Landmark Renters’ Rights Bill receives royal assent

The bill progressed through parliament largely unchanged over the past year, but a key amendment exempting shared owners from a ban on reletting their homes was agreed in its third reading in the Lords earlier this month.

Housing secretary Steve Reed said the government is “levelling the playing field between renters and landlords”.

He said: “Our historic act marks the biggest leap forward in renters’ rights in a generation. We are finally ending the injustice overseen by previous governments that has left millions living in fear of losing their homes.”

Ministers will set out implementation plans for the reforms in the coming weeks, while the new powers for local authority housing officers to investigate whether landlords have broken the law will commence on 27 December 2025. 

The government said the abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions is a “seismic shift”, and that these types of evictions had “pushed thousands into homelessness”.

Last year, Section 21 evictions reached a six-year high, and the charity Shelter cites them as a leading cause of homelessness. 

Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said today that the Renters’ Rights Act is “the victory of a lifetime for renters” and that the charity is “grateful to the government” for bringing in the landmark changes. 

She continued: “Once implemented, England’s 11 million renters will finally be unshackled from the gross injustice of no-fault evictions that have made thousands homeless. And with protections from discrimination shored up, parents and renters on low incomes will be more able to get a foot in the door.”

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said that yesterday was a “landmark day for renters across England”, but called on the government to announce an implementation date quickly.

“Our homes are the foundation of our lives, but for too long our broken renting system has left huge numbers of renters staring down the barrel of poverty and homelessness, whilst placing a huge strain on local councils,” he added.

Independent Age, a charity supporting older people in financial hardship, also welcomed the bill becoming law, noting that around a third of the rising number of older private renters are in poverty. 

Morgan Vine, the charity’s director of policy and influencing, said: “Many of the older private renters we have spoken to live in a constant state of anxiety, worried about eviction and asking their landlord for repairs. Now, we need to see swift implementation of the bill, including the end of no-fault evictions and a limit to upfront payments.”

But she added that the new legislation will not address the “quality and affordability of rented homes”, and called on the government to commit to uprating the Local Housing Allowance in the upcoming Autumn Budget.