Everything landlords need to do before 1 May

On 1 May 2026, the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act comes into effect. This legislation introduces fundamental changes to tenancy structures, eviction processes, and financial conduct.

With so many things changing, it can be easy to not understand what your responsibilities are as a landlord come 1 May. Here are five things you need to do before the Act arrives in order to stay compliant. 

1. Understand your approach to evictions

Effective from 1 May, the use of Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notices is abolished for both new and existing tenancies. Landlords will no longer be able to terminate a tenancy without citing specific legal grounds.

For notices served prior to 1 May, a grace period remains in effect until July 31 2026. If court proceedings haven’t started by this date, the notice will expire, and you’ll need to start the process all over again. 

We’ve explained how the transition period will work for the end of Section 21 in more detail.

From 1 May, you’ll need to use a Section 8 notice. This must include a specific legal ground given as a reason for the eviction.  

2. Transition to mandatory periodic tenancies

The Renters’ Rights Act removes the ability to grant fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies. From 1 May, all tenancies regardless of when they began, become periodic assured tenancies. This means two things:

• tenants may terminate the agreement at any time by providing two months’ notice
• landlords can no longer enforce a minimum stay beyond the initial notice period. All existing fixed-term contracts will legally convert to rolling contracts

You don’t need to do anything with your current tenancy agreement. But understand that from 1 May, your tenant can terminate their tenancy with two months’ notice – regardless of what’s stated in your tenancy agreement. 

3. Share the mandatory information sheet with your tenant

While the Act officially starts on 1 May, landlords have until 31 May to share the new information sheet to all existing tenants. This document, provided by the government, explains your tenant’s new rights to them.

You’ll need to download the PDF from the government site and share it with your tenant virtually or with a physical copy. Just sending a link to the government site isn’t enough. 

You could be fined up to £7,000 for non-compliance.

4. Stop accepting bidding wars and advance payments

The Renters’ Rights Act strictly governs how rent is negotiated and collected:

• no more price ranges – your monthly rent must be advertised as a single fixed figure, not a range of prices 
• rental bidding ban – it’s now illegal for landlords or letting agents to invite, encourage, or accept offers of rent that exceed the advertised price
• cap on advance rent – landlords are prohibited from requesting or holding more than one month’s rent in advance. This is separate to security deposits

So if you’re listing your property after 1 May, you’ll need to be transparent about the rent and only accept the listed amount. And only take a maximum of one month’s rent in advance if necessary.

5. Requests for pet ownership

From 1 May, you can’t unreasonably refuse a tenant’s request for a pet. 

When you receive a written request, you have 28 days to provide a formal response. Any refusal must be justified by evidence, like the property being too small for a certain animal, for example. 

And you can’t force a tenant to contribute to pet damage insurance. Any damages that happen to your property will need to be paid for with the security deposit. 

From 1 May, you need to know what your process will be for if your tenant requests a pet. 

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