Landlords now have a clearer compliance calendar to work around as the Renters’ Rights Act moves from headline reform into day-to-day administration.
Property Industry Eye has highlighted the growing number of dates landlords and agents need to track, from the first phase of the new tenancy rules to later measures such as the private rented sector database and ombudsman. The official landlord checklist published by government sets out the immediate practical point: the first phase of reforms was introduced on 1 May 2026, with further measures due in later phases.
This is an informational update, not legal advice. The useful message for landlords is operational rather than dramatic: keep a written calendar, check documents against the new rules, and avoid treating the Renters’ Rights Act as a single one-day change.
What changed from 1 May 2026?
The government’s Renters’ Rights Act guide says the Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and is intended to change the private rented sector in England, including by ending Section 21 “no fault” evictions. The official landlord checklist says the first phase of reforms introduced a new tenancy system, alongside measures on rental bidding, discrimination and rent in advance.
For landlords, that means tenancy processes need to be checked against the rules now in force. Lettings adverts, rent increase procedures, possession paperwork and the information given to tenants all need attention. Even where a landlord uses a managing agent, the owner remains exposed if the business processes around the tenancy are not kept current.
The checklist also tells landlords to review mortgage, insurance and tenancy agreement documents for clauses that restrict tenants with children or those receiving benefits, because those restrictions are nullified as part of the anti-discrimination measures. That is a practical paperwork task, and it is easy to miss if older templates are being reused.
The 31 May information deadline
For tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 and already had a written tenancy agreement, the government checklist says landlords did not need to change or reissue the agreement. Instead, they needed to send tenants a government-produced information sheet before 31 May 2026.
Where an existing tenancy was based entirely on a verbal agreement, the checklist says landlords needed to provide a written record of the specific terms by the same date, rather than using the information sheet. For tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026, landlords need to provide certain information about the tenancy in writing. In many cases this may be handled through an updated tenancy agreement, but the key point is that the written information requirement should be part of the normal move-in process.
Landlords who have not yet completed this step should take prompt professional advice on how to put the position right. The compliance risk is not only about the initial document. It is also about being able to show what was provided, when it was sent, and which version of the tenancy information was used.
Later phases are already worth preparing for
The government’s checklist says other measures, including the private rented sector database and the private rented sector ombudsman, will be introduced in later phases. Local authority guidance published since implementation points to the same direction: landlords should expect registration, better information flows and stronger complaint-handling expectations to become part of the ordinary operating environment.
That matters because the database is likely to turn scattered compliance records into something more visible. Landlords may need to keep property details, safety information and contact details ready in a form that can be uploaded or checked. Gas safety records, electrical reports, energy performance certificates, licence details, repair records and correspondence about damp or hazards should be easy to find before a portal asks for them.
The ombudsman also changes the practical risk profile. A tenant complaint that might once have stayed as email correspondence with a landlord or agent may move into a formal external process. Good records, clear response times and consistent complaint handling will matter more when a third party can examine what happened.
Why the calendar approach helps
The compliance burden is not just the number of rules. It is the fact that different rules sit on different dates and may affect different parts of a landlord’s business. A landlord with one property may need a simple spreadsheet or diary system. A landlord with several properties, student lets or mixed agent arrangements may need something more structured.
A useful landlord calendar should include renewal-free tenancy administration, rent review steps, deposit records, safety certificates, licence renewals, local scheme checks, insurance renewals, agent review dates, complaint response checkpoints and the Renters’ Rights Act milestones. It should also record who is responsible for each action. If an agent handles lettings but the landlord keeps safety documents, that split should be clear.
There is also a financial point, without drifting into financial advice. Missed compliance dates can create avoidable costs, delay possession action, complicate rent reviews, or create evidence problems if a dispute arises. Treating compliance as routine administration is usually easier than trying to rebuild the paper trail after something has gone wrong.
What landlords can check this week
A sensible first check is whether every current tenancy has the correct written information on file and evidence of when it was provided. The second is whether any public adverts, standard emails, tenancy templates or agent instructions still refer to outdated bidding, rent in advance or tenant-selection practices.
Third, landlords can review their property compliance folder. The aim is not to guess every future database field, but to make sure the basics are current and easy to retrieve: identity and contact details, property address, safety certificates, EPC, licence position, deposit information, repair history and any relevant notices or tenant communications.
Finally, landlords should keep an eye on official updates rather than relying only on summaries. The Renters’ Rights Act is being implemented in phases, and the practical detail will continue to come through guidance, forms and commencement dates. A calendar that is reviewed monthly is more useful than a one-off checklist that is forgotten after it is ticked.
Sources
- Property Industry Eye, Landlords face growing compliance burden – here are the key dates, published 4 June 2026
- GOV.UK, Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act, published 6 November 2025
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Renters’ Rights Act: Landlord Checklist, March 2026
