Update for charities: The Renters' Rights Bill has Royal Assent

Article author: Associate Arani Arunan

The Renters' Rights Bill has now completed its legislative journey. The Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and became an Act of Parliament.

The introduction of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 ("Act") heralds significant changes to the private renting sector. Whilst the Renters' Rights Bill has now passed into law, it is unclear at this stage when the majority of the Act's provisions will come into effect. There are likely to be grace periods prior to implementation for both new and existing tenancies but other provision will be immediately in force.

In this article, we set out some of the key reforms introduced by the Act that will be of particular interest to charities.

Abolition of Section 21 Notices

Section 21 notices, the previous longstanding form of non-fault eviction notices, will be abolished from the "commencement date": From this date, a landlord will only be able to recover possession of a property through the courts by  serving a section 8 notice.  The grounds for possession include both  fault based such as the non-payment of rent or other breaches and certain more limited non-fault grounds applying only in specific circumstances and following appropriate notification at the outset of the tenancy.

Until the commencement date a valid section 21 notice may still be served. The Act then allows landlords to rely on such notices to claim possession through the courts after the commencement date in certain scenarios and the section 21 notice remains valid until these proceedings have concluded.

Where a valid section 21 notice has been served but possession proceedings have not been issued prior to commencement, the Act provides that the landlord must issue the proceedings before the end of an "applicable period". This "applicable period" depends on the period of notice required): For a section 21 notice with a 2-month notice period, the "applicable period" is defined in the Act to be either:

• The period of the six months from the date on which the section 21 notice was given to the tenant; or
• The period of three months from the "commencement date", if this three-month period ends before the six-month period referred to above.

How will charities receiving property as legacies be impacted?

Grounds of possession can be distinguished into two camps: mandatory and discretionary grounds. With mandatory grounds of possession, courts must grant possession of a property if this ground is proven in a claim of possession and on the date of the possession hearing. In contrast, courts can decide whether or not to grant an order of possession once the case based on discretionary grounds of possession has been reviewed at a hearing.

The Act widens the grounds that landlords can rely on to serve section 8 eviction notices and also amends certain requirements within existing grounds. Most notably for charities, is the introduction of a new mandatory ground known as ground 1A which will come into play upon the passing of relevant secondary legislation. Ground 1A allows a landlord to seek possession of properties that it intends to sell. It should be noted though that ground 1A cannot be used by housing trusts (as defined by the Housing Association Act 1985).

The addition of ground 1A will come as welcome news to charities. Charities often face circumstances where a deceased's missing or lack of paperwork in relation to a tenancy leads to difficulties in demonstrating compliance with the strict regulatory requirements of section 21 notices. With the abolition of section 21 notices and the introduction of the new ground 1A, the eviction process will likely be simplified and current challenges may be removed.

Section 8 notices can, in general, be served on a tenant at any time during a tenancy. However, charities should be aware that in order to rely on the new ground 1A in a section 8 notice, the tenancy must have commenced at least a year before the date on the section 8 notice (this is as opposed to a minimum of 6 months in many current tenancies). The section 8 notice must also include a four-month notice period, which is double that of section 21 notices. As such, for charities relying on ground 1A, the eviction process would be lengthier than the section 21 eviction process. This may result in charities shouldering more expenses before the property is sold and could ultimately lead to charities receiving less from property legacies.

Other non-fault Grounds for Possession

Other non-fault grounds for possession under the Act are the requirement for occupation by a family member or linked to employment.

At present, mandatory ground 1 can be used to seek possession under the section 8 eviction process as follows:

• the landlord is required to give notice to tenants that possession might be recovered on ground 1 no later than at the beginning of the tenancy; and
• the landlord either lived at the property in question as his/her principal home at some time before the beginning of the tenancy or a landlord or his/her spouse or civil partner now requires the property to occupy it as his/her principal home.

The Act amends ground 1 so that the landlords will only be able to rely on this ground after a year has passed since the tenancy in question has begun. Conversely, the Act increases the number of parties who can seek possession under this ground to include:

• the person with whom the landlord lives as if they were married or in a civil partnership and this person's child; and
• the landlord's parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild and the child of the landlord's spouse (with 'half-blood' relations treated as whole blood relations for the purpose of the Act).

