Daphne is 34, renting a two-bedroom flat in Bristol, and she has just had a confusing month. Her landlord served a rent increase notice, mentioned a new “landlord database”, and told her the fixed term on her tenancy agreement no longer means what it used to. None of it was explained. She is not sure what she can be asked to pay, how much notice she must give if she wants to leave, or what her landlord is actually allowed to do anymore.

If you rent in England, the rules changed more in 2026 than in any year since 1988 — most of them on a single day, 1 May 2026. This guide is the complete England picture: your tenancy, deposit, rent increases, notice periods, eviction rules, repairs, safety certificates, fees, pets, discrimination, the new landlord database, council tax, and how England differs from the other nations.

Quick Answer: Renting in England in 2026 means an assured periodic (rolling) tenancy — fixed terms and Section 21 “no-fault” evictions were abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Your deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent (six weeks where annual rent is £50,000 or more) and must be protected within 30 days. Rent can rise only once a year, by a Section 13 notice giving at least two months’ notice, and you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal. You can leave on two months’ notice; your landlord needs a legal ground and a court order. These rules apply in England only — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own systems.

What Renting in England Means in 2026

England has the largest private rented sector in the UK, and its rules are set in Westminster — which is why they differ from the devolved nations. The framework rests on a handful of laws: the Housing Act 1988 (tenancies and possession), the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (repairs), the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (fees), and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which rewrote the tenancy structure on 1 May 2026.

Three things define renting in England today. First, your tenancy is open-ended: no fixed term to run out, no renewal to sign. Second, your landlord cannot end it without a reason and a court order. Third, the money rules are capped by law — deposits, holding deposits, fees and rent in advance all have legal maximums.

This guide covers the rules as they stand in October 2026. Where a reform is announced but not yet in force — such as the landlord database and the extension of Awaab’s Law to private rentals — this guide says so plainly.

Your Tenancy Now: Assured Periodic Tenancies

Since 1 May 2026, every private tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy — a rolling tenancy with no end date. Assured shorthold tenancies no longer exist: new tenancies are created as periodic tenancies, and existing ones are converted automatically on 1 May 2026.

What that means in practice:

• There is no fixed term — you are not locked in for 6 or 12 months, and your landlord cannot make you sign a renewal.
• You can stay as long as you like, provided you pay the rent and keep to the tenancy terms — your landlord can only end the tenancy using a legal ground and a court order.
• Your rent period is usually monthly, running from the date the tenancy started.
• Your tenancy terms must be given to you in writing. For tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, landlords had to provide the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. For tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026, the landlord must give you a written statement of the terms.

Lodgers, council and housing association tenants, and purpose-built student accommodation are covered by different rules. If you rent a room in your landlord’s own home, you are a lodger, not a tenant, and most of this guide does not apply to you. For the full picture, see our guide to the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Changed

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its core reforms came into force on 1 May 2026 — the biggest change to private renting in England since the Housing Act 1988.

Before 1 May 2026	From 1 May 2026
Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies	All tenancies are assured periodic (rolling)
Section 21 “no-fault” eviction	Section 21 abolished — a ground and a court order are needed
Rent could rise by agreement or a rent review clause	Rent rises only once a year, by a Section 13 notice
Landlords could ask for months of rent upfront	At most one month’s rent in advance, none before signing
“No DSS” and “no children” advertising was common	Refusing tenants for benefits or children is unlawful
Landlords could accept offers above the asking rent	Rental bidding is banned — the advertised rent is the rent
No right to ask for a pet	Tenants can request a pet

Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 could still be used to start court proceedings, but only until 31 July 2026 — that window has now closed. The Act also created the power to apply the Decent Homes Standard to private rentals and to extend Awaab’s Law to the private sector — but the detailed rules for both are still to be made, so neither is in force for private tenants yet.

Your Deposit: Caps, Protection and Getting It Back

Your deposit is capped by law. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a landlord in England can ask for:

Annual rent	Maximum deposit
Under £50,000	5 weeks’ rent
£50,000 or more	6 weeks’ rent

The Act does not cap deposits where annual rent exceeds £100,000. The holding deposit — the payment to reserve a property while checks run — is capped at one week’s rent. The landlord has 15 days (the “deadline for agreement”) to enter into the tenancy, after which it must be refunded within 7 days unless you withdraw, fail a Right to Rent check, or give false information.

