News from 23 March 2026
Read the current guide to tenancy rules in England.
The government published the Renters’ Rights Information Sheet and preview tenancy forms before England’s May 2026 reforms. This March report describes the documents and deadlines as they stood before commencement.
What has been published
The first key document is the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026. According to the government, landlords and their agents in England must give this exact PDF to tenants where the tenancy is an assured or assured shorthold tenancy created before 1 May 2026 and there is a wholly or partly written record of the terms. A copy must be given to every named tenant, and it must be provided by 31 May 2026.
The guidance also says the information sheet is only valid when downloaded from the GOV.UK page itself. Landlords cannot simply send tenants a link. The document must be given as a hard copy or as the PDF attached directly to an email or text message. Lodgers do not need to receive it, and purely verbal tenancies follow a different route, with written information about key tenancy terms instead.
The second key publication is the new assured tenancy forms for privately rented properties from 1 May 2026. These include the updated possession notice form, known as Form 3A, and the new rent proposal form, Form 4A, alongside other forms linked to tenancy changes and agricultural occupancies. For now, the versions online are watermarked previews so landlords can see what will be required. They are not the live forms to serve yet. The usable versions are due to appear on 1 May on the main assured tenancy forms page.
