Renters' Rights Act 2025: What London Landlords Need to Know

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, marking the biggest overhaul of private renting in England in over 30 years. If you are a landlord in London, here is what has changed and what you need to do now.

The five changes that matter most

1. Section 21 'no-fault' evictions have ended. You can no longer ask a tenant to leave without giving a specific legal reason. Every eviction must now use Section 8 with a valid ground for possession.

2. New legal grounds let you recover the property when you genuinely need it. You can still take it back to sell, or to move in yourself or a close family member. Notice periods are longer than before and you must keep written evidence.

3. All private landlords must register with a government-approved redress scheme. Joining a government-approved redress scheme is now a legal requirement for all private landlords in England. Tenants have a free, neutral route to raise complaints without going to court.

4. Rent increases are limited to once a year. Increases must follow a set process and tenants must be given at least two months' notice in writing. Tenants can challenge an unfair increase at a tribunal.

5. Discrimination against families and benefits recipients is banned. Blanket 'no children' or 'no DSS' rules are no longer allowed in your adverts or your decisions on who to let to.

What this means for you in practice

• You will need to plan further ahead before recovering a property
• You must keep tidy written records of rent reviews, notices and tenant communication
• Older tenancy agreements should be checked and brought into line
• Failure to comply can lead to fines and, in some cases, a ban on letting

How JSLA helps

If JSLA fully manages your property, you do not need to do any of this yourself. We:

• handle the new Section 8 grounds and paperwork
• enrol you on a government-approved redress scheme
• issue compliant rent review notices on your behalf
• update your tenancy agreements to the new format
• keep written audit trails so you are protected if challenged

If you are on a Let Only basis, or you self-manage, please do get in touch. We can review where you stand and flag anything urgent before it becomes a problem.

A short note

Every landlord's situation is slightly different. The information above is a general summary, not legal advice. If you are unsure about a specific tenancy, contact us and we will look at it with you.