The Renters' Rights Act 2025 amends private assured tenancy grounds for possession, and makes new grounds available for landlords.
Published November 2025
Private rented eviction law is changing
The Renters' Rights Act aims to improve renting conditions for private tenants and change how landlords can evict tenants. The key changes in the Act will come into force from May 2026.
The headline change is the abolition of no fault section 21 evictions.
Currently, most private tenants have an assured shorthold tenancy. A landlord can evict an assured shorthold tenant using a section 21 notice without having to give a legal reason, or ground for possession.
The Renters' Rights Act will abolish assured shorthold tenancies. All private sector tenancies, both existing and starting after commencement, will be fully assured. Landlords will no longer be able to use section 21 to evict these tenants. They will have to use a section 8 notice, which means they must prove a ground for possession.
The effect of section 21 abolition
Between April 2019 and April 2024, 943,000 assured shorthold tenants were given a section 21 notice. More than 500 renters a day. When section 21 is no longer an option, claims on grounds are likely to increase as landlords are left with no other choice if they want to recover possession.
The trade off for the abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 is the creation of new grounds for possession for landlords. The Act also amends many of the existing grounds.
The new and amended grounds will apply to both existing fully assured tenants and assured shorthold tenants whether starting before or after the Act is implemented. Existing tenants will face risks of losing their homes on these new grounds, which were not available to their landlords before.
On the other hand, all private tenants will benefit from some of the changes, such as an increase in the level of arrears needed before a landlord can use the mandatory rent arrears ground 8.
Changes for social tenants
The government said that it intends to bring in the changes for social tenants at a later date, after the changes come into force for private tenants. Until then, social assured tenancies will continue to be subject to the existing grounds for section 8 notices.
Some of the new and amended grounds apply for social housing tenants only and won't be covered in this article.
Ground 8: mandatory rent arrears
A welcome change for renters is that the level of arrears needed to satisfy ground 8 is being increased. This gives a tenant more time to resolve their financial problems and avoid eviction on a mandatory ground. Mandatory grounds mean that when a landlord can prove the grounds are met, the court must grant a possession order.
Currently, the court must make an outright possession order on ground 8 if the tenant owes at least two months' rent if they pay monthly. The Act will increase this threshold to three months' rent. When rent is paid weekly, the threshold will increase from 8 weeks to 13 weeks. Any arrears caused by unpaid universal credit housing costs will be disregarded, so will not count towards the arrears.
The notice period for ground 8 will increase from two weeks to four weeks.
Other rent arrears grounds
The existing discretionary grounds 10 and 11 won't change, except the notice period will increase from two weeks to four weeks. The court can only make a possession order on a discretionary ground when it is reasonable to do so.
Ground 10 is available to a landlord if the tenant owes any amount of arrears, and ground 11 is available if the tenant has persistently paid their rent late. Unlike ground 8, there is no requirement for the tenant to be in arrears at the hearing.
Landlord wants to sell or move in
Under the current law, a landlord wanting vacant possession to sell would have to use a section 21 notice. The Renters' Rights Act will introduce the new ground 1A, which will allow a private landlord to obtain possession to sell the property.
In addition, the existing ground 1 will be extended. Ground 1 allows a private landlord to take possession to live in the property, or for a relative to live there. After the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord will be able to use ground 1 if a close relative wants to move in, not just if the landlord or their spouse or civil partner wants to live in the property. The landlord will no longer have to notify the tenant at the start of the tenancy that they might use this ground.
Neither of these grounds can be used within the first twelve months of the tenancy, and the landlord must give the tenant at least four months' notice before they can apply to court.
Landlord must not re-let the property for 12 months
The obvious risk is that rogue landlords could abuse or misuse these grounds. For example, a landlord might claim they are going to sell the property, gain possession, and then re-let. The Act introduces restrictions on using these grounds to try and address this risk.
When using ground 1 or ground 1A, the landlord is restricted from re-letting the property for 12 months. Where a landlord breaches this rule, they are guilty of an offence.
The landlord can either be prosecuted, leading to a fine, or given a financial penalty of up to £40,000 by the local authority. A landlord also commits an offence if the tenant moves out without a possession order as a result of receiving a notice on these grounds.
The worry is that enforcement of these rules relies on already overstretched local authorities and that the risk of any sanction will be low. Tenants who have been evicted are unlikely to know what has happened to the property after they have moved on, so breaches might not be noticed. The Renters' Rights Act sets out provisions for a new landlord database, but this won't be brought in until extra regulations are made.
On the other hand, unlike with section 21, landlords will need to provide evidence giving rise to the ground for possession. We can hope that most landlords would be wary of going to court alleging facts they know to be untrue.
