The Renters' Rights Act
A landlord's quick guide
Everything letting a home in England now runs on — how tenancies work, how rent is raised, and how you get your property back. One page, no jargon.
In one line: every tenancy is a periodic assured tenancy that runs until it is properly ended. Your tenant can leave on two months' notice. You can only regain possession by proving a Section 8 ground in court. Everything below follows from that.
1How tenancies run
A tenancy continues until one side ends it. Your tenant can serve two months' notice at any time, so budget on the basis that any let can end with two months' warning.
2Getting your property back
Serve prescribed Form 3A citing a ground you can evidence. If the tenant stays, you need a court order, and only county court bailiffs can enforce it. Every claim gets a hearing.
3Raising the rent
Once every 12 months, to market rent, on prescribed Form 4A with two months' notice. Your tenant can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, which decides the market figure.
4Pets and fair access
Answer a written pet request within 28 days and refuse only with a good reason. Advertise one stated rent and never invite offers above it. Families with children and benefit claimants must be judged on their merits.
5Paperwork and compliance
Every new tenancy needs a written statement of terms before it begins, a protected deposit with prescribed information served, and no more than one month's rent in advance. Councils have investigatory powers and can impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a first breach, rising to £40,000 for serious or repeated ones. No deposit protection means no possession order — whatever the ground.
| Ground | Notice | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Moving in | 4 months | You, or a close family member (parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild), will live in the property. Available once the tenancy has run 12 months. |
| 1A — Selling | 4 months | You intend to sell. Available once the tenancy has run 12 months, and the property cannot be re-let or marketed for 12 months afterwards. Misuse risks a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent. |
| 6 — Redevelopment | 4 months | Substantial works that genuinely cannot be done with the tenant in occupation. Re-letting restrictions apply here too. |
| 8 — Rent arrears | 4 weeks | Mandatory where 3 months' rent is unpaid (13 weeks if rent is weekly or fortnightly) both when you serve and at the hearing. Arrears caused by Universal Credit delays don't count. |
| 14 — Anti-social | Immediate | Discretionary. Proceedings can begin as soon as the notice is served; the court decides whether possession is reasonable. |
- Grounds 1 and 1A are off-limits for the first 12 months of a tenancy, and the notice can't expire before that point — it may need to run longer than four months.
- Notice periods run from the date of service, not the date you write the notice. Miscounting the expiry date is the most common reason a claim fails.
- Using a ground you don't reasonably believe you can prove is an offence — evidence the intention before serving.
- Assume months, not weeks. Court timescales make rent guarantee cover worth the premium.
- Written statement of terms issued before every new tenancy
- Deposit protected and prescribed information served
- Rent increases diarised on the annual Form 4A cycle
- Pet requests answered in writing within 28 days
- Gas, electrical, EPC and deposit records ready for the PRS Database
Not sure where your portfolio stands?
We manage this every day — notices, rent reviews, compliance and the database. Call your local office for a straight answer, or a free review of your tenancies.
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