This amendment may be pertinent for charities in future in certain settlement situations.

The Act also introduces a new mandatory ground 5C, which allow landlords to seek possession of properties that they or a previous landlord have let to a tenant in consequence of his/her employment. This ground also applies where a tenant was provided with housing pursuant to an agreement between an employer and a landlord/previous landlord. Landlords have reason to serve a section 8 notice in reliance of this new ground 5C, if the following situations apply:

• the tenant is no longer employed in that particular work; or
• where the tenant was only provided with housing during the early part of their work, this work has been complete and the landlord requires the property to let to another current or future employee or self-employed person.

This ground will be useful to charities that have been gifted properties with tenants in situ who have been previously employed by the deceased.

Assured tenancies not assured shorthold tenancies

The Act abolishes fixed-term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies (also known as ASTs). All existing ASTs will become periodic assured tenancies so that all tenancies will simply continue on unless terminated. Following commencement, provisions that provide for fixed terms in ASTs will be of no effect. All new tenancies created will automatically be periodic with a maximum rental period of one month. Tenants will be able to serve two months' notice to quit periodic assured tenancies.

The only universal exception are tenancies with the rent that is more than £100,000 a year or less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London) as such tenancies cannot be assured tenancies.

What is a periodic assured tenancy?

A periodic tenancy does not have a fixed duration and continually renews after the relevant period, such as a week or a month. The periodic tenancy follows the terms of the original agreement and persists until it is terminated either by the tenant or the landlord with an appropriate notice.

How might charities receiving legacy property be impacted?

In certain situations, it takes considerable time for properties left under a will to be sold. Properties still within a fixed term of a tenancies provide charities with the assurance that these properties will be occupied prior to its sale and not left to deteriorate. This is because tenants cannot provide notice to terminate their tenancies during its fixed term unless there is a break clause in their agreement permitting them to do so. However, the introduction of periodic assured tenancies will provide tenants with greater flexibility to end tenancies. Tenants can serve a two month notice to end their tenancy at any time. As such, the abolition of fixed term tenancies may increase uncertainty. Equally, however, gifted properties may no longer be within a fixed term. As such, the change from ASTs to periodic tenancies may result in little practical difference for charities. In fact, the statutory requirement for tenants to serve two months' notice to end their tenancies may be of benefit to charities as tenants are often contractually obliged to give a month's notice before vacating their properties.

It remains to be seen how the change to assured periodic tenancies will affect the valuations of properties gifted to charities. Valuers may opt to take a cautious approach and lower their market valuations to reflect to the uncertainty created by periodic tenancies as opposed to the stability offered by fixed term tenancies. Charities are advised to consult with their valuers carefully to weigh the benefit of selling their properties with tenants in situ compared to selling the properties with vacant possession once these provision in the Act come into effect.

Pets

Under the Act, the tenants will be provided with the statutory right to request their landlords for permissions to keep pets in properties which landlords cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords are required to confirm their decision to provide or refuse consent on or before the 28^th day of the tenant's request unless the following scenarios apply:

• The landlord requests further information from the tenant about the pet before the end of the 28-day period (in which case the landlord is given up to 7 days after the date the tenant provides further information to respond to the tenant);
• The landlord is required to obtain the consent of a superior landlord and does so before the end of the 28-day period (in which case the landlord is given up to 7days after the superior landlord refuses or gives consent to the pet to respond to the tenant) ; or
• The landlord and tenant agree to delay the landlord's decision for an extended period of time.

Charities should note that if tenants do not provide further information on their pets following the landlords' request, landlords are not obliged give or refuse consent.

The Act sets out examples of circumstances where it is reasonable for a landlord to refuse consent. These circumstances include those in which:

• the landlord will be in breach of its obligations to a superior landlord by allowing the pet; and
• where the landlord is not permitted to keep a pet in the property without obtaining consent from the superior landlord, the landlord has taken reasonable steps to procure this consent, but it has not been given by the superior landlord.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Act does not specify that the above scenarios are the only circumstances in which a landlord can reasonably refuse consent for a pet.

