Reviewed for the Renters' Rights Act · Updated 20 July 2026

Every guide, in one place

Everything we have written about renting out property in England under the 2026 rules, grouped by what you are trying to do. All guides are updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Start here: the 2026 rules

• The Renters' Rights Act 2026: complete landlord guide – the pillar guide to the whole Act.
• What the Renters' Rights Act changed – the full picture of the 1 May 2026 law change.
• What is an assured periodic tenancy? – the tenancy type every landlord now has.
• Periodic tenancy: meaning and definition – the plain-English version.
• Statutory periodic tenancies – what happened to the old type.
• Tenancy renewal in 2026 – why nothing renews any more.

Templates and documents

• Assured periodic tenancy agreement template – our core £25 pack.
• Tenancy agreement template 2026 – what a compliant agreement must now contain.
• Lodger agreement pack – for renting a room in your own home (£15).
• Wales and rolling tenancy templates.
• The tenant information sheet rules and the How to Rent guide duty.

Rent and rent increases

• Section 13 rent increases – the only lawful way to raise rent.
• Form 4A explained – completing the prescribed form without invalidating it.
• Notice periods reference – every deadline in two tables.

Ending tenancies and possession

• How to end a periodic tenancy – every lawful route, both sides.
• Eviction notices in 2026 – what is valid now, what no longer is.
• Section 8 grounds guide – the possession system in detail.
• Section 21 eviction notices and is Section 21 abolished? – the end of no-fault eviction.

Running the tenancy

• Can a landlord refuse pets? – the section 16A process.
• Joint tenancy agreements – liability, leavers and name changes.
• The 2026 landlord compliance checklist – every duty in order.
• Rent arrears – thresholds, grounds and recovery in the right order.
• Deposit protection – the 30-day rule, prescribed information and penalties.

Lodgers

• Lodger agreement vs tenancy agreement – which one you actually need.
• The lodger agreement pack – licence wording, checklist and notes for live-in landlords.

Safety and standards

• Awaab's Law for private landlords: the new damp and mould timescales.
• Repair responsibilities: who fixes what, by law.
• Gas safety certificates and the EICR electrical rules.
• EPC requirements and the minimum energy standard.
• HMO licensing: when a shared house needs a licence.
• Right of entry: the 24-hour rule and its limits.
• Tenant referencing, Right to Rent checks and guarantors.

Money, exits and edge cases

• Deposit deductions: what you can claim and the evidence that wins.
• Selling with tenants: in-situ sales and the selling ground.
• How long eviction takes: the honest timeline.
• Subletting, abandonment and surrender by agreement.
• Tenant notice letters and why rent increase letters are dead.
• The first-time landlord guide: the whole sequence in one place.

Specialist lets and practicalities

• Student lets and the academic-year ground, company lets outside the Act, and rent-to-rent with its small print.
• The inventory, the moving-out checklist and how deposit adjudication decides.
• Smoke and CO alarm rules, landlord insurance and council tax between tenancies.
• Breaking a tenancy early: what that phrase even means now.

Running the tenancy day to day

• The moving-in checklist: day one done properly.
• Serving notices correctly: where possession cases are actually won.
• Damp and condensation: diagnosis before blame.
• End of tenancy cleaning and deposit alternatives.
• Viewings, bills-included lets and landlord tax basics.

The Act's new machinery

• The PRS database and landlord ombudsman: registration and redress.
• The Decent Homes Standard arrives in private renting.
• The rental bidding ban and the new rent in advance limits.
• Discrimination rules and the antisocial behaviour ground.
• Notice to quit in 2026 and the plain English glossary.

Free tools

• Notice period calculator: the earliest valid date for any notice, worked out from your dates.
• Deposit cap calculator: the five week limit applied to your rent, to the penny.
• Rent increase calculator: the earliest lawful start date for a Section 13 increase.

Document packs

• The complete landlord pack: all eight document packs, £49.
• Guarantor deed (£10), inventory pack (£12) and arrears letters pack (£19).