The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025) introduces a major overhaul of residential tenancies in England. All Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) will convert to Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs) on 1 May 2026 or at the start of the next rent period after 1 May. Changes will come into force for both new (i.e. tenancies created on or after 1 May 2026) and existing tenancies (i.e. those created before 1 May 2026).
Whilst the RRA 2025 seeks to bring both new and existing tenancies into a single unified approach, some differences will remain, at least initially, between their treatment of new and existing tenancies. For those managing rural estates, it will be important to understand how to navigate these practical differences.
A few of the key differences are:
| New tenancies |
| Written Statement of Terms |
Landlords must provide tenants with certain written information, setting out the core terms of the tenancy. The required information can be included in a written tenancy agreement or given separately.
Regulations for the Written Statement of Terms were published in March and are to be given by landlords to tenants of any new tenancy or existing verbal tenancies. |
| Obtaining possession |
Section 21 no fault evictions will be abolished from 1 May 2026.
After this date, landlords will need to rely on the revised mandatory grounds or discretionary grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the HA 1988. For many grounds, the required notice periods have increased. |
| Opt-out notices |
Where there is an agricultural worker, landlords must serve a Form 24 notice before occupation begins to prevent an Assured Agricultural Occupancy (‘AAO‘). |
| Rent in advance |
The requirement for payments of more than one month’s rent in advance will be prohibited. However, tenants will be able to make voluntary advance payments of rent (but not other payments) once the tenancy has started. |
| Existing tenancies |
| Information Sheet |
Landlords must provide tenants of existing tenancies (which have a wholly or partly written record of terms) with a PDF of the government produced Information Sheet. This must be provided by 31 May 2026.
Not all ASTs will convert to APTs on 1 May 2026. Periodic tenancies (where the rent day is not 1 May) will convert once the current rent period expires. For example, if an existing tenancy was monthly or quarterly and that rent period expired on 5 May 2026 (monthly) or 5 July 2026 (quarterly) the tenancy would only convert to an APT on 6 May 2026 (monthly) or 6 July 2026 (quarterly). So, some tenants will receive the Information Sheet long before the tenancy actually converts to being an APT.
For a verbal tenancy, the landlord must issue a full Written Statement of Terms instead of the Information Sheet. Under section 12 RRA 2025 this must be given within 28 days of the tenancy converting to an APT, however paragraph 7(5) of Schedule 6 contradicts this and says that the this needs to be provided within one month of the commencement date i.e. 31 May 2026. It would be advisable for landlords to provide this by 31 May 2026 and for belt and braces, provide this information again within 28 days of a tenancy converting to an APT. |
| Obtaining possession |
Landlords can rely on a valid section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026. A possession claim must be issued before 31 July 2026. After 1 May 2026, almost all existing tenancies will be caught by the new rules and landlords can only rely on the revised mandatory or discretionary grounds. |
| Opt-out notices |
Form 9 notices to prevent the letting being an AAO, already served for existing tenancies, remain valid. |
| Rent in advance |
Clauses in existing ASTs which provide for rent to be paid in advance will remain enforceable until the tenancy converts to an APT. |
A few practical considerations
As 1 May 2026 approaches, landlords must act swiftly to ensure that they remain compliant and ready to navigate the different rules for existing and new tenancies. Now is a sensible time to review portfolios and perhaps most importantly, consider serving any section 21 notices before time runs out. Based on the differences between new and existing tenancies, a few key points for landlords to take away are as follows:
1. Written Statement of Terms
In the Written Statement of Terms, landlords may include a statement of the landlord’s wish to be able to recover possession on one or more of Grounds 1B, 2ZA to 2ZD, 4, 5 to 5H, 6A or 18 in Schedule 2. For rural employer-landlords one of the key grounds for possession will be Ground 5C (the old Ground 16). Under Ground 5C:
a) the property will have been let to the tenant in consequence of the tenant’s employment; and
b) either that tenant has ceased to be in that employment or the landlord seeking possession now needs to let the dwelling house to another current of future employee of the employer.
It seems that failing to provide advance notice in the written statement will not prevent a landlord from relying on one of these grounds for possession but will attract financial penalties. It would therefore seem sensible to provide notice that this ground may be used if there is any possibility of this.
2. Information Sheet
Agents and landlords have the time, now, to start preparing to serve the Information Sheet to tenants of existing tenancies between the 1-31 May 2026. For landlords with huge portfolios this could be a big task to get through, so early preparation will be key. As with the written statement of terms (for existing verbal tenancies), where an Information Sheet will be provided by 31 May 2026 with the tenancy not converting until later it would be advisable (by way of belt and braces) for the landlord to provide the Information Sheet again within 28 days of the tenancy becoming an APT. The government guidance states that this can be provided to tenants by either printing a hard copy and posting or giving it to tenants by hand, or sending the PDF electronically as an attachment to an email.
3. Rent in advance on existing tenancies
The advance payment of rent for existing AST tenancies will be permitted until the point at which they become an APT. Landlords should review their portfolios and understand which tenancies will convert on 1 May 2026 and which will convert only at the start of the next rent period.
For more insights in our series on the RRA 2025 see:
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: navigating accommodation for rural workers – Michelmores
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: which tenancies are not caught?
