DocuTenant home

Renters’ Rights Act Readiness Checker

Is your rental property ready for the Renters’ Rights Act 2025? The biggest change to English tenancy law in 30 years took effect on 1 May 2026. Answer 12 questions to check your landlord compliance and find out what you still need to do.

England only · Updated October 2026
Based on the enacted legislationTakes about 60 secondsNo signup required
Start the check

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA) received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and Phase 1 took effect on 1 May 2026 — the single biggest overhaul of England’s private rented sector since the Housing Act 1988. Every tenancy that was an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) became an assured periodic tenancy that day. If you let property in England, check that your paperwork and processes have caught up.

Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished. Court claims on Section 21 notices served before 1 May had to be issued by 31 July 2026. All fixed-term ASTs became periodic (rolling monthly) tenancies. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are void — Section 13 with the new Form 4A is the only legal way to increase rent, limited to once every 52 weeks with 2 months’ notice. Tenants have the right to request pets with a 28-day response window. The deadline to give existing tenants the Government Information Sheet was 31 May 2026. If you missed it, give it now: the civil penalty is up to £7,000.

Enhanced enforcement powers for local authorities have already been in effect since 27 December 2025. Registration on the new PRS Database opens region by region from 15 December 2026, and every region should be open by 14 November 2027. Membership of the new landlord ombudsman is expected to become mandatory in 2028. If your tenancy agreements, eviction notices, and landlord processes haven’t been updated for the Renters’ Rights Act, you could face fines up to £7,000 per offence — or find you can’t legally recover possession of your property.

This Renters’ Rights Act readiness checker covers England only. The RRA 2025 does not apply to Scotland or Wales.

Question 1 of 128%

How many rental properties do you have in England?

Questions about this checker

What does the readiness checker actually check?
Twelve things the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed and that a landlord can get wrong without noticing: fixed terms in current tenancies, any reliance on Section 21, how rent is increased, whether the Government Information Sheet has been served, how pet requests are handled, when the tenancy agreement template was last updated, certificate validity, and awareness of the PRS Database. It flags each answer red, amber or green and tells you what to do about the red ones.
Is it free, and do I need an account?
It is free and there is no account, no email and no card. Nothing you enter is stored against a profile. You can run it as many times as you like.
Does it apply in Scotland or Wales?
No. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 applies to England only. Scottish lets run under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and Welsh lets under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2022, and neither was changed by the Act. A Scottish landlord will get answers that do not apply to them.
How long does it take?
Two to three minutes. Twelve questions, mostly multiple choice, and the results appear immediately with no waiting or emailed report.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a compliance check against the enacted legislation, written to help you find the gaps in your paperwork. It does not know your specific circumstances. For anything consequential — a possession claim, a disputed deposit, an unusual tenancy — take advice from a solicitor.

About DocuTenant

DocuTenant is a smart document engine for UK private landlords. Generate professionally drafted, legally-informed documents from simple inputs — covering every stage of the tenancy lifecycle from listing to checkout. 47 documents, always up to date with current legislation, ready to download as PDF or DOCX.

Learn more about DocuTenant
Try it free