News from 20 March 2026
Read the current guide to tenancy rules in England.
Government guidance published ahead of the May 2026 reforms explained the civil penalties English councils could use for breaches. It covered tenancy information, possession, rental discrimination and other housing-law offences.
What the guidance covers
The guidance is aimed at local authorities in England rather than landlords directly, but it still gives landlords a valuable window into how enforcement may be approached. It covers a wide range of offences and breaches linked to the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, Housing Act 1988, Housing Act 2004, Housing and Planning Act 2016 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
On the Renters’ Rights side, the guidance highlights areas including failure to provide required tenancy information, attempts to use fixed-term arrangements where they are no longer allowed, using the wrong route to try to end a tenancy, relying on possession grounds improperly, rental discrimination, and bidding-war style practices where a letting is marketed at one rent but prospective tenants are encouraged to offer more.
It also sits alongside the government’s wider implementation roadmap, which confirms that key phase-one changes begin on 1 May 2026 in England. As we covered in our earlier article on the Renters’ Rights timetable for landlords, that first phase includes the end of section 21, the shift to periodic assured tenancies, limits on rent increases, restrictions on rent in advance, and new rules on bidding wars and discrimination.
