BPF publishes guidance on Renters' Rights Act 2025
The British Property Federation (BPF) has published guidance on the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (PRA 2025) to assist its members, landlords and other stakeholders in understanding the PRA 2025’s scope and reforms across the private rented sector (PRS) in England. The PRA 2025 introduces wide-ranging structural changes to tenancy arrangements, possession procedures, rent regulation and landlord compliance obligations. It will take effect on 1 May 2026 and will be implemented in three phases. Phase one, commencing on 1 May 2026, will abolish section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, replace fixed-term tenancies with open-ended Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs), and limit rent increases to once every 12 months. It will also ban rental bidding, restrict the payment of rent in advance to one month at the outset and expand obligations relating to pets and anti-discrimination against renters with children or those in receipt of benefits. These reforms will apply to both new and existing PRS tenancies. Landlords will be required to provide tenants with the government-published information sheet by 31 May 2026. Phase two, expected in late 2026, will introduce a mandatory national PRS database for landlords and local councils, alongside a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman. Landlords will be required to register themselves and their properties on the database and comply with Ombudsman determinations. Phase three will extend the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS and implement ‘Awaab’s Law’. This will require landlords to address reported health and safety hazards, such as damp and mould, within defined statutory timeframes: (1) investigation within 14 days of a complaint; (2) provision of findings within two days of the investigation; (3) commencement of emergency repairs within 24 hours; and (4) commencement of non-urgent repairs within seven days.