The Renters’ Rights Act and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home
Guidance to support shared owners who are subletting to follow the laws introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. This guidance is non-statutory.
Applies to England
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home
This guidance sets out what the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 means for shared owners who are subletting.
For general guidance about subletting by shared owners, see renting out all or part of your home (subletting).
Changes to renting rules from 1 May 2026
If you sublet your shared ownership home, you are a landlord to your tenant and you must follow private renting rules. From 1 May 2026, this includes the tenancy reforms being introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. See:
- Renting is changing for an overview of the new renting rules
- Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents for detailed guidance
From 1 May 2026:
- you will not be able to serve a section 21 (‘no fault’) notice to evict your tenant
- fixed-term tenancies will be banned for most private tenancies (tenancies will become ‘rolling’ tenancies)
This is true even if you have a subletting permission from your landlord that says you must use an assured shorthold tenancy or section 21.
For information about the effect of the new laws on tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, see the tenancy agreements overview. Your provider will contact you if your subletting permission needs to change.
You may need to give a Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 to your tenants.
If you need your tenant to leave
For information on issuing a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, see Giving notice to evict tenants.
After 1 May 2026, landlords must comply with the new rules introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act, including using the correct notice and notice period.
For example, you can issue a section 8 notice if you are moving back in or selling your home (possession grounds 1 and 1A). If you use these grounds:
- you must give at least 4 months’ notice to your tenant
- you cannot ask the tenant to leave any earlier than 12 months from the tenancy’s start date. You can serve the notice of possession earlier, but the date in the notice must be after they have been in the property for 12 months. This applies even if the tenancy started before 1 May 2026.
For guidance on the grounds for possession that can be used and the notice periods that must be followed, see:
- Repossessing your privately rented property on or after 1 May 2026
- Grounds for possession
- Giving notice to evict tenants
- Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents - Possession hearings and orders
Permissions to sublet
Your landlord should give you at least 6 months’ notice that your permission to sublet is coming to an end. This applies to:
- permissions that start on or after 1 May 2026
- existing permissions that are due to come to an end on or after 1 December 2026
If you need to go to court to recover possession, contact your landlord. It should extend your permission until the process has concluded.
If your tenant leaves and you wish to get a new tenant, you should get permission from your landlord.
12 month ‘no re-let restricted period’: exemption for shared owners when using the selling ground
From 1 May 2026, after using the selling ground (Ground 1A) to take possession, landlords will not normally be allowed to market their property for let or to re-let it for 12 months. Shared owners may be exempt from this rule when using the selling ground.
To be exempt, you must:
- Tell anyone in writing who you are planning to rent to, before you agree the tenancy, that you are a shared owner and that the prohibition from letting or marketing the property within the 12 month restricted period may not apply to a subsequent letting or grant of a licence of the property. To do this, you can use .
- Tell your shared ownership provider in writing before the end of the possession notice period (meaning the date specified in any notice served under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988) that you intend to sell.
- Before attempting to market your property for let or letting the property, either get a RICS valuation to sell your home or advertise your home for sale (for example, through an estate agent).
If you already have a subletting tenant before 1 May 2026, you may still be able to use the exemption. To do this, you must follow the requirement set out in point 1 above for your existing tenant(s) by 31 May 2026. You can use the . You must also follow points 2 and 3 above.
Disclaimer
This document provides non‑statutory guidance to assist in understanding the policy and relevant legal framework. It does not itself impose any legal obligations, establish new rights, or replace the need to consider the relevant legislation, case law, or other applicable requirements.
This guidance should not be treated as legal advice. Individuals and organisations are responsible for ensuring their own compliance with the law and should seek independent legal or professional advice where appropriate.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this guidance is accurate at the time of publication, the government does not accept liability for any errors, omissions, or reliance placed on the guidance. Legislative and policy requirements may change, and readers should ensure they are consulting the most up‑to‑date material.