Section 21 no-fault evictions are gone. As of September 2026, that single sentence has rewritten the risk calculation for roughly 2.3 million private landlords across England. Four months after the biggest shake-up of tenancy law in a generation, the private rented sector has quietly crossed into a new era, and many buy-to-let investors are still catching up with what it means for their portfolios.
The Renters Rights Act 2025 conversation has moved well beyond parliamentary debate. The legislation is now law, the transition deadline has passed, and landlords, tenants and mortgage lenders are living with the consequences. This briefing sets out what changed, what is still coming, and what it means for anyone holding or buying rental property right now.
The legislation now shaping every tenancy in England began life as the Renters Rights Bill, completed its passage through Parliament on 22 October 2025, and received Royal Assent five days later on 27 October 2025, becoming the Renters Rights Act 2025. GOV.UK collection pages and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government implementation roadmap, both refreshed in August 2026, confirm the Act's current status and set out how reforms are being phased in.
That roadmap, last updated 24 August 2026, is the clearest single reference point for landlords planning ahead. It confirms the new tenancy regime came into force on 1 May 2026 and signals further phases stretching into the late 2020s, including database rollout, expanded standards enforcement and additional secondary legislation.
From close of business on 30 April 2026, landlords lost the ability to serve new Section 21 notices. From 1 May 2026, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed-term assured tenancies were abolished outright, replaced by periodic assured tenancies in which rent periods cannot exceed one month.
Crucially, this was not a gradual, tenancy-by-tenancy transition. Every existing tenancy in the private rented sector was pulled into the new framework on the same date, regardless of when the original agreement began. Landlords could not simply wait out a fixed term to delay compliance.
Two new documentation duties came in alongside the tenancy changes:
Missing these obligations is not a technicality. Failure to provide the correct paperwork can undermine a landlord's ability to rely on possession grounds later, so this is one of the most common compliance gaps NRLA advisers report among members.
Section 21 is dead, but landlords are not without recourse. The Act retains a grounds-based possession system: landlords can still recover property for specific, defined reasons such as selling the property, moving in themselves or a family member, persistent rent arrears, or anti-social behaviour. The Law Society and Shelter both describe the reform as rebalancing, not eliminating, landlord rights, aiming to give tenants greater long-term security while preserving legitimate routes to possession.
The practical difference is procedural friction. Every possession now requires a formal ground, correct notice and often a court application, rather than a simple two-month no-fault notice. This has direct knock-on effects for how quickly landlords can act when something goes wrong.
| Feature | Pre-May 2026 (AST + Section 21) | From 1 May 2026 (Periodic assured tenancy) |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy type | Fixed-term or periodic AST | Periodic assured tenancy only |
| No-fault eviction | Available via Section 21 | Abolished |
| Rent period | Could exceed one month | Capped at one month |
| Written terms | Not always standardised | Prescribed statement of terms required |
| Possession route | Notice-only for no-fault | Grounds-based, often court-led |
One reason possession claims are taking longer is the court system itself. Industry body Propertymark reported on 4 September 2026 that the Online Procedure Rule Committee has published a draft practice direction for a new digital County Court possession service, intended to modernise how possession claims are processed in England and Wales. Operational timelines remain in flux, and landlords should not assume faster turnaround just because the process is digital.
Looking further ahead, the MHCLG roadmap confirms that a second implementation phase from late 2026 will introduce a national database of PRS properties, consolidating landlord, property and compliance information for use by tenants, councils and enforcement teams. A new landlord ombudsman scheme is also part of the wider reform package, giving tenants a formal complaints route outside the courts and adding another compliance touchpoint landlords will need to register with as rollout continues.
Alongside tenancy security, the Act extends stronger property standards into private renting. Official information sheets and government guidance updated in August 2026 confirm higher housing standards will apply to rented homes and to certain temporary and supported accommodation, echoing the Decent Homes Standard long used in social housing.
For landlords, this means damp, mould, heating adequacy and general property condition are no longer just good practice, they are becoming enforceable minimums with inspection and reporting implications. Buy-to-let investors buying older stock should treat this as a core underwriting factor, not an afterthought.
Research released on 25 August 2026 by credit rating agency KBRA on UK buy-to-let RMBS gives a sober read on where this leaves investors. The analysis notes that tenancy reform under the Renters Rights Act, combined with planned 2030 energy-efficiency standards, is expected to test landlord resilience by lengthening possession timelines, raising enforcement and carrying costs, and demanding fresh capital investment that could squeeze refinancing capacity.
The same research finds that, as of mid-2026, credit performance across UK buy-to-let RMBS pools remains broadly stable, but flags regulatory change and mandatory energy upgrades as the key medium-term risks to margins and leverage. In plain terms: portfolios are not in crisis, but the cushion for error is thinner than it was.
Practical implications for landlords weighing an exit or expansion:
For buyers and investors commissioning surveys ahead of a purchase, due diligence has expanded well beyond structural condition. A pre-purchase survey in 2026 should confirm:
Buying a tenanted investment property without checking these points is now a materially bigger gamble than it was two years ago. A clean structural survey no longer tells the whole compliance story.
Is Section 21 completely abolished as of September 2026?
Yes. No new Section 21 notices could be served after close of business on 30 April 2026, and the notice type no longer exists under the current tenancy framework.
Do landlords still have any way to recover their property?
Yes, through grounds-based possession, for example, sale of the property, owner or family occupation, arrears or anti-social behaviour, but these routes typically require formal notice and often a court process.
Did tenancies that started years ago automatically change on 1 May 2026?
Yes. The transition applied to new and existing tenancies alike in a single implementation date, so long-standing tenancies moved onto the new periodic assured tenancy structure without waiting for a fixed term to end.
What is the PRS database and when does it arrive?
It is a planned national database consolidating landlord and property information for tenants, councils and enforcement bodies, expected to roll out from late 2026 as part of a further implementation phase.
How does this affect buy-to-let mortgage and refinancing decisions?
Analysts note that longer possession timelines and upcoming energy-efficiency requirements are likely to pressure margins and refinancing capacity, even though overall credit performance remained stable as of mid-2026.
The Renters Rights Act story is no longer about anticipating change, it is about managing a new operating environment that is already in force. Section 21 is gone, periodic tenancies are standard, documentation obligations are real, and a database plus expanded standards enforcement are on the way.
Landlords should audit tenancy paperwork issued around May 2026, confirm every notice template reflects grounds-based possession, and review property condition against Decent Homes Standard expectations. Buy-to-let investors should stress-test refinancing plans against slower possession timelines and future energy-efficiency costs. Buyers commissioning surveys should insist on compliance checks alongside structural findings before completing any tenanted purchase. Acting now, rather than reactively, remains the clearest way to protect returns under the new regime.
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