Once you pay a tenancy deposit, your landlord must protect it in one of three government-approved schemes — the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits, or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme — within 30 days, and give you the prescribed information in the same period. If they do not, you can apply to the county court, which can order repayment plus compensation of one to three times the deposit’s value.

Worked example — Aubrey’s deposit: Aubrey, 41, paid a £1,300 deposit her landlord never protected. The county court can order compensation of one to three times the deposit — £1,300 to £3,900 — on top of the deposit itself. At the end of a tenancy, the deposit must be returned within 10 days of you agreeing how much comes back. If you disagree about deductions, the deposit scheme offers a free dispute resolution service. For the full rules, see our guide to tenancy deposit protection.

Rent Increases: The Section 13 Rules

Your landlord can only raise your rent once a year, and only through the formal Section 13 process. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are no longer enforceable, and an informal letter or email asking for more money has no legal effect.

• Once a year at most — no increase sooner than 12 months after the tenancy started or the last increase took effect.
• Two months’ notice minimum, served on the prescribed form (Form 4A), stating the new rent and the date it starts.
• No higher than the open-market rent — what the property would fetch if newly advertised.
• You can challenge it. If the proposed rent is above market rate, refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the new rent starts. The tribunal sets the rent at or below the figure proposed — never above it — and the increase is not backdated while you wait.

Worked example — Cecil’s rent rise: Cecil, 52, pays £1,100 a month in Manchester. His landlord serves a Section 13 notice proposing £1,210 — a rise of £110 a month, or 10%, which is £110 × 12 = £1,320 a year extra. Cecil checks similar flats nearby at £1,100 to £1,150 and refers the notice to the tribunal, which can set the rent at or below £1,210 — never higher. While the case is decided, the increase does not take effect. For step-by-step help, see our guide to challenging a rent increase.

Ending Your Tenancy: Your Two Months’ Notice

Ending your tenancy is now simple: as an assured periodic tenant, you can leave at any time by giving your landlord two months’ notice in writing. There is no minimum stay and no early-exit fee.

A few practical points:

• Give notice in writing — email or letter — and keep proof of when you sent it. The two months run from the date the landlord receives it.
• Your notice must usually end on the last day of a rent period, so check your tenancy start date first.
• You must pay rent up to the end of the notice period, and you remain responsible for the property until you hand back the keys.
• Your landlord cannot charge you a fee for leaving. Early termination charges apply only where you ask to end a tenancy early — and since tenancies are now periodic, that situation no longer arises in the same way.

If your landlord refuses to accept your notice or claims you owe money for leaving, get free advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice before paying anything. For the full process, see our guide to ending your tenancy.

How Your Landlord Can End Your Tenancy

Your landlord can no longer end your tenancy without a reason. Since Section 21 was abolished, every possession claim must use a Section 8 ground, and a judge must agree:

Ground	What it covers	Notice required	Key restriction
Ground 1	Landlord or close family moving in	4 months	Not in the first 12 months
Ground 1A	Landlord selling the property	4 months	Not in the first 12 months; genuine intention needed
Ground 8	Serious rent arrears	4 weeks	At least 3 months’ arrears (13 weeks if paid weekly), at notice and at the hearing
Ground 10	Some rent arrears	2 weeks	Discretionary — the court decides if possession is reasonable
Ground 12	Breach of the tenancy agreement	2 weeks	Discretionary
Ground 14	Anti-social behaviour	Immediate in serious cases	Discretionary

Three protections matter most. Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used during the first 12 months, and re-letting within 12 months of using them is a breach with financial consequences. A court also cannot grant possession on most grounds if your deposit is unprotected or your landlord is unregistered on the PRS Database once that duty applies.

You do not have to leave when a notice arrives. A Section 8 notice is not an eviction — only a court possession order is, and only a court-appointed bailiff can enforce it. If you receive a notice, check the form, grounds, and notice period, and get advice quickly. See our guide to Section 8 eviction notices.

Repairs: What Your Landlord Must Fix

Your landlord’s repair duties come mainly from Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which applies to almost all private tenancies of under seven years and cannot be contracted out of. Under it, your landlord must keep in repair:

• The structure and exterior — walls, roof, windows, drains, gutters and external pipes.
• Installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation — pipework, wiring, basins, sinks, baths and toilets.
• Installations for space and water heating — boiler, radiators and hot water system.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 also requires the property to be fit to live in at the start and throughout the tenancy — serious damp, mould or poor ventilation are your landlord’s problem, not yours. Your responsibilities are narrower: day-to-day upkeep, replacing light bulbs and smoke alarm batteries, and reporting problems promptly.

