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The Renters' Rights Act

After years of tireless campaigning by renters, housing activists and coalitions, the Renters’ Rights Bill has finally become law and is now the Renters’ Rights Act.

Now we want to hear from you about what renting issue we should campaign on next.

Shape our next campaign

Learn what changes you can expect when the Renters' Rights Act reforms take effect ─ likely in 2026. For now, your rights stay the same.

Why we need reforms that put renters first

Our current system for private renting is not working and renters have been crying out for change for years. We need to rebalance the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants. Currently, renters still put up with:

  • record levels of evictions

  • sky-high rent increases

  • unfair demands to pay multiple months' rent in advance at the start of their contract

  • discrimination because they have children or receive housing benefit

  • living in homes with some of the lowest standards

  • a negative impact on their physical and mental health, relationships, education and financial stability

The impact on renters

  • 70 households are threatened with homelessness due to a section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction every day

  • 800,000 private renters were unable to rent a home they wanted to because they couldn’t afford the rent in advance between 2018 and 2023

What is the Renters' Rights Act?

The Renters’ Rights Act is a new law that will help to tackle these issues and transform the lives of England’s 11 million private renters.

After years and years of campaigning, MPs and Lords have finally finished debating the contents of the bill and have passed it into law. Once the law is implemented and the changes come into practical effect — likely in 2026 — renters will benefit from a fairer renting system.

Specifically, there will be:

  • no more section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions — landlords will only be able to evict tenants if they have a legitimate reason (like selling the property)

  • an end to discriminatory policies, such as ‘No kids’ and ‘No DSS’, which apply blanket bans against renters who have children or receive benefits

  • indefinite ‘periodic’ tenancies which will allow renters to put down roots for the long term and stop them being stuck in poor quality homes

  • more flexibility for renters who need to move house (as long as tenants give two months' notice)

  • longer notice periods for many evictions

  • limits on requests made at the start of tenancies for rent paid in advance to just one month’s rent

  • a national register of private landlords

A short history of reforming the private renting system

After years of campaigning, the Renters’ Rights Bill has received Royal Assent, been passed into law and is now the Renters' Rights Act.

2025

October

  • The Renters' Rights Bill received Royal Assent
    The bill has now become law and is officially the Renters' Rights Act. This is a momentous day in the fight for better rights for renters. The government did not announce a date for when the changes will be brought into force, so we will continue to push for a clear implementation timeline.

  • Consideration of decisions in the House of Lords
    The bill returned to the Lords for another stage of 'ping pong'. The most concerning proposed changes were rejected and crucial protections for renters were kept strong. The bill returns to the House of Commons on 22 October to confirm some small changes. The government must then choose a date for Royal Assent, which is when the bill officially becomes an act.

September

  • Consideration of amendments in the House of Commons
    The bill returned to the House of Commons where MPs considered the changes made by the House of Lords, kickstarting the process known as 'ping pong'. MPs voted to reject most of the amendments made by the Lords ─ resisting attempts to water down new rights.

July

  • 'Report' and 'third reading' stages for the bill in the House of Lords conclude
    The bill passed through the House of Lords and the minister committed to monitoring the impact of the bill on discriminatory requests for guarantors. The bill will return to the House of Commons for final approval after the summer break. At the next stage, we will campaign to make sure amendments which threaten to weaken the bill are removed by MPs.

May

  • The ‘committee stage’ for the bill in the House of Lords concludes
    Our key amendments on rent stabilisation, limiting guarantor use, introducing a detailed national landlord register, and ending the Right to Rent scheme were all debated during this stage. As expected, none of these amendments were voted on.

February

  • The bill is debated during its ‘second reading’ in the House of Lords
    Members of the House of Lords debated the main principles of the bill. Many of them backed our campaign calls, putting forward their arguments for rent stabilisation, a detailed landlord register, and restrictions on guarantor use.

