Guidance

Enforcement of the new tenancy system under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

Published 13 November 2025

Applies to England

This guide is designed to help local authorities understand the new tenancy system enforcement measures in chapter 1 of part 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (the ‘act’).  

There is guidance on other enforcement measures available to local authorities in the Rogue Landlord Enforcement guide. 

There is separate guidance for landlords. 

It is the duty of every housing authority in England to enforce these new provisions in its area. County councils that are not a housing authority may enforce these provisions in their areas. There is more information about enforcement duties and procedures in the civil penalty notices guidance.  

When the measures start 

The new restrictions apply to all assured tenancies in the private rented sector from 1 May 2026. Only breaches and offences relating to these new restrictions that happen after this date can be enforced against.  

For assured tenancies of social housing where the landlord is a private registered provider, the restrictions will apply from a later date. The Renters’ Rights Act adds to and changes existing rules. This guidance does not cover all possible breaches and offences.  

You must continue to meet existing obligations that the act does not change, as well as new obligations introduced by the act and existing obligations that have been changed by the act. 

Find out more about landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities in the private rented sector. 

Who the measures apply to 

These measures apply to all landlords in England who let out properties on assured tenancies.  

Landlords can use people acting on their behalf to meet their duties, such as letting agents. 

People acting on a landlord’s behalf, or claiming to, can also be liable for breaching these measures. 

Legal representatives are exempt from the enforcement measures. 

The new measures 

Enforcement of the new measures relates to two categories of conduct: breaches and offences.   

Information about enforcement powers and the procedures for issuing financial penalties can be found in the civil penalty notices guidance. 

Breaches  

You can fine landlords, agents, or anyone acting on their behalf up to £7,000 if they do one or more of the following:  

• claim to let the property on a fixed-term tenancy instead of a rolling tenancy, for example, by adding an end date  

• claim to end a tenancy verbally  

• require a tenancy to be ended verbally  

• fail to give a tenant written notice that a specified ground might be used where this is required by law . For example, Ground 1B, sale of dwelling-house after rent to buy agreement   

• fail to give a written statement of terms containing the information required by regulations  

• fail to give existing tenants a copy of the Government published ‘information sheet’ before 1 June 2026.

• use a possession ground in a section 8 notice, ‘purported’ notice of possession or claim form when they do not reasonably believe that a possession order will be granted by the court on that ground  

• try to end the tenancy using a notice to quit or purported notice of possession 

Using a notice to quit or a ‘purported’ notice of possession 

A notice to quit is a written document, which can include texts or WhatsApp messages, and may:  

• include the heading notice to quit or say that it is a notice to quit  

• give a date the tenancy will end as a result of the tenant being given the document 

• tell the tenant they must leave the property completely by a certain date in order to end the tenancy  

A purported notice of possession is a written document, which can include texts or WhatsApp messages, and may:  

• wrongly claim to be a valid section 8 notice given before possession proceedings. For example, if it is in fact invalid because a ground or notice period is not detailed or the incorrect form has been used  

• claim to be a notice that allows possession proceedings to begin as required under section 8, but it is not valid under section 8. This still applies if no explicit reference is made to section 8 in the document 

• claim to bring a tenancy to an end or require the tenant to leave (whether or not it refers to a ground for possession) and is not a claim form or a document produced for the purpose of court proceedings 

We recognise that landlords may use documents that do not neatly meet the category of notice to quit. This is why we have also included the category of purported notice of possession to widen the scope of the documents which landlords can be penalised for using. Landlords cannot be fined twice for a single use of a document falling within both categories. 

When assessing whether a section 8 notice is valid, regard should be had to any court determination on that matter in relation to the same notice, for instance, during possession proceedings. 

Enforcement action based on invalid notices of possession should not usually be taken if it was clear that but for a simple mistake (such as a spelling error) it would otherwise be a valid section 8 notice. 

