Most of what's been written about the Renters' Rights Act focuses on the legal mechanics, notice periods, tenancy types, possession grounds. Useful, but not what you actually need if you're trying to plan your numbers. Here's the version that matters for your income and cash flow.
The Act came into force on 1 May 2026 and applies to every tenancy, new and existing. If you're a landlord, three changes affect how you should be managing money from here.
Rent increases: once a year, and only one way
You can now only increase rent through the formal Section 13 process, and only once every 12 months. The days of adjusting rent whenever a new fixed term started are gone, because fixed terms themselves are gone too. Every assured shorthold tenancy automatically converted to a rolling periodic tenancy on 1 May.
Practically, this means your rent reviews need to be planned annually and diarised properly, rather than happening naturally at renewal. If you were relying on regular small increases to keep pace with costs, you now need to make that one increase count, and give proper notice for it.
No more rent in advance as a buffer
Landlords can no longer request more than one month's rent in advance, and rental bidding is banned outright. If you'd previously used a larger upfront payment as a safety net against future arrears, that option is gone. Any cash flow cushion now needs to come from your own savings, not the tenant's.
Arrears and possession take longer
Section 21 no longer exists. Every possession claim now needs to go through Section 8, supported by evidence, with several grounds decided at a judge's discretion rather than automatically granted. In practice, that means the process from "tenant stops paying" to "property back in your hands" is longer and less certain than it used to be.
If you manage properties close to the edge of your own cash flow, this is the change worth planning around most. A void or an arrears situation now needs to be survivable for longer.
What's still coming
A national landlord database and a Landlord Ombudsman scheme are both expected in "late 2026", with registration likely to come with a fee once details are confirmed. Nothing to act on yet, but worth watching for before the end of the year.
What to do now
- Diarise your annual rent review date for each property, don't let it happen by default
- Build a larger cash buffer per property than you might have kept before, since you can't lean on advance rent the way you once did
- If you're currently mid-arrears with a tenant, get advice on the Section 8 process now rather than assuming the old Section 21 route still applies
- Keep an eye out for landlord database registration details later this year
None of this changes what you owe HMRC or how your rental income is taxed, but it does change how predictable that income is month to month, which is worth building into your own planning.
If you'd like a hand making sure your rental income and expenses are properly tracked through all of this, get in touch and we'll talk through what you need.