January

  • The bill is debated at ‘report stage’ and ‘third reading’ in the House of Commons
    The legislation is voted through by MPs, with a key amendment to limit requests for rent in advance to just one month being supported by the government. This marks the end of the bill’s passage through the House of Commons and it will now enter the House of Lords for the first time.

Previous years (2019-2024)

2024

October

  • The 'committee stage' for the bill concludes
    A cross-party group of 17 MPs formed the bill committee. Their role was to read through the legislation line by line, and debate any changes which could be made ahead of the next phase - 'report stage'.

  • MPs debated the Renters' Rights Bill in parliament during its 'second reading'
    A total of 424 MPs voted for the bill to continue to the next stage of legislation, while 104 MPs voted against it.

September

  • The new government introduced the Renters’ Rights Bill into parliament
    The introduction of the new bill started the process of reforming the private rented sector and strengthening renters' rights. This stage is called the 'first reading'.

July

  • The new government promised a Renters’ Rights Bill in its first King’s Speech
    The proposed new bill aimed to 'transform the renting experience' by scrapping section 21 'no fault' evictions and cracking down on landlords who discriminate against, and exploit, tenants.

  • Labour won the general election and Sir Keir Starmer became our new prime minister
    The Labour manifesto promised to scrap section 21 'no fault' evictions immediately and to take 'fast action to make renters better off'.

May

  • A general election was announced and parliament entered a 'wash-up period', but the Renters (Reform) Bill didn’t make the cut
    Several other bills were selected to be rushed through on the final day before the closing of parliament in a process known as 'wash up'. At this point, the Renters (Reform) Bill was dropped, meaning it was not passed into law.

  • Peers debated the bill at its 'second reading'
    Members of the House of Lords debated the main principles of the bill. More debates were planned in the House of Lords before the election was called.

April

  • We withdrew support for the bill as it entered its final stages in the House of Commons
    The Renters Reform Coalition, which we are a member of, publicly declared that this bill would be a failure if passed in its current form. The bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons in an unacceptable state and was sent to the House of Lords.

2023

November

  • The bill was scrutinised in more depth at the 'committee stage'
    A smaller group of MPs were selected to form the bill committee. They spent two weeks doing a line-by-line examination of the bill’s clauses. Minister Jacob Young took over responsibility for the Renters (Reform) Bill following the prime minister’s November reshuffle.

October

  • MPs debated the bill at 'second reading'
    In this stage, MPs from across all political parties gathered to debate the main principles of the bill.

May

  • The government introduced the Renters (Reform) Bill to parliament
    After a long wait, the Renters (Reform) Bill's passage through parliament finally began in the House of Commons. This stage is called the 'first reading'.

2022

June

  • The government published 'A Fairer Private Rented Sector' white paper
    In this, it set out the details of its plans for the Renters (Reform) Bill and promised to bring it forward.

2019

December

  • The Conservative government are elected, promising a 'better deal for renters'
    The party’s manifesto committed to abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and promised wider reforms to the rental system.

Frequently asked questions

When will the new changes come into effect?

Although the Renters’ Rights Bill has been made into law and is now the Renters' Rights Act, the government still needs to set an implementation date for when the changes will come into practical effect. It is likely that renters won’t be able to exercise their new rights for some time ─ probably 2026.
Read more

Can landlords still get properties back? Won’t they sell up?

Landlords will still be able to regain possession of their properties if they need to — they'll just have to provide a legitimate reason. There have also been warnings of a mass sell-off for years, but we still haven’t seen increases in evictions. Evidence from other countries, like Scotland, shows that these warnings often don't come true.

Does the act tackle rising rents?

While scrapping section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions should give tenants more confidence to challenge rent hikes, the Renters’ Rights Act doesn't set any limits on rent increases and doesn’t have a fair definition of what constitutes a reasonable rent increase. This is disappointing, and we'll continue to push for measures that limit rent increases and protect renters from losing their homes.
Read more

Other ways you can get involved

Changes to renters' rights

Learn what changes to expect when the Renters' Rights Act reforms take effect ─ likely in 2026.

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