The Renters’ Rights Act has reshaped the rules of the private rented sector — and there is a hard transitional deadline that catches every existing landlord. Miss it, and you face a potential £7,000 fine and a structural block on your ability to recover possession of your own property.
Why this matters
On 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 fundamentally changed the way private tenancies work in England. Section 21 ‘no-fault’ notices have gone. Fixed-term ASTs have been replaced by open-ended periodic assured tenancies. Tenants now have the right to give two months’ notice and leave at any time, even mid-fixed-term, and the rent increase process has been overhauled with a single statutory Section 13 route, tribunal challenge rights, and a once-a-year cap.
All of that is well publicised. What is getting far less attention and what is now at risk of catching landlords out is the transitional obligation on existing tenancies. Government has set a single, common deadline for all existing landlords to bring their paperwork into line: 31 May 2026.
What you must do: serve the Tenant Information Sheet
If your tenancy was a written assured short hold tenancy on 1 May 2026, it has automatically converted to a periodic assured tenancy under the new regime. Government requires you to send every tenant named on the agreement a prescribed Tenant Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
This is a specific government-published document (available from gov.uk) — not a letter you draft yourself, and not the old How to Rent guide. It explains in plain English how the tenancy now operates, the new rent increase process, the grounds on which a landlord can seek possession, the tenant’s right to end the tenancy at any time on two months’ notice, and the new right to request to keep a pet.
Acceptable methods of service:
• Printed copy delivered by hand to the tenant at the property (keep a signed acknowledgement)
• Printed copy sent by first-class post — ideally Royal Mail Signed For so you have proof of delivery
• PDF emailed (or texted) to the tenant — keep the sent message and any read receipt
If you have a verbal tenancy: a different document is required
Where a tenancy was based entirely on a verbal agreement made before 1 May 2026, the prescribed Tenant Information Sheet alone is not enough.
You must additionally provide a Written Statement of Terms setting out the key terms of the tenancy — the parties, the property, the rent, payment dates, deposit (if any), the start date, and the basic rights and obligations of each side. This must also be served by 31 May 2026.
Student HMOs: an extra step to preserve Ground 4a
Student landlords who want to be able to recover possession at the end of the academic year using Ground 4a need to take a specific additional step on existing tenancies. By 31 May 2026 you must issue a written statement to your tenants confirming that the property has been let to students, that the tenants met the student test, and that you intend to re-let to a new group of students at the next changeover. Without that statement, Ground 4a will not be available to you on this tenancy and you will lose your ability to align possession with the academic calendar.
What happens if you miss the deadline
In plain English: if you miss this deadline and later need to take your property back for any reason you cannot begin that process until you have first served the prescribed information. That can delay recovery by months at exactly the moment you can least afford it.
Three other things every landlord should know
1. Existing fixed terms no longer bind the tenant. Even where a tenant signed a 12-month fixed term before 1 May 2026, they can now give two months’ notice and leave at any point during it. There is nothing landlords or agents can do to override this.
2. Rent paid in advance may need refunding. If a tenant paid rent up front under the old AST regime and then chooses to leave early under the new rules, you must refund any rent covering the period after they vacate. Plan cash flow accordingly.
3. Rent increases are now once a year only. The previous practice of rent review clauses inside the tenancy agreement is gone. Increases must be made by a Section 13 statutory notice giving at least two months’ notice, no more than once in any 12-month period, and tenants have a right to challenge any increase they consider above market at the First-tier Tribunal.
How Horizon Lets can help
Horizon Lets have prepared for the Renters’ Rights Act since the Bill stage and have issued the prescribed transitional documents to every tenant in the properties we manage several weeks ago.
For landlords on our fully managed service, compliance with 31 May 2026 is already taken care of.
If you are a self-managing landlord in Sheffield, or you are with another agent and aren’t certain whether the work has been done, we are happy to help. We can audit your portfolio, prepare and serve the correct prescribed documents, and provide you with the audit trail you’ll need if a tenant ever challenges a future possession notice.
Related Articles
- Should I Let My Tenant Decorate?
- The Importance Of Building A Good Relationship With Your Tenants
- What Landlords Should Know About ‘White Goods’
- Starting your Property Portfolio
- Landlord’s Guide to Letting Property
