Renters’ Rights Act: What Do I Need to Do About Existing Tenancies?

Updated 15 June 2026.

I have had quite a few anxious questions from Landlord Law members and others about what needs to be done regarding existing tenancies now that the Renters’ Rights Act is in force.

As you are no doubt aware, the main part of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026.

This is the situation regarding existing tenancies as at 1 May 2026:

• All assured periodic and assured shorthold tenancies have now been converted to assured periodic tenancies with effect from 1 May
• Landlords were required to serve an information sheet on all existing tenancies before 31 May 2026.  This date is now passed.
• Student landlords were given a period of one month to serve notice on student tenants if they wanted to reserve the right to use the new ground 4A – the new eviction ground for landlords of student HMO properties.  It is now too late for this.
• So long as the Information  Sheet was served within the time limit, there is no need to serve any other documents (such as new tenancy agreements) on your tenants.

If you did not serve the government’s Information Sheet on existing tenants before the deadline

You should do this now. 

Unfortunately, failure to serve the Information Sheet is an offence under the Act, for which you can be fined up to £7,000 (with a government-recommended starting point of £4,000).

However, if you can show that you have now served it, you may be able to persuade the Local Authority Officer (if they find out about it) that it is not in the public interest to fine you.

The sooner you serve the Information Sheet after the deadline, the more likely they are to take this view.

What about other tenancy types?

If your tenancy is not an assured tenancy (e.g., if it is a company let or you are a resident landlord), you do not need to worry about all this. 

In this context, the Renters’ Rights Act only applies to assured tenancies.  

If you are granting a new tenancy now:

(Ie after 1 May 2026).  There are new rules about tenancy agreements;

• Landlords are required to provide tenants with a ‘statement of terms’ (i.e., a tenancy agreement) before the tenancy is ‘entered into’ (effectively before it is signed).
• You can be fined up to £7,000 if you don’t do this
• Regulations set out the information that needs to go into the  ‘statement of terms’.  

For example:

• Your tenancies must not give a fixed term – as all tenancies are now periodic.  So no end date – just the starting date of the tenancy and the period (which will normally be monthly)
• Any clauses purporting to increase the rent will be of no effect.  Your tenancy agreement statment of terms section should inform tenants of the new rules for increasing rent
• You also need to tell tenants how they can end their tenancy (i.e., by serving a tenant’s notice to quit) and what the rules are if you want to end the tenancy
• Your tenancy agreement must provide notices about any of the possession grounds where prior notice is required

These are just a few of the new requirements.

Renters’ Rights Act compliant tenancy agreements have now been drafted and are available for Landlord Law members to use.

For more guidance, watch our Fundamental series of training webinar recordings explained here.