Repossession by a mortgage lender
An important change is the position of mortgage lenders, such as banks.
Currently, any tenancy granted before a mortgage is taken out continues as a tenancy of the lender if the lender obtains a possession order against the landlord. For example, if a bank repossesses a property with a sitting tenant where the tenancy started before the mortgage, the bank becomes the tenant's landlord. Where the tenancy is fully assured, the bank cannot evict the sitting tenant as the existing ground 2 only allows this where the mortgage pre-dated the tenancy.
Ground 2 is to be substantially reformed and extended. A lender will have a mandatory ground to sell the property with vacant possession once the power of sale is exercisable. This applies even if the mortgage was taken out years after the tenancy started. The landlord must give the tenant at least four months' notice, but the landlord does not have to notify the tenant at the start of the tenancy that the ground might be used.
Where there is a superior landlord
Sometimes a landlord is also a tenant. This happens where the landlord is a leaseholder and rents out the property to a subtenant. The landlord's lease can come to an end because the lease expires, the landlord gives notice to quit, or the landlord surrenders their lease.
Currently under section 18 of the Housing Act 1988, lawful subtenancies become tenancies of the superior landlord if the landlord's lease ends. Where the subtenant has an assured tenancy, they become an assured tenant of the head landlord. Under current rules, the head landlord cannot evict a fully assured tenant.
A subtenancy is unlawful if it granted in breach of a term of the landlord's lease and the superior landlord has not given permission. Under common law, all subtenancies, lawful or not, become tenancies of the superior landlord if the subtenant's immediate landlord surrenders their lease.
Leases of more than 21 years
After the Renters' Rights Act comes into effect, landlords will be able to seek possession under mandatory ground 2ZB if their lease of more than 21 years is coming to an end. For example, where the landlord owns flats and they have not renewed their lease with the superior landlord.
Where the tenant has already become the tenant of the superior landlord, the superior landlord has similar rights to possession as the original landlord. They can use ground 2ZD provided that they took over the tenancy no more than six months before possession proceedings are started.
Private landlords, or superior landlords, can only avoid the effect of section 18 if the original landlord has a lease of more than 21 years.
Student lettings
A new mandatory ground 4A will allow a landlord of an HMO property let to full time students to gain possession at the end of the academic year so that they can let to other students.
The landlord can only use this ground where the tenant meets the 'student test'. This means that the tenant must be a full time student or will become a full time student during the tenancy. The landlord must give the tenant notice that they can use this ground before the tenancy is entered into.
The existing ground 4 will be amended. This ground allows educational institutions to seek possession of student lettings, such as student halls owned by the university. After the changes become law, educational institutions will no longer have to notify the tenant at the start of the tenancy that they intend to use this ground.
Possession after a tenant dies
Under section 17 of the Housing Act 1988, an assured periodic tenancy vests in any partner of the tenant living with them when they die. The tenancy does not pass under the tenant's will or intestacy. Where there is no partner the tenancy is property which passes to the tenant's heirs, usually their children. These children are often already living in the property.
Landlords have an existing mandatory ground for possession, ground 7, which can be used against anyone who has inherited the tenancy so the landlord can get possession.
The Renters' Rights Act will significantly change ground 7 so that private landlords will no longer be able to use the ground if the new tenant was living in the property before the death. This means that a family member living with the tenant at the time of their death can inherit the assured tenancy with full security of tenure.
Possession for enforcement
Landlords will be able to use mandatory ground 6B where occupation of the property makes compliance with legislation impossible, for example where there is a prohibition order in force or the landlord is in breach of HMO licensing requirements.
Employment related accommodation
The existing discretionary ground 16 will become mandatory ground 5C.
This ground allows the landlord to seek possession where the property was let to their employee and the employee is no longer in that job. It will also apply where the tenancy was not intended to last for the whole length of the tenant's employment and the property is needed for a different employee.
Landlords of farm cottages will be able to use a mandatory ground 5A, but only if the property is not occupied by a farm tenant with security of tenure.
Other changes to grounds for possession
A new mandatory ground 5G allows possession when the tenant has at some point occupied the property under the main homelessness duty and the local authority notifies the landlord that the accommodation is no longer needed for that purpose.
Ground 3, which allows landlords to evict tenants so that they can use the property as a holiday let, is being removed.
Landlords will no longer have to notify the tenant at the start of the tenancy that they might use ground 5 to seek possession of a property occupied by a minister of religion.
When to expect the changes
It is expected that the changes to grounds for possession in the Renters' Rights Act will take effect for private tenants in early 2026. We do not yet know when the changes will apply for social tenants.
Further resources
Sky News: Section 21s: Almost one million renters given no-fault evictions since Tories promised to scrap them
