open-ended or rolling tenancies. So, when you sign a contract, you won’t have an end date to that contract,” explains Bhakta.

This applies to all existing and new contracts.

“Existing tenancies will switch to the new system on the first of May, which means if you currently have a fixed-term contract, your end date will no longer apply,” says Bhakta. “The big benefit of this is that renters will be able to leave a tenancy at any time with just two months notice.

“This is a welcomed change because the current system can lock people into properties that are not suitable for them or are in a poor condition, or have become unaffordable because their circumstances have changed.”

Rental bidding will become prohibited

“The Act requires landlords to advertise a starting rent and to not accept or solicit bids above that rate,” explains Bhakta. “The idea is to do away with ‘bidding wars’, which can pit tenants against each other, and, at times, inflate rental prices based on false competition between renters looking for properties.

“What will really be crucial is how this is implemented, and how well it’s enforced.”

Gives tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property

“Renters will have the right to request a pet, and landlords will have to provide a reason to not let to a renter have a pet,” says Bhakta. “This is a positive change because we know that many renters do have pets that they really care about.”

Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children

“This is a really important step forward in tackling discrimination in the private rented sector because we know that renters are being locked out of properties that they could otherwise afford simply because of where their income comes from, if they’re claiming benefits, or their circumstances such as if they have children, and that is absolutely not right,” says Bhakta.

Introduction of a limit to rent-in-advance requests

From May 1, renters can only be asked to pay a maximum of one month’s rent in advance once they have signed the tenancy agreement.

“Landlords often ask for very large sums of rent in advance and we know that this is something that impacts low-income renters, particularly those claiming benefits,” says Bhakta. “The current system locks renters out of homes that they could afford and should be able to access, in an unfair way, so it’s brilliant that the government have taken action on this.”

Landlords will only be able to increase the rent once per year

A landlord can only increase the rent once a year, but not in the first year of a new tenancy, and must use Form 4A and give tenants at least two months’ notice, according to the government’s website.

If a tenant believes the proposed rent increase exceeds market rate, they can then challenge this at the First-tier Tribunal, who will determine what the market rent should be.

“The Act did not set limits on the size of rent increases that landlords can give tenants, it only sets the ceiling of market rent,” says Bhakta. “That means many tenants will continue to face potentially very large rent increases, as they do in the current system.”