Correspondence

Information note for registered providers

Published 15 April 2026

Applies to England

Renters’ Rights Act 2025: Information for Providers of Shared Ownership

Introduction

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“the RRA”) introduces changes that affect Shared Ownership. A roadmap for implementing the RRA was published in November 2025, together with guidance for landlords. This document sets out the main areas of interaction with Shared Ownership and is intended to support Shared Ownership providers.

Providers take a range of approaches to Shared Ownership, and this document does not attempt to address all circumstances, nor does it constitute legal advice. You may need to review your own policies and processes in light of the RRA and seek legal advice where needed.

Exiting the assured regime

From 27 December 2025, leases with a fixed period of more than 21 years were excluded from the assured tenancy system. This means that Shared Ownership leases – both new and existing – are no longer part of the assured regime. Instead, these leases are governed by the terms of the lease and by relevant leasehold and wider landlord and tenant legislation.

Removing Shared Ownership from the assured regime will facilitate its functioning as a home ownership product following the introduction of the RRA, including operating with time-bound leases. It also brings increased security of tenure for shared owners, as properties held on these leases can no longer be repossessed under Ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) for rent arrears.

The removal of Shared Ownership from the assured regime means that addressing breaches of leases cannot be done through relying on the grounds in Schedule 2 of the 1988 Act to end a lease. As had been the case before the RRA was enacted, proceedings for breach of the lease can be brought in the form of debt recovery claims (for example, where rent or service charges are owed) or claims for damages (where there has been some form of loss to the landlord due to the tenant’s actions, such as damage to the structure of the property). Injunctive relief applications can also be brought where appropriate. However, in place of possession proceedings under the 1988 Act, forfeiture of the lease can also be pursued by landlords, which is a discretionary remedy of the court in respect of breaches of the lease.

Transitional arrangements apply: if a notice seeking possession under section 8 was served before 27 December 2025, then the lease continues as an assured tenancy and the section 8 notice remains valid until either the proceedings conclude or the notice becomes time barred 12 months after the date of the notice.

Subletting

Subletting principles

The general principles that apply to subletting permissions are set out in the Capital Funding Guides. Notably, providers should always give permission where there are building safety issues (though this does not preclude the need for permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder).

The joint plan to accelerate the remediation of social housing, from August 2025, introduced further provisions around the treatment of subletting requests from shared owners. Signatories agreed that sub-letting flexibilities should continue to apply where demonstrable efforts are being made to sell the property and that social landlords will publish these policies on their website. Providers covering over 99% of affected stock have committed to following these provisions, and we encourage all to regard them as good practice.

RRA provisions that affect permissions to sublet

The RRA introduces new rules that may affect how subletting permissions operate. These come into effect from 1 May 2026, and include:

1. Abolition of Section 21 and Fixed-Term Tenancies

• From 1 May 2026, subletting tenancies will usually be converted to assured periodic tenancies, with fixed terms no longer applying and the use of section 21 possession notices no longer being permitted.
• In the absence of section 21, shared owners will therefore only be able to use the permitted grounds for possession as set out in Schedule 2 to the 1988 Act (as amended by RRA). These include “moving in” (Ground 1, where the shared owner, or a family member wishes to reoccupy their home) or “selling” (Ground 1A, where the shared owner wishes to sell their home). Additional grounds for eviction, such as anti-social behaviour, may also be used where applicable. All of these grounds would be pursued via service of a section 8 notice. The choice of possession ground(s) pursued is for the shared owner to decide in light of their circumstances.
• The moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground 1A) on which possession may be sought by serving a section 8 notice under the 1988 Act are not simply a substitute for a section 21 notice. Shared owners would have to use these grounds correctly and with a genuine intent to move in or sell, otherwise they risk enforcement action. Providers should therefore be aware that ending permission to sublet can have a significant impact on a shared owner’s life and will, in most cases, mean the shared owner has to move back into their property or attempt to sell it (unless they can staircase to 100%).