Awaab’s Law — the position in October 2026: Awaab’s Law sets strict deadlines for serious hazards — investigate within 10 working days, written summary within 3 working days, repairs started within 5 working days, emergencies within 24 hours. It has applied to social housing in England since 27 October 2025, and from 30 November 2026 it extends to more hazards in social housing. It does not yet apply to private landlords in England — the Act gives the government the power to extend it, but no date has been set. In Scotland, it came into force for private and social landlords on 6 October 2026. Private tenants in England should report damp and mould in writing, keep dated records and photos, and contact the council’s environmental health team if the landlord does not act. See our guide to landlord repairs.

Safety Certificates Your Landlord Must Provide

Before you move in — and throughout your tenancy — your landlord must hold and share a set of safety records. Ask to see them: if any are missing, that is a serious problem, and it can also block a possession claim.

Certificate or check	How often	When you should receive it
Gas safety record (CP12)	Every 12 months, by a Gas Safe engineer	Before you move in; within 28 days of the check
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)	At least every 5 years	Before you move in; within 28 days for existing tenants
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	Valid for 10 years; minimum rating E to let the property	Before you sign or move in
Smoke alarms	On every storey	Working at the start of each tenancy
Carbon monoxide alarms	In rooms with a fixed combustion appliance	Working at the start of each tenancy

Your landlord must also give you the “How to Rent” guide at the start, and carry out a Right to Rent check on every adult occupier before the tenancy begins. Right to Rent applies in England only. If your home is a house in multiple occupation (usually five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities), it will need an HMO licence, and many councils run selective licensing schemes for ordinary lets.

Fees: What You Can and Cannot Be Charged

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans almost all letting fees in England. Your landlord or agent can only charge the payments on the permitted list — anything else is a prohibited payment.

Permitted — can be charged	Prohibited — cannot be charged
Rent	Admin, referencing or credit-check fees
Refundable tenancy deposit (5 or 6 weeks’ rent)	Inventory or check-out fees
Refundable holding deposit (1 week’s rent)	Professional cleaning charges at the end of the tenancy
Payments for utilities, council tax, TV licence and communication services	Charges for providing the tenancy agreement
£50 (or reasonable costs if higher) to vary or end a tenancy at your request	Any fee for renewing a tenancy
Default fee for late rent (interest at most 3% above Bank of England base rate, only after 14 days late) or a lost key	Fees charged through a third party to get around the ban

A first breach can attract a civil penalty of up to £5,000, rising to up to £30,000 for further breaches within five years. If you have been charged a prohibited fee, ask for it back in writing — and if the landlord or agent refuses, report them to your local council’s trading standards team. For the full list, see our guide to letting agent fees.

Pets: Your Right to Ask

Since 1 May 2026, tenants in England have a statutory right to ask to keep a pet, and landlords can no longer impose a blanket “no pets” policy:

• You must ask in writing, and your landlord must consider the request on its own merits.
• Your landlord must respond within 28 days, and can refuse only for a good reason — for example, if the property is genuinely unsuitable.
• Your landlord can require pet insurance to cover potential damage to the property.
• A refusal without a good reason can be challenged — and a tenancy term banning pets outright is no longer enforceable in the way it once was.

If you already have a pet and your tenancy agreement bans it, the new right still applies — ask in writing and keep a copy. If your landlord refuses unreasonably, get advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice. See our guide to renting with pets.

Discrimination: Children and Benefits

Since 1 May 2026, it has been unlawful for a landlord or agent in England to treat you less favourably because you have children or receive benefits — including refusing a viewing, withholding information, or refusing a tenancy. Terms banning children or benefit claimants are void.

What the ban does not do is stop a landlord considering affordability. Income can still be assessed — including the housing element of Universal Credit. The line is between affordability and status: “your income does not cover the rent” is lawful; “we do not take benefit claimants” is not.

If you are refused for one of these reasons, keep the evidence — screenshots of the advert, copies of emails, notes of what was said — and report it to your local council, which can impose civil financial penalties. Our guide to the No DSS ban explains your rights and the steps to take.

The Private Rented Sector Database

The next big change is the Private Rented Sector Database — a national register of landlords and rental properties in England. Registration opens on 15 December 2026, starting with the West Midlands, and rolls out region by region over the following year. Landlords have three months from their region’s start date to register, and every landlord of an assured or regulated tenancy must be registered by 14 November 2027.

Region	Registration opens	Deadline to register
West Midlands	15 December 2026	14 March 2027
East of England	15 January 2027	14 April 2027
East Midlands	15 February 2027	14 May 2027
South East	15 March 2027	14 June 2027
Yorkshire and Humber	15 April 2027	14 July 2027
North West	15 May 2027	14 August 2027
North East	15 June 2027	14 September 2027
London	15 July 2027	14 October 2027
South West	15 August 2027	14 November 2027

Registration costs £65 per property per year, paid by the landlord, through the government’s “Register your rental property” service (GOV.UK One Login). For tenants, it matters in two ways: you can check whether your landlord and property are registered, and an unregistered landlord cannot rely on certain possession grounds. Note the regulations were still draft at the time of writing and must complete parliamentary approval — so dates could still change. A new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman is also planned. See our guide to the landlord register.

Council Tax and Bills

As a tenant in England, you are usually responsible for council tax on your home, unless your tenancy agreement says otherwise. Council tax is charged in bands A to H, and the bill is based on at least two adults living in the property.

• Live alone? You can claim the single person discount of 25% off your bill — apply to your council, as it is not always automatic.
• Full-time student? Full-time students are disregarded for council tax, so a household of only students pays nothing — and a household with one student and one non-student may still get the 25% discount.
• On a low income? Your council may offer council tax reduction — apply through your local council’s website.

On bills, start with your tenancy agreement: it should say which bills are included in the rent and which you pay separately. Energy, water, broadband and contents insurance are usually yours unless the agreement says otherwise. For the details, see our guide to council tax for renters.

Worked example — Sylvia’s move-in costs: Sylvia, 29, is moving into a one-bedroom flat in Leeds at £1,250 a month. Her annual rent is £1,250 × 12 = £15,000, so one week is £15,000 ÷ 52 = £288.46, and five weeks (× 5) is £1,442.31. Her total move-in cost is the first month (£1,250) plus the deposit — £2,692.31. Before 1 May 2026, a landlord might have asked for six months upfront — £7,500. That is now unlawful: the most rent she can be asked to pay in advance is one month, £1,250.

England vs Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Housing law is devolved, so the rules in this guide apply in England only — the other nations have their own tenancy systems, and the differences are substantial.

	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
Tenancy type	Assured periodic tenancy	Private residential tenancy	Occupation contract	Private tenancy
Fixed terms	Abolished (1 May 2026)	No fixed terms	Fixed-term contracts still exist	Fixed terms still exist
No-fault eviction	Abolished (1 May 2026)	Abolished 2017	Restricted — 6 months’ notice	Still possible with notice
Deposit cap	5 weeks’ rent (6 at £50k+)	2 months’ rent	No statutory cap	1 month’s rent
Rent increases	Once a year, Section 13, 2 months’ notice	Once a year, 3 months’ notice	Once a year, 2 months’ notice	Once a year, with notice
Tenant notice to leave	2 months	28 days	4 weeks	4 weeks
Landlord register	PRS Database from Dec 2026	Registration since 2006	Rent Smart Wales	Registration since 2014

If you are moving between nations, do not assume the rules travel with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Renting in England changed fundamentally on 1 May 2026, and the change is mostly in tenants’ favour: no fixed terms to trap you, no no-fault eviction, rent rises only once a year through a formal process, and hard caps on what you can be asked to pay upfront. But the new system only protects you if you know it. Check that your deposit is protected within 30 days, know that a Section 13 notice is the only lawful way your rent can rise, and remember that a notice is not an eviction — only a court order is. Keep an eye on the landlord database from 15 December 2026.

Before you sign anything, use our free rent affordability calculator to check what rent your income supports. If something goes wrong, free help is available from Shelter, Citizens Advice and your local council — the sooner you ask, the stronger your position.

Further Reading

• GOV.UK — Private renting
• Citizens Advice — Renting privately
• Shelter England — Private renting advice