One month to go: Landlord FAQs on the Renters’ Rights Act 🙋♂️🙋♀️✅
#CAVENDISHEXPERTS! The logical choice for Lettings, Sales and Property Management in Nottingham | Cavendish Residential | One Fletcher Gate NG1 1QS | 0115 941 0656 | www.cavendishproperty.co.uk
📸 LEAD IMAGE: Scott Sneath, Director of Finance and Operations at Cavendish Residential
With the Renters’ Rights Act going live on 1 May 2026, landlords are moving into the final preparation phase.
This guide is based on the practical implementation points raised in a recent Rightmove webinar, where David Smith, one of the UK’s best-known property lawyers, and Susie Crolla, Managing Director of the Guild of Letting & Management, talked through what agents and landlords need to do before enforcement begins.
Rightmove positioned the session as a practical “final countdown” webinar covering checklists, process changes, communications, tenancy documentation, rent increases and the live Q&A issues that the sector is still grappling with.
The key message from the session was simple: this is not the moment to wait and see. It is the moment to make sure your processes, paperwork, notices, service methods and communication are all fit for the new system.
Having listened to the webinar in detail, we have created a list of Landlord FAQs: ✅
Q. When do the main changes come into force?
A. The key tenancy reform changes go live on 1 May 2026.
Q. What are the main practical changes landlords should care about most?
A. The webinar materials repeatedly come back to the same core themes:
Section 21 goes
Fixed terms go
Existing ASTs convert automatically
New tenancies need compliant written terms
Rent increases move into the updated Section 13 process
Rent in advance is heavily restricted
Advertising rules tighten
Landlords and agents need to become more confident with Section 8 grounds
Q. What happens to existing ASTs on 1 May 2026?
A. They automatically become assured periodic tenancies on 1 May.
Q. Does that mean my Tenant can simply move out whenever they want?
A. No, it means that your Tenant could submit a 2-month notice to expire at the end of a Tenancy Period. For example, if a Tenant has a Fixed Term expiring on 25th September 2026, on 1st May this would fall away when the Tenancy becomes periodic. On the 15th May, the Tenant could submit their 2-month notice to vacate (i.e. 15th July), but the notice must run in line with the tenancy period and would therefore the Tenant could lawfully move out on 25th July.
Q. Do landlords need to reissue every tenancy agreement on 1 May?
A. No.
Q. What is the Information Sheet?
A. The Information Sheet is for existing tenants whose AST becomes periodic on 1 May. Rightmove describes it as a transparency document that explains how an existing tenancy is affected by the Renters’ Rights Act.
Q. Has the Information Sheet been published by the government?
A. Yes, you can view it here.
Q. Who needs the Information Sheet?
A. Existing tenants whose tenancy crosses into the new regime. David Smith’s explanation was that this includes tenants with a tenancy already granted before 1 May, even if they have not yet moved in.
Q. By when does it need to be served?
A. By 31 May 2026.
Q. Can landlords serve it before 1 May?
A. Yes. David Smith expressly said you can serve it as soon as the government publishes it and there is no need to wait for 1 May itself.
Q. Do tenants need to sign the Information Sheet?
A. No. David Smith’s answer was clear: no signature is required. He also said there is no obligation to serve it on guarantors.
Q. What matters more: the tenancy start date, or when the agreement is signed?
A. David Smith said this was one of the most misunderstood points in the webinar. His answer was that the crucial question is when the tenancy is entered into, meaning when it is signed and completed, not the actual tenancy's start date.
Q. If the agreement is signed before 1 May 2026 but the tenancy starts afterwards, what do I use?
A. If the tenancy is signed and completed before 1 May, it should be treated as an AST and the tenant should receive the Information Sheet, even if occupation starts later.
Q. If the agreement is signed on or after 1 May 2026, what do I use?
A. Then it needs to be the new-style compliant tenancy agreement, not an AST, and you do not use the Information Sheet for that new tenancy because the relevant written information should already be built into the new agreement.