How will charities in general be impacted?

The House of Lord's amendments to the Renters' Right Bill allowed a landlord an additional deposit for pet damage from tenants that is equivalent to three weeks of rent. The House of Commons rejected this amendment and commented that landlords can use the tenant's deposit to make good any damage caused by pets. Under current rules, landlords are only permitted to request a deposit of up to five week's of rent from tenants.

Once the relevant secondary legislation is in effect, there may be circumstances where charities will face requests from tenants for pets to be allowed in properties before they are sold. As such, charities should keep in mind the 28-day time limit within which they should communicate their decision to the tenant or take further action.

Most notably, charities will need to demonstrate that they have acted reasonably when determining a tenant's request. They will also need to consider the reputational risks of refusal, This will mean that charities must provide sufficient reasoning in situations where a tenant's request for pets is denied. For animal charities, this should be a carefully thought-out process as these charities will need to balance reputational concerns with other considerations when reaching its decision. It is, of course, advisable for charities to keep a detailed record of their correspondence with the superior landlord or any relevant third party to use as evidence to support their reasoning.

Other duties of landlords

1. Written Statements

The Act requires landlords to give tenants a written statement before a tenancy is entered into, which sets out the following:

• Terms of the tenancy specified as requirements by regulations made by the Secretary of State;
• Any other information required by the Secretary of State with respect to the tenancy, the property let on the tenancy, the tenant, the landlord and the rights of the landlord or tenant in relation to the tenancy; and
• A statement that confirms that the landlord can recover possession on or more grounds under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (this is optional).

In practice, going forwards, confirmation of such prior service is likely to be included in tenancy agreement.

Such a written statement must also be given within 28 days from the date on which tenancies become assured tenancies, being the "Commencement Date".  This creates significant risks if the requirement is overlooked. 

2. Private rented sector database

The Act  permits the Secretary of State to pass regulations which require landlords to register themselves on a central private rented sector database and also ensure all their and the property's information is up to date.

3. Rent increase

Under the Act, landlords are required to give at least two months' notice before increasing rent and landlords must use the prescribed notice when doing so.

The Act also provides tenants with the power to make an application to the appropriate tribunal to challenge the rent payable under their tenancies, but they can only do so within the first six months of their tenancies. Tenants will also be able to challenge a landlord's rent increase.

How may charities receiving legacies be impacted?

Charities may be left properties in wills which have tenants in situ without written tenancy agreements. In light of the requirement for landlords to ensure a compliant written statement is provided for assured tenancies within 28 days from the "commencement date", it would be prudent for charities to highlight in their systems any non-written tenancies at this stage. Legacy officers should note that an eviction notice cannot be served on a tenant if a written statement in compliance with the Act has not been provided to the tenant.

Charities holding property, often seek guidance from valuers to determine if the rent tenants pay is at market rent level. Following such advice, charities may serve rent increase notices on tenants to achieve the best value for their properties on sale. Once the rent increase provisions of the Act have been implemented, charities should ensure that they increase rent (if necessary) using the prescribed format (known as the section 13 notice). Whilst the s.13 procedure itself is not new, charities will also need to be aware that the tenants may now challenge their increase in which case, they will likely be requested to put forward evidence to prove their rent increase is in line with market rent. Again, there will inevitably be reputational conditions.

Once an appropriate tribunal determines the rent payable under a tenancy, the new rent amount will be put in place after the determination date. In other words, the new rent amount will not be backdated to the date on the rent increase notice served by the charity and charity will lose some rental income.

How will charities in general be impacted?

Charities should be familiar with the provisions of the new Act well in advance of its implementation date(s) and start putting into place internal systems that will ensure their compliance with its new obligations. Charities holding property let on residential lets (as PRs, trustees or in their own right) should be prepared to register themselves on the new private rented sector database by the date specified by the government. Crucially, charities should take care to update the database regularly and provide accurate information in respect of each of its properties. If charities fail to so, there will face the risk of being fined by the local authority. Most importantly, charities will not be able to serve an eviction notice on tenants if they are not registered on this database.

Our expert Charity Property team can help you navigate the Act and its implications. Please get in touch with our people below.