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Renters’ Rights Act timeline for landlords in England: what has happened, what is next and what has no date

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is being brought in in stages, and the dates in news stories are a mix of law, plans and guesses. This timeline marks each one as in force, draft, expected or undated, with the GOV.UK or legislation.gov.uk page it comes from.

Independent guide, not governmentReviewed by Liam Humphreys on Last updated Last checked 12 sources8 min readHow this guide was made, including our use of AI

Contents

Status at 4 November 2026: the register opens on 15 December 2026

GOV.UK says the landlord register (“Register your rental property”) rolls out from 15 December 2026 and published guidance for landlords, agents and third parties on 29 October 2026. The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 are shown on legislation.gov.uk as a draft that has not been made as a statutory instrument, and we could not confirm Parliament has approved them. A GOV.UK consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to private renting runs until 18 December 2026.

The short version

  • Done: Royal Assent (27 October 2025) and the main tenancy changes (1 May 2026), including the end of section 21 notices.
  • Next: the landlord register opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, and the other regions follow monthly until 15 August 2027. Everyone letting should have registered by 14 November 2027.
  • Expected, not fixed: mandatory membership of a new private rented sector (PRS) Landlord Ombudsman in 2028.
  • Undated or consulting: Awaab’s Law in private renting (consultation until 18 December 2026), the Decent Homes Standard (GOV.UK’s latest document says from 2035) and any new energy efficiency requirement.
An older woman with a hearing aid and a young man look over a printed sheet together at a kitchen counter.
Illustration. AI-generated image. About our images

The timeline

Renters’ Rights Act timeline for landlords in England, by date and status
DateWhat happensStatusSource
27 October 2025Royal Assent.DoneGOV.UK roadmap
27 December 2025Councils’ new powers of investigation begin. The roadmap also lists new council enforcement measures for this date.DoneGOV.UK roadmap; Statutory Instrument 2025/1354 on legislation.gov.uk
1 May 2026Main tenancy reforms: section 21 notices end, existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, new possession grounds, one rent increase a year by section 13 notice, and a ban on rental bidding.DoneGOV.UK roadmap; Housing Hub; GOV.UK landlord guidance
31 May 2026Deadline for giving existing tenants the government Information Sheet, or a written summary of terms for verbal tenancies.PassedHousing Hub; GOV.UK roadmap
9 September 2026Draft Regulations for the register published on legislation.gov.uk (the page is dated 9 September 2026), with the regional start dates in regulation 1. GOV.UK announces the rollout, starting in the West Midlands, with everyone letting registered by 14 November 2027.Donelegislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK news
9 October 2026Consultation opens on extending Awaab’s Law to private renting.Open until 18 December 2026GOV.UK consultation
29 October 2026GOV.UK publishes guidance for landlords, for letting agents and property managers, and for third parties on the register, with the fee formula and two worked examples.DoneGOV.UK guidance pages
15 December 2026Register opens in the West Midlands. Landlords can register early in any region from this date. GOV.UK says tenants can apply for rent repayment orders for false information or continuing breaches from this date, once their area’s period opens.AnnouncedHousing Hub; GOV.UK guidance for landlords
14 March 2027West Midlands register-by date.AnnouncedHousing Hub
15 January to 15 August 2027One more region starts each month: East of England, East Midlands, South East, Yorkshire and Humber, North West, North East, London, South West.AnnouncedHousing Hub
14 April to 14 November 2027Register-by date for each region, three months after it starts.AnnouncedHousing Hub
15 September 2027The draft Regulations come into force “for all other purposes”. The Regulations do not say what that covers.Draftlegislation.gov.uk
2027Tenancy reforms extend to the social rented sector.PlannedGOV.UK roadmap; Housing Hub
2028Landlords expected to be required to join the PRS Landlord Ombudsman.ExpectedGOV.UK roadmap; GOV.UK consultation
2028 to 2030Awaab’s Law in private renting in three phases, if the consultation assumption holds.Assumed in the consultation’s impact assessmentGOV.UK consultation
From 2035Updated Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector.Stated as the plan in the consultation, which cites the government’s January 2026 responseGOV.UK consultation
No dateRegistering empty homes before marketing them, and registration identifiers on adverts.Future legislationHousing Hub

What has already changed

GOV.UK’s landlord guidance says all assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and that for tenancies that started before then you did not need to do anything for that change to take effect. Housing Hub says the changes below “took effect on 1 May 2026”, and the roadmap describes them as follows:

  • Section 21 “no-fault” notices ended.
  • Rent can be increased once a year using a section 13 notice with at least two months’ notice.
  • Rental bidding is banned, and advance rent is capped at one month.
  • It is unlawful to disadvantage renters because they have children or receive benefits.
  • Landlords must consider a tenant’s request for a pet within 28 days and give a valid reason for a refusal.
  • Council civil penalties and rent repayment orders were expanded.