Rent increases and Section 13
Q. Can landlords still increase rent after 1 May 2026?
A. Yes. Rightmove’s handout says you can still increase rent after 1 May using a Section 13 notice, as long as the increase is reasonable.
Q. What form should landlords be using?
A. Form 4A. The handout says landlords and agents need to get familiar with the new Form 4A and prepare a standard cover letter to go with it.
Q. What practical risks did the webinar highlight on rent increases?
A. Timing and service. Susie Crolla’s practical point was that landlords and agents need clear processes, because notice periods and service methods matter and small errors can invalidate the notice. The slides also flag issues like wrong form, spelling mistakes, missing signature and short notice.
Q. What about rent increases agreed before 1 May but taking effect after 1 May?
A. These remain valid.
Rent in advance
Q. What changes on rent in advance from 1 May 2026?
A. The webinar materials identify this as one of the biggest question areas. The key rules in the Rightmove handout are:
Landlords cannot require more than one month’s rent upfront
Landlords cannot take rent before the tenancy agreement is signed
Where a tenant chooses to pay in advance, the money should be held and released monthly
Holding deposits remain allowed
Landlords and agents may want a declaration confirming the tenant was not pressured into paying early.
Possession and Section 8 grounds
Q. What replaces Section 21?
A. Section 8 possession based on a specific ground. The webinar materials say repossession must be done through a Section 8 notice using either a mandatory or discretionary ground.
Q. Which grounds did Rightmove say are likely to be used most often?
A. The handout identifies:
Ground 1 – landlord selling or moving in
Ground 8 – severe arrears, 3+ months
Ground 10 – 4+ weeks arrears
Ground 11 – persistent late payment
Ground 12 – breach of contract
Ground 14 – nuisance or anti-social behaviour.
Q. What is the practical warning here?
A. The message from the materials is that landlords and agents need to get genuinely comfortable with the Section 8 grounds on a “need-to-know” basis. The system now depends on selecting the right ground, serving it properly, and backing it with evidence.
Q. How slow is possession currently?
A. Rightmove’s materials say possession delays have risen to an average of 27 weeks, and they emphasise that this makes getting the right ground, paperwork and evidence in place even more important.
Q. What did David Smith say about casual use of possession notices?
A. His broader message in the webinar was that people need to take this seriously. The risk is not just delay but serving the wrong notice, relying on the wrong facts, or creating unnecessary challenge.
Ground 1 and re-letting risk
Q. Can landlords still regain possession if they want to sell or move in?
A. Yes. Rightmove’s materials make clear Ground 1 remains one of the main grounds expected to be used.
Q. Is Ground 1 straightforward?
A. The webinar materials strongly imply that it is not something to use casually. Once these grounds are engaged, landlords need to think carefully about the downstream consequences, including restrictions linked to re-letting and marketing if the ground is used improperly. David Smith’s overall approach in the webinar was that possession grounds are now more consequential and need more discipline than the old Section 21 model allowed.
Advertising and marketing rule changes
Q. What changes in property advertising?
A. The Rightmove materials say:
All adverts must show a specific rent amount
Bidding is allowed only up to the advertised rent, not above it
You cannot advertise multiple price points for one property
The rules apply wherever the advert could lead to an assured tenancy
Rent does not need to appear on a “To Let” board.
Q. Why does this matter to landlords?
A. Because the webinar framed this as an operational issue, not just a marketing one. Pricing, advert wording and internal consistency all need reviewing now.
Q. Can I download the webinar PDFs directly from Rightmove?
A. Yes, there are two PDFs that you can access here:
Final landlord takeaway
If there was one overall message from the Rightmove webinar, it was this: do not drift into 1 May.
David Smith’s focus was on legal discipline: use the right tenancy agreement, stop thinking in old AST/Section 21 terms, and take service, notice periods and grounds seriously.
Our message to our Landlords
For our Fully Managed customers, this FAQ blog is for information only. We are already taking care of the changes required under the Renters’ Rights Act to keep your tenancies completely up to date.
If you have any questions, please contact Scott and he will be able to guide you further (scott.sneath@cavendishproperty.co.uk) 📧
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