The Renters' Rights Act is no longer a future problem. It's live, it's being enforced, and three months on, we're finally getting a clear picture of how it's playing out in the real world.
Most agents understand the headline changes well. Turning that understanding into day-to-day practice is proving to be the harder part, and that's completely understandable given how much changed in a short space of time. It's also where the biggest opportunities to save time, reduce risk and build trust with landlords and tenants are hiding.
Below, we cover the key rules agents need to have nailed down, what the wider industry is learning so far, and some practical steps that are helping agencies manage the transition with confidence.
The key changes agents need to have covered
Before anything else, it's worth having these core rules to hand. They're the ones causing the most day-to-day questions from landlords and tenants alike.
- Section 21 no longer applies. Landlords cannot serve a Section 21 "no fault" notice on or after 1 May 2026, even if the tenancy agreement suggests otherwise. Ending a tenancy now means relying on a valid ground under Section 8, such as the landlord or a close family member wanting to move in, a decision to sell, or rent arrears.
- Rent increases must go through Section 13. Rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements no longer apply. Landlords must use the statutory Section 13 process and the new Form 4A, giving at least two months' written notice, and can only increase rent once every 12 months. Any proposed increase must reflect the open market rent, and tenants can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal.
- All tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies. Fixed terms have gone, and tenants can end their tenancy at any point with at least two months' written notice.
- The Information Sheet deadline has already passed for most tenancies. Landlords and agents needed to issue the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet to existing tenants by 31 May 2026. If any tenancies were missed, getting this sorted should be a priority.
- Local authorities have stronger enforcement powers, including the ability to investigate non-compliance and issue financial penalties.
For the full official detail, the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet and the NRLA's guide to the Act are both worth bookmarking as reference points for your team.
What the first 90 days have taught the industry
1. It's an ongoing process, not a one-off task
Many agencies rightly focused on issuing the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet and updating tenancy agreements ahead of the deadline. That was a big job in itself, and getting it done on time was no small achievement.
The next challenge is making sure the Act's requirements, covering rent increases, possession grounds, pet requests and tenancy structures, are built into everyday practice rather than treated as a launch-day milestone. It's a shift from "we've complied" to "we comply, every day," and it's where a lot of agencies are now turning their attention.
2. Teams need more support than a single briefing can give
Industry commentary has been honest about this: plenty of agents are still building their confidence with how the new rules work in practice. Given how much changed and how quickly, that's no surprise at all.
Where extra support tends to help most is around the small details that are easy to miss under pressure:
- Making sure notices reference the correct ground every time
- Keeping rent increase requests within the new annual limit
- Double-checking the status of any Section 21 notices issued near the cut-off date
- Giving landlords consistent, confident advice, especially while they're still getting used to the changes
3. There's a knock-on effect on the sales market worth watching
This is one that fewer people saw coming. The effects of the Renters' Rights Act are now being felt beyond lettings, with some landlords choosing to sell rather than navigate the new regime. It's a good reminder for sales and lettings teams to keep talking to each other. Landlords who decide to sell up still need a trusted agent for that instruction, and you're best placed to be that agent if the conversation is already happening.
4. Manual tracking is harder work than it needs to be
Local authorities now have stronger powers to investigate compliance, which means accuracy and consistency matter more than ever. Spreadsheets and shared inboxes can still get the job done, but they ask a lot of busy teams who are already juggling plenty. The agencies finding this easiest are the ones giving their staff a system that keeps track of the details automatically, rather than relying on memory alone.
Building confidence for the next 90 days
Get your whole team feeling confident
Compliance isn't a document sitting in a folder. It's every conversation your negotiators and property managers have with landlords and tenants. Invest in proper, ongoing training rather than a single briefing, and make sure new starters get the same grounding as everyone else.
Connect your sales and lettings teams
If a landlord is reconsidering their position because of the new rules, that's a conversation your agency should be having, not one a competitor has instead. Make sure your CRM gives sales and lettings visibility of the same client relationships, so nobody misses the chance to help a landlord who's exploring their options.
Build key dates and actions into your systems
The agencies handling this well have moved compliance out of people's heads and into their software. That means:
- Automated reminders for the 12-month rent increase window and two-month notice period
- Structured, auditable records of every Information Sheet and Section 8 or Section 13 notice served
- Clear tracking of which possession ground applies to which tenancy
- One source of truth that a local authority, or your own director, can check at any time
Make material information part of the workflow
The Renters' Rights Act sits alongside a wider push for transparency in property transactions. Agents who treat compliance as a genuine part of how they work, rather than paperwork to survive an audit, are the ones building trust with landlords and tenants during a period when both groups are anxious about change.
The bottom line
The first 90 days of the Renters' Rights Act have shown that understanding the legislation is one thing, and building it into everyday practice is another. That's a genuinely big undertaking, and agencies across the industry are working through it at their own pace.
If you're looking for ways to make rent increases, notices and tenancy records easier to manage day to day, moving that work into your systems rather than your inboxes can make a real difference.
Dezrez CRM is built to keep sales, lettings and property management compliant and connected in one place, so your team can spend more time on the relationships that matter and less time on manual admin. Our Property Management tools bring maintenance workflows, landlord communication and tenancy tracking into the same system, so nothing gets missed as the regulatory landscape keeps shifting.
Want to see how Dezrez keeps your agency ahead of the Renters' Rights Act? Book a demo or talk to our sales team today.