2. New minimum notice periods for requiring possession

• From 1 May 2026, the minimum notice period to require possession from assured tenants using the moving in (Ground 1) or selling grounds (Ground 1A) is 4 months. Section 8 notices under these grounds can be issued more than 4 months before the date on which the landlord is seeking possession, but landlords will need to ensure that they do not make arrangements that could be construed as setting a fixed term.
• Recovering possession based on the moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground1A) cannot be exercised within the first 12 months of a new tenancy. The section 8 notice can be issued before the end of 12 months, but possession itself cannot be required before 12 months have elapsed. This 12-month minimum period will apply to tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 unless possession is pursued (e.g. via a s21 notice) on or before 30 April 2026.

For more information on the possession notices that can be used and on the transition arrangements that apply for notices issued before 1 May 2026, see:

• Guidance for evicting tenants
• Guidance for giving notice to evict tenants
• Guidance on giving notice of possession to tenants before 1 May 2026
• Guidance on repossessing your privately rented property on or after 1 May 2026
• Guidance on enforcement of the new tenancy system

Exemption for shared owners from the 12 month no relet ‘restricted period’

The RRA stipulates that, after using the moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground 1A) to recover possession from tenants, landlords cannot re-let their properties for 12 months. However, the RRA also states that shared owners have been exempted from this rule when using the selling eviction ground (only). This is in recognition of the added complexity and particular challenges that shared owners can face when selling their homes, including potentially following a nominations process that is not fully in their control.

All of the following conditions must be met by the shared owner for the exemption to apply:

1. The shared owner must inform those wishing to rent the property, in advance of the tenancy being entered into, that they are shared owners and that the 12-month no re-let restricted period may not apply to a subsequent letting or grant of a licence of the property.

2. The shared owner must inform their provider in writing of their intention to sell before the date specified in the section 8 notice (i.e. the date by which they are asking their tenant to leave).

3. Before the exemption is employed, the shared owner must either have a RICS valuation done with a view to selling their property, or they must start proactively marketing their property (for example via an estate agent). The shared owner must also not have staircased to 100%.

Under the RRA, the Secretary of State has the power to repeal this exemption for shared owners in future by way of regulations.

Transition arrangements for the exemption from the 12 month no re-let restricted period

As shared owners with existing subletting arrangements cannot satisfy condition 1 above, transitional arrangements made under the RRA will allow them instead to inform their tenants by 31 May 2026 that they are shared owners and that the 12-month no re-let restricted period may not apply to a subsequent letting or grant of a licence of the property.

Template exemption notices have been prepared and can be found on this page of guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home.

Changes to the Capital Funding Guides

To make the RRA provisions work effectively for Shared Ownership, some changes will soon be made to the Capital Funding Guides, as indicated below. Please note that the wording below is not final, the changes will only come into effect when they have been included in those Guides, and transitional arrangements may apply.

1. Providers should proactively give shared owners at least 6 months’ notice that their subletting permission is coming to an end, and therefore that their subletting tenancy must end.

• This is needed so that the shared owner has time to consider their options and, where needed, pursue possession giving sufficient notice (4 months using the moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground 1A), for example). In the event that the shared owner requests an extension to their subletting permission at this stage, it also gives time for the provider to consider this and respond before possession is pursued.
• This will come into effect for new permissions started on or after 1 May 2026 and for any existing permissions that are due to come to an end on or after 1 December 2026.
• The 6-month minimum notice period for ending a subletting tenancy will not prevent providers from taking appropriate action during that period (such as an injunction), or from requiring the shared owner to take action (such as a section 8 notice with the appropriate grounds), in cases of antisocial behaviour or where the property is being used illegally or poses a safety risk. The 6-month minimum notice is also subject to extension, as set out in the next point.

