Tips and guidance
The Renters’ Rights Act: what we’ve learned in the first 90 days
A practical look at what agents need to have covered, what the industry is learning so far, and how to build stronger systems for the next 90 days.
27th July 2026 | By Ceryn Evans
At a glance
Section 21: no longer applies for notices served on or after 1st May 2026.
Rent increases: must now go through Section 13 using the new Form 4A.
Tenancy structure: all tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies.
Operational challenge: agents need systems that track notices, dates, records and compliance actions without relying on memory.
The Renters’ Rights Act is no longer a future problem.
It is live, it is being enforced, and three months on, the industry is starting to get a clearer picture of how it is playing out in the real world.
Most agents understand the headline changes well. Turning that understanding into day-to-day practice is proving to be the harder part, which is completely understandable given how much changed in a short space of time.
The biggest opportunities now are in saving time, reducing risk and building trust with landlords and tenants.
The key changes agents need to have covered
Before anything else, it is worth having the core rules to hand. These are the changes causing the most day-to-day questions from landlords and tenants alike.
Section 21 no longer applies
Landlords cannot serve a Section 21 “no fault” notice on or after 1st May 2026, even if the tenancy agreement suggests otherwise. Ending a tenancy now means relying on a valid ground under Section 8, such as the landlord or a close family member wanting to move in, a decision to sell, or rent arrears.
Rent increases must go through Section 13
Rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements no longer apply. Landlords must use the statutory Section 13 process and the new Form 4A, giving at least two months’ written notice. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, must reflect open market rent, and can be challenged at the First-tier Tribunal.
All tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies
Fixed terms have gone, and tenants can end their tenancy at any point with at least two months’ written notice.
The Information Sheet deadline has passed for most tenancies
Landlords and agents needed to issue the official Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet to existing tenants by 31st May 2026. If any tenancies were missed, getting this sorted should be a priority.
Local authorities have stronger enforcement powers
This includes the ability to investigate non-compliance and issue financial penalties.
For the full official detail, the government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet and the NRLA’s guide to the Act are both useful reference points for teams to bookmark.
What the first 90 days have taught the industry
01
It is an ongoing process, not a one-off task
Many agencies rightly focused on issuing the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet and updating tenancy agreements ahead of the deadline. That was a big job in itself.
The next challenge is making sure the Act’s requirements, covering rent increases, possession grounds, pet requests and tenancy structures, are built into everyday practice rather than treated as a launch-day milestone.
02
Teams need more support than a single briefing can give
Plenty of agents are still building confidence with how the new rules work in practice. Given how much changed and how quickly, that is no surprise.
Extra support helps most around the small details that are easy to miss under pressure, including notice grounds, annual rent increase limits and landlord advice.
03
There is a knock-on effect on the sales market
Some landlords are choosing to sell rather than navigate the new regime. That makes communication between sales and lettings teams more important, because landlords who decide to sell still need a trusted agent for that instruction.
04
Manual tracking is harder work than it needs to be
Local authorities now have stronger powers to investigate compliance, so accuracy and consistency matter more than ever. Spreadsheets and shared inboxes can still get the job done, but they ask a lot of already-busy teams.
The shift is from “we’ve complied” to “we comply, every day”.
That is where systems, workflows and shared visibility start to matter more than documents sitting in folders.
Building confidence for the next 90 days
Get your whole team feeling confident
Compliance is not a document sitting in a folder. It is every conversation your negotiators and property managers have with landlords and tenants. Invest in proper, ongoing training rather than a single briefing.
Connect your sales and lettings teams
If a landlord is reconsidering their position because of the new rules, that is a conversation your agency should be having. Make sure your CRM gives sales and lettings visibility of the same client relationships.
Build key dates and actions into your systems
The agencies handling this well have moved compliance out of people’s heads and into their software.
Make material information part of the workflow
The Renters’ Rights Act sits alongside a wider push for transparency in property transactions. Agents who treat compliance as a genuine part of how they work are the ones building trust during a period of change.
What should your system be tracking?
For busy teams, the most useful systems are the ones that remove reliance on memory and keep the key actions visible.
- Automated reminders for the 12-month rent increase window and two-month notice period
- Structured, auditable records of every Information Sheet and Section 8 or Section 13 notice served
- Clear tracking of which possession ground applies to which tenancy
- One source of truth that a local authority, or your own director, can check at any time
The bottom line
The first 90 days of the Renters’ Rights Act have shown that understanding the legislation is one thing, and building it into everyday practice is another.
That is a genuinely big undertaking, and agencies across the industry are working through it at their own pace.
If you want rent increases, notices and tenancy records to feel easier day to day, move that work into your systems rather than leaving it buried in inboxes.
Dezrez CRM is built to keep sales, lettings and property management compliant and connected in one place, so teams can spend more time on the relationships that matter and less time on manual admin.
Its Property Management tools bring maintenance workflows, landlord communication and tenancy tracking into the same system, helping ensure nothing gets missed as the regulatory landscape keeps shifting.
Stay ahead of the Act
See how Dezrez keeps your agency connected and compliant
Book a demo to see how Dezrez helps agencies manage rent increases, notices, tenancy records and property management workflows in one connected CRM.
Make the next 90 days calmer, clearer and easier for your whole team to manage.
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