UK RRA 2025 Landlord Checklist: 12 Things to Update by May 2026

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 commences on 1 May 2026. From that date, every assured tenancy in England converts to an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT), Section 21 is abolished, fixed-term ASTs cease to exist, and a revised Schedule 2 of 37 grounds takes effect. This checklist gives 12 concrete actions every English landlord should complete before, during, and after the May 2026 transition — with statutory anchors and the documentary discipline each one demands.

1. Replace Your Tenancy Template

Action: Replace any AST-based tenancy template with an APT-compliant template.

What to remove:

• “Assured Shorthold Tenancy” label
• Fixed-term clauses (12 months, 6 months, etc.)
• Section 21 references
• Contractual rent escalator clauses (“rent increases by RPI + 2% on each anniversary”)
• Blanket “no pets” clauses

What to add:

• “Assured Periodic Tenancy” label
• Period of tenancy (monthly or shorter, never longer)
• Section 13 rent review mechanism (no other route)
• Pet rights clause complying with the new statutory right
• Tenant’s 2-month written notice right (statutory minimum)

Statute: Renters’ Rights Act 2025 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/contents

2. Audit Pre-1 May 2026 Section 21 Notices

Action: For every Section 21 notice you have served before 1 May 2026, confirm whether possession proceedings have started.

If proceedings started before 1 May 2026: The notice is preserved. Continue under the old regime. The tenancy remains an AST until proceedings conclude.

If proceedings have not started before 1 May 2026: The notice lapses. You must restart under the new regime — Section 8 with a specified ground.

Documentary discipline: Keep a register of all served Section 21 notices, their service date, and the proceedings issue date. The lapse-or-preserve analysis depends on these dates.

3. Deliver the Information Sheet (1–31 May 2026)

Action: Between 1 and 31 May 2026, deliver a written Information Sheet to every named tenant of every existing tenancy converting to an APT.

Form: Use the Government-published template — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026

One per tenant: Joint tenants each receive their own Information Sheet.

Method: Email PDF (with read-receipt where possible), recorded post, or hand-delivery with signed receipt.

Retention: Keep delivery evidence for the duration of the tenancy + 6 years.

See companion article: UK RRA 2025 Information Sheet: 1-31 May 2026 Transition Window

4. Update Your Rent Increase Workflow

Action: Migrate from contractual rent escalators to the Section 13 process.

Section 13 essentials:

• Maximum once every 12 months
• 2 months’ minimum notice before new rent takes effect
• Rent set at open-market level
• Tenant may challenge at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) within the notice period
• Tribunal sets rent at level the property would let at on the open market

Practical workflow:

1. Calendar reminder 4 months before the next anniversary
2. Compile market evidence (comparables, agent valuations)
3. Issue Section 13 notice 2 months before the new rent date
4. Be prepared to defend the increase at Tribunal if challenged

Source: https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/first-tier-tribunal-property-chamber

5. Restructure Your Pets Policy

Action: Replace any “no pets” blanket clause with a structured pets clause that complies with the new statutory right.

The new right (RRA 2025):

• Tenant has a statutory right to request to keep a pet
• Landlord must respond in writing within a reasonable time (regulations expected to specify 28 days)
• Landlord may only refuse on reasonable grounds
• Where consent is given, landlord may require tenant pet damage insurance OR pay a reasonable amount toward landlord’s pet damage insurance
• No separate pet deposit — the 5/6 weeks deposit cap applies absolutely (Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1)

Practical clause structure: Include a structured pets clause asking the tenant at outset whether they have or expect to have pets, and routing them through the request-and-response workflow.

6. Refresh Your Section 8 Knowledge

Action: Review the revised Schedule 2 grounds and update internal training / processes.

Headline changes:

Source: Schedule 2 — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2

7. Confirm Deposit Compliance

Action: Audit every protected deposit. Confirm:

• Deposit lodged in a government-approved scheme (DPS / MyDeposits / TDS)
• Lodgement within 30 calendar days of receipt (HA 2004, s.213(3))
• Prescribed Information served on tenant within 30 days (s.213(5)–(6))
• Deposit amount within cap (5 weeks’ rent if annual rent < £50,000; 6 weeks’ if ≥ £50,000)

Important: A pre-1 May 2026 deposit, properly protected at the start of the AST, does not need re-protection when the AST converts to an APT. The same protection runs forward.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

8. Refresh Pre-Tenancy Pack

Action: For every new tenancy from 1 May 2026, deliver:

• How to Rent guide (current version) — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent
• Energy Performance Certificate (band E or above)
• Gas Safety Certificate (CP12, if any gas appliance)
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) (every 5 years)
• Smoke and CO alarm declaration
• Tenant fees prohibitions notice

Get tenant signature on a receipt confirming delivery.

9. Update Right to Rent Workflow

Action: Confirm Right to Rent check is the gating step before tenancy begins.

Routes:

• Online share-code check for non-British / non-Irish tenants (preferred from January 2026 as BRPs phase out) — https://www.gov.uk/landlord-immigration-check
• Manual check for British / Irish citizens with passport
• IDVT via certified IDSP for British / Irish

Retention: Duration of tenancy + 1 year.

Statute: Immigration Act 2014.

10. Refresh Selective / HMO Licensing

Action: Check the local council’s licensing register for every property in the portfolio.

Selective licensing (Housing Act 2004, Part 3): designated areas; council-issued licence; typically 5-year validity.

HMO licensing (Housing Act 2004, Part 2):

• Mandatory HMO: 5+ persons in 2+ households
• Some councils require HMO licensing for smaller HMOs (3+ persons in 2+ households)

Penalty for letting unlicensed:

• Civil penalty up to £30,000
• Rent Repayment Order (up to 12 months’ rent repayable to tenant)
• Limit on Section 8 grounds

11. Diary the Transition Tasks

Action: Set calendar reminders for the May 2026 transition and the ongoing APT calendar.

12. Stress-Test Your Possession Routes

Action: For every let property, identify the realistic possession route in case of need:

• If you might want to sell: Ground 1A (cannot use in first 12 months; 12-month no-let after; 4 months’ notice)
• If you might want to occupy: Ground 1 (4 months’ notice)
• If you might face arrears: Ground 8 (3 months’ arrears threshold; 4 weeks’ notice)
• If you might face anti-social behaviour: Ground 14 (immediate notice; discretionary)
• If you face a breach of obligation: Ground 12 (2 weeks’ notice; discretionary)

The mental shift is from “I can use Section 21 to recover possession on 2 months’ notice for any reason” to “I can use Section 8 with a specified ground; 4 months’ notice in most cases; ground must be proven”.

Summary — The 12-Item Audit

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Disclaimer

This article provides legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scribe is a document preparation service operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not solicitors, barristers, or attorneys.

Sources

1. Renters’ Rights Act 2025: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/contents
2. Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2
3. RRA 2025 Information Sheet 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026
4. Tenancy deposit protection: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection
5. Landlord immigration check: https://www.gov.uk/landlord-immigration-check