On 27 October 2025, the Renter’s Rights Bill (the Bill) received the Royal Assent. The Bill comes with significant changes to housing law in England, with implications for both Social Housing providers and landlords in the private sector. 

The Bill is now law, but it has yet to take effect. Further regulations will be brought out to apply the Bill to the sector. 

Change of tenancy structures 

One of the big highlights of the Bill is that there will be no more assured shorthold tenancies, meaning no fixed-term tenancies (including assured tenancies with fixed terms). All assured tenancies will be periodic, in essence, tenancies for life, which can only be terminated in certain circumstances by the landlord, or otherwise by the tenant giving notice.  

Other changes include: 

• No rent can be taken/demanded prior to the signing/execution of a tenancy agreement 
• Rent periods must be one month or less, otherwise will have no effect 
• Rent can be increased once a year by way of a Section 13 Notice 

No more Section 21 Notices 

With a ban on assured shorthold tenancies comes an abolishment of the no fault eviction regime. This will significantly affect the Social Housing sector, but also the private sector, where landlords have often relied on the no fault eviction regime to recover possession. 

For social landlords, this change will come at an unknown later date. However, landlords will be required to give a reason for evicting their tenants, and that reason must fall under one of the grounds available under statute. 

Grounds for possession 

The grounds available will depend on the type of tenancy. The grounds for possession for assured tenancies are set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 but are subject to change under the Bill. 

Some key changes to existing grounds include: 

• Ground one will now apply where the landlord requires possession for a family member to occupy the property, and this is no longer limited to the landlord’s spouse/civil partner. 
• Ground three will not require the landlord to give notice before the start of the tenancy if the property was used as a holiday let, 12 months before the tenancy.  
• Ground eight will now require arrears to be at least 13 weeks or three months at the time of serving the notice and at the hearing. Any rent arrears which have arisen because of the tenant not receiving payment of universal credit are to be discounted. The notice period has also increased to four weeks.  

There are also some new grounds to look out for: 

• Ground 1A will allow landlords who wish to sell their property or to grant a lease of more than 21 years to recover possession. This cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy. Similar 
• Ground 1B for landlords that are private Registered Providers (RPs) of Social Housing, and the tenancy is under a rent-to-buy agreement.  
• Ground 2ZA where the landlord’s superior lease has come to an end. This is only available to private RPs of Social Housing, agricultural landlords, a person who holds the dwelling for the purposes of making it supported accommodation or a company majority owned by a local authority. 
• Ground 5G will allow landlords to recover possession where the property has been used as temporary accommodation for a homeless household, under s193 of the Housing Act 1996, and a local housing authority has notified the landlord that the tenancy is no longer required for that purpose. 
• Ground 5H applies where a RP of Social Housing or a charity lets to a tenant meeting eligibility criteria (e.g., under a certain age) at “affordable rent”, to help them access the private rented sector and/or transition to living independently, and the tenant no longer meets the eligibility criteria, or a limited period has come to an end. 
• Ground 6A where the tenant has been provided with alternative accommodation by a relevant social landlord while redevelopment affecting the tenant’s original home is carried out. 
• Ground 6B where the landlord needs to regain possession due to some enforcement action. The Court can require the landlord to pay the tenant compensation.   
• Ground 18 can be relied on where the tenancy is a supported accommodation, but the tenant is refusing to engage with the support. This is a discretionary ground.  

Other changes 

There are other changes, but not all apply to the Social Housing sector: 

• A new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, which all landlords with assured or regulated tenancies must join, even if the management of the tenancy has been delegated to agents. Failure to comply can result in penalties between £7,000 and £40,000, or even criminal prosecution.  
• A new Private Rented Sector Database, to which landlords must register.  
• Landlords must not discriminate against families with children or those who receive benefits.  
• It will be unlawful to encourage rental bidding. 
• Landlords must not refuse a reasonable request to keep a pet. 
• The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law is extended to the private rented sector. 

How Capsticks can help 

Now that the Bill has received Royal Assent, we will see new regulations being passed in the near future, with implementation dates for the changes brought by the Bill. The Housing Management team at Capsticks is on hand to discuss the implications of the Bill on your conduct as a landlord. For further information on how Capsticks can help, please contact Gavinder Ryait.