Labour's New Renting Rules Explained

TL;DR

Labour's 2025 Renters' Rights Act abolishes no-fault evictions, caps rent increases, and introduces rolling tenancies to improve tenant protections.

Key Points

• 1.The UK renting crisis underpins the need for reform. Private renting has doubled from ~10% in 1980 to 19% nationally, and 30.1% in London; nearly 20% of the population are overburdened by housing costs (paying 40%+ of income), the highest rate in Europe.
• 2.No-fault evictions and fixed tenancies are abolished. Section 21 notices are scrapped; periodic assured tenancies become the default rolling contract, and landlords must provide 4 months' notice with a valid reason (e.g. selling or moving a relative in) and face a 12-month ban on relisting.
• 3.Rent increases are capped and bidding wars outlawed. Landlords can only raise rent once per year to market rate with 2 months' notice; tenants can challenge unreasonable increases at tribunal; and landlords are prohibited from soliciting or accepting bids above their advertised asking price.
• 4.Tenants gain the right to keep pets and access a new landlord database. Landlords must accept pet requests unless they have a valid reason (e.g. allergies, property size); a private rented sector database will be introduced later in 2025 to verify property standards and inform landlords of their duties.
• 5.Landlords are pushing back with a spike in last-minute evictions. The renters' union Acorn reports no-fault evictions rose from 1-in-5 reports in October to 1-in-3 before the May 1st deadline; critics also warn that routing evictions through already-backlogged courts will make removing problematic tenants harder.