The Renters' Rights Act: A Guide for Tenants

Landlords can no longer serve a Section 21 notice to evict you simply because your fixed term has ended, or for no stated reason. To ask you to leave, a landlord now needs a specific legal ground (such as selling the property, moving in a close family member, or rent arrears) and, in most cases, a court order if you don't leave voluntarily.

Tenancies are moving to a single system of periodic, rolling agreements rather than being tied to a 6 or 12-month fixed term. In practice, this gives you more flexibility: once your tenancy has started, you can generally end it by giving your landlord two months' notice, whenever suits you, rather than being locked in.

Your landlord can only increase your rent once every 12 months, and must do so formally with a Section 13 notice and at least two months' notice. Informal rent review clauses in your contract no longer apply.

If you think a proposed increase is above the going market rate for similar local properties, you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal for free. The Tribunal can't increase your rent beyond what your landlord originally asked for, so there's no real downside to challenging a rent rise you think is unfair.

You now have a statutory right to ask your landlord for permission to keep a pet, and they can't refuse unreasonably. They can ask you to take out reasonable pet damage insurance as a condition of saying yes.

The Decent Homes Standard is being extended to private rentals for the first time, and Awaab's Law now applies strict legal timescales for landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards, particularly damp, mould and heating failures, once they're reported.

Blanket 'No DSS' policies and refusals to let to tenants with children are being made unlawful. Landlords and agents can no longer rule you out purely because you receive benefits or have a family.

Landlords are required to join a government-approved ombudsman scheme, giving you a free way to raise and resolve serious complaints without going to court, alongside a new public database that increases transparency around who your landlord is.

If you're unsure where you stand, these organisations offer free, independent advice: