Landlords have warned that the Renters’ Rights Act timeline will lead to “inevitable failure” unless they are given more details and time to prepare.
Last night the government announced that the The Tenants’ Rights Act will come into effect on May 1, 2026.
The law will abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, introduce indefinite leases, limit rent increases to once a year and limit advance rent payments to one month.
However, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has said landlords need more information and time to prepare.
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle said: “The announcement of an effective date for these important reforms is welcome. However, a deadline alone is not enough.
“We have consistently argued that landlords and property companies need a minimum of six months from the publication of regulations to ensure the sector is properly prepared for the biggest changes the industry has faced in over forty years.
“Unless the government urgently publishes all guidance documents and written materials required to update lease agreements to reflect the coming changes, the plan will prove less of a roadmap and more of a path to inevitable failure.”
Beadle said without this, landlords, tenants, agents, councils and the courts will be left without the information needed to adapt, creating “utter confusion at the time when clarity is most needed”.
Letting agent software company Goodlord said the timetable would be tight but not impossible.
Goodlord Group director Tom Goodman said: “Landlords or letting agents should not have been surprised or panicked by this announcement that the Renters’ Rights Act will come into force on May 1. It was always likely that these major reforms would be introduced within six months of the law’s passing.
“And large parts of the industry have been working hard for months to update systems and processes so they are ready. I’ve been really impressed with how proactive many agents have been.
“But the response has not been universal. For those who have not yet got their house in order, time is of the essence. There is no longer any confusion about timelines: the clock is ticking and there are less than six months to go to get tenants’ rights ready.”
Propertymark, a trade body for letting agents, was more optimistic about the timetable for enforcing the law.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Now that the rental reforms set out in the Renters’ Rights Act have been confirmed to come into effect from 1 May 2026, this is likely to bring a lot of relief to letting agents as they continue to prepare for the move to periodic tenancies.
“We have urged the UK government to provide sufficient lead time, and now that the date has been set, letting agents should prepare accordingly, review internal processes and work with landlords and tenants.”