2. Permission periods should be extended in the event that a shared owner needs to obtain a possession order

• Where the shared owner issues a section 8 notice, they must specify a date in the notice by which they require possession of the property (which cannot be less than 4 months from the date of the notice for the moving-in ground (Ground 1) and selling ground (Ground 1A)). If the tenant has not vacated the property by this date, the shared owner’s only option would be to seek a possession order from the court. Whether this is necessary, and how quickly a possession hearing takes place, is not within the control of the shared owner. In such cases, providers should always extend their subletting permissions accordingly.

3. Each new tenancy should be authorised by the provider

• Authorising each new tenancy may be needed to ensure alignment with the RRA’s 12-month minimum before possession can be recovered using the moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground 1A). It may also help ensure that the exemption for shared owners from the 12-month no re-let rule (discussed above) is not wrongly used. An exception to this is where a new tenancy has arisen by implication, after the implied surrender of a previous assured tenancy between the same parties, where the implied surrender and grant result from an agreement to vary the terms of the previous tenancy.

4. The reasons put forward as part of a subletting request can potentially be less than the permission period.

• As the RRA introduces a minimum 12-month “protected period” for new tenancies, meaning that a landlord cannot attempt to regain possession within that period on the basis of the moving in ground (Ground 1) or selling ground (Ground 1A), this may affect providers’ approach to handling requests where the justification for subletting is for less than 12 months (such as a short-term job posting). If the reason for the subletting request is less than the 12-month minimum subletting period, this does not automatically mean permission cannot be granted. Such cases would be considered by providers on a case-by-case basis.

Aligning Shared Ownership subletting processes with the RRA

Providers will wish to consider how the RRA and the above changes that are planned for the Capital Funding Guides relate to their own subletting policies and processes, seeking legal advice where needed. Shared owners should not be placed in a position where they cannot comply with the requirements of the RRA. For example, this might mean that existing subletting permissions need to be extended so that shared owners can pursue possession with a sufficient notice period.

Schedule 6 to the RRA makes provision that, where leases or legal agreements (including between providers and shared owners) contain terms that allow a tenant to only sublet under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) and that section 21 must be used to end a tenancy, those documents will have effect as if they allow tenants to sublet under an assured periodic tenancy. This may mean that such documents do not need to be reissued (unless, for example, subletting permission dates need to be revised). Providers will need to review their own documentation in light of the removal of Shared Ownership from the assured regime and seek legal advice in this regard where needed.

The Capital Funding Guides make explicit that administrative fees should not be seen as a source of profit or a means by which to cross-subsidise other areas of work. This principle applies to subletting permissions, including any changes to existing permissions that may be required to align with the RRA.

Information for shared owners

Information for shared owners about the impact of the RRA has been published. This includes template exemption notices that shared owners can use to meet one of the conditions for being exempt from the 12 month no relet restricted period. This is in addition to the general guidance about Shared Ownership subletting on GOV.UK.

We ask you to please bring this new information and the template exemption notices to the attention of your Shared Ownership customers who are currently subletting or when they are seeking permission from you to do so. In so doing, you should draw attention to:

• The 12-month no re-let rule and the conditions that must be met for this to apply. Shared owners who are subletting before 1 May 2026 should know that they have until 31 May 2026 to issue an exemption notice to their tenants.
• The campaign site for private landlords, including the full landlord guidance.
• That shared owners who are subletting must follow the new laws that apply to private landlords. Notably, shared owners with existing subtenancies need to give their tenants a government produced Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, which will explain how their tenancy might be affected by the changes to the law made by the RRA. Landlords will have until 31 May 2026 to give it to their tenants.

Where needed, you should also tell shared owners about any changes that you are making to existing subletting permissions.

Key links

• Implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025: Our roadmap for reforming the private rented sector

• Campaign site for private landlords

• Full landlord guidance

• Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords and letting agents - GOV.UK

• Renters’ Rights Act

• The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home

• GOV.UK guidance on subletting by shared owners