Offences 

Landlords, or those acting on their behalf, can be given a financial penalty of up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution if they are found to have done one or more of the following: 

• relet or remarketed a property within the 12 month no relet and remarketing ‘restricted period’ after using statutory grounds for possession 1 or 1A, unless they took all reasonable steps not to or an exception applies   

• knowingly used a ground for possession despite knowing that a court would not order possession on it, or being reckless about that, resulting in the tenant leaving within 4 months without an order for possession being made 

• committed a breach within 5 years of a previous offence 

• committed a breach within 5 years of receiving a financial penalty for a previous breach that has not been withdrawn 

• continued to commit a breach for more than 28 days after receiving a financial penalty for that breach that has not been withdrawn and is not the subject of an ongoing appeal. 

Information about enforcement powers and the procedures for issuing financial penalties can be found in the civil penalty notices guidance. 

Exceptions to the 12 month no relet and remarketing ‘restricted period’ 

The 12 month restricted period following use of possession grounds 1 or 1A does not apply or ends early if: 

• the landlord or a close family member (as defined in ground 1) moves in and uses the property as their only or main home 

• a licence to occupy is entered into where the licensee has agreed to buy the property or lease it for more than 21 years  

• the new lease being marketed or granted will be for more than 21 years 

• the court makes an order for possession of the property on a ground other than ground 1 or 1A  

Remarketing includes: 

• advertising that the property is or may be available to let, for example, posting an advert online  

• while conducting lettings agency work, telling someone that the property is or may be available to let 

Businesses that host property adverts provided by other people and do not do any lettings agency work themselves will not commit breaches or offences related to remarketing, even if an advert on their website breaks the restricted period rule. 

Enforcement 

Local housing authorities are under a duty to enforce the landlord legislation in their area. Local housing authorities fulfil that duty by acting in accordance with their enforcement policies, which must be developed taking into account this guidance.

A local housing authority may become aware of a suspected case of non-compliance in a number of ways. For example, as a result of complaints from an existing or prospective tenant, inspections it has undertaken, or other intelligence.   

If a local housing authority suspects non-compliance, it must consider what proactive steps may be reasonably necessary to establish that a breach or offence has occurred. Once the non-compliance has been established, it is for the local housing authority to determine, in line with their policy, what steps to take in the first instance to address the breach or offence.

There is no expectation that local housing authorities take informal steps to address the breach or offence. For example, by issuing warning letters, prior to taking formal action. Formal action includes issuing a statutory notice, such as an improvement notice, issuing a civil penalty notice or commencing prosecution proceedings.  

In determining what steps to take to address the breach or offence, local housing authorities should take account of the need for effective deterrence and punishment and what is in the best interests of tenants. Local housing authorities need to promptly follow up any actions to determine whether the non-compliance has ceased.  

Where any steps to end the non-compliance have failed to do so and the local housing authority is satisfied that the necessary evidential threshold is reached and proceeding is in the public interest, it must issue a civil penalty notice or start prosecution proceedings.

Where it is not possible to remove the non-compliance because, for example, tenants have already been illegally evicted from their home, the local housing authority must issue a civil penalty notice or start prosecution proceedings if it is satisfied that the necessary evidential threshold has been reached and proceeding is in the public interest. 

You must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that a landlord or person acting on their behalf has committed a breach or offence before taking action against them.  

When this is the case, you need to give the landlord notice that you will be issuing a fine. The landlord then has 28 days from the day after the notice is issued to make written representations. After this, you must decide whether to issue a ‘final notice’ requiring the fine to be paid or not.

Investigating a breach 

When investigating a landlord, letting agent, or anyone acting on their behalf, you should consider asking the tenant, or the person making the complaint for: 

• any records or evidence such as text messages, voicemails, or emails  

• a statement  

• anything else that may be relevant to the complaint 

You can use this evidence to inform further investigation of the landlord or agent. 

More information about investigatory powers and how to use them can be found in the investigatory powers guidance. 

Issuing fines  

You can issue fines to landlords, agents, or anyone acting on the landlord’s behalf except, in most cases, their legal representatives. The category of legal representatives exempt from liability is set out in the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025) and any regulations made under section 16M(1) of that act. 

More information about enforcement powers and the procedures for issuing financial penalties can be found in the civil penalty notices guidance. 

Appeals 

Landlords, agents, or those acting on their behalf, can appeal the final notice to the First-tier Tribunal against either: 

• the decision to issue the fine 

• the amount of the fine 

They must appeal within 28 days from the day the final notice is issued 

More information about appeals is available in the civil penalty notices guidance.

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