The roadmap also set 31 May 2026 as the date by which landlords had to give existing tenants the government Information Sheet, or a written summary of the main terms for verbal tenancies. That date has passed. If you have not done it, read the current GOV.UK guidance on the information sheet, which we have not summarised here.

The register: what is fixed and what is not

Fixed in GOV.UK guidance: the service opens on 15 December 2026, region by region, and the deadline follows the property, not the landlord. The fee is £65 a year for each property, pro-rated during the rollout. Housing Hub says you need a GOV.UK One Login. The full dates are in our deadlines guide.

Set out in the Act: the duty to register, the possession-order bar and the £7,000 and £40,000 limits. We could not find that these sections are in force as duties yet: the explanatory memorandum says a Commencement No. 4 Regulations will bring the database provisions into force, and none had been made on 3 November 2026. See the fee and penalties guide.

Still draft: the Regulations that say what information you must give. The list is in our checklist.

Undated: registering empty homes, putting identifiers on adverts and what tenants and the public can see. GOV.UK published guidance for letting agents and property managers on 29 October 2026, but the dates for the future advert and empty-home requirements are still not set.

One detail to watch: the draft Regulations also say that, apart from the regional start dates, they come into force “for all other purposes” on 15 September 2027. The Explanatory Note repeats the date but, like the explanatory memorandum, does not say what it covers. Regulation 1(5) defines “dwelling” for that regulation as one “let under a residential tenancy”, so one possible reading is that the 15 September 2027 date covers entries for homes that are not yet let. That is our reading, not something the government has said.

The PRS Landlord Ombudsman

The Act allows regulations to require residential landlords to join a landlord redress scheme (sections 64 to 74), and defines a residential landlord in the same way as for the register. GOV.UK’s guidance says membership will be required for landlords of assured and regulated tenancies in England. The roadmap says mandatory membership is expected in 2028 and that landlords will fund it through a charging model confirmed closer to launch. The 9 October 2026 consultation repeats that the government expects the Ombudsman to be established from 2028.

What we could not find on GOV.UK on 27 October 2026: the body that will run it, the date landlords must join, or the fee. The roadmap says a scheme administrator is to be chosen at least 12 to 18 months before implementation. We found no way to join it yet, so be wary of anyone who offers to sign you up as the official scheme.

Awaab’s Law, Decent Homes and energy efficiency

  • Awaab’s Law. GOV.UK is consulting from 9 October to 18 December 2026 on applying it to private renting. The consultation says the earliest feasible implementation date would be 2027, and its impact assessment assumes three phases in 2028, 2029 and 2030. It asks when it should start. It says there is a case for covering both significant and emergency hazards, and asks about timescales including 24 hours for emergencies and five working days to make a significant hazard safe. These are questions and options, not rules.
  • Decent Homes Standard. The consultation says the government’s response of January 2026 set out plans to apply the new standard to the private and social rented sectors from 2035, and its glossary repeats that. The November 2025 roadmap had said a proposed start of 2035 or 2037.
  • Energy efficiency. The roadmap says the government consulted on requiring an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or equivalent by 2030, unless an exemption applies, and that details would follow. We have not found a published decision.

What to do and when

  1. Now: find each home’s gas safety record, electrical report, EPC and licence numbers. See the checklist.
  2. By 15 December 2026: know which region each home is in. You can register early from that date, in any region.
  3. Before your region’s register-by date: register yourself and each let home, and put the dates for updates in a log.
  4. From then on: update within 28 days of any change and renew each year.
  5. 2028: watch for the date you must join the Ombudsman.

Frequently asked questions

Has section 21 been abolished?

Yes, in England, from 1 May 2026, according to Housing Hub, which says landlords are “no longer able to use Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988”. Landlords can no longer serve new section 21 notices.

Have the register Regulations been approved by Parliament?

We could not confirm it. On 27 October and 3 November 2026 legislation.gov.uk showed them as a draft that has not been made as a statutory instrument. The explanatory memorandum is headed with a placeholder number. Check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the made version.

When must I join the landlord ombudsman?

No date has been given. The government expects landlords to be required to join in 2028.

Does the register apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The register described here is for homes in England. Scotland has its own separate landlord registration (see mygov.scot). We do not cover Wales or Northern Ireland.

Sources

Last checked 4 November 2026.

Changes to this guide

  • 3 November 2026: Added GOV.UK’s guidance of 29 October 2026 to the timeline and the register section; letting agent guidance is now published. No dates changed. The Regulations are still a draft and no Commencement No. 4 Regulations had been made.
  • 27 October 2026: Published.

This guide is general information written from the official sources listed above and checked on 4 November 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and Plainfiles is not endorsed by any government body. Rules change, so check the linked official pages for your own situation. Written and designed by Plainfiles with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, then checked against the official legislation and guidance listed in the sources. How we write and check our guides.