{"id":929390,"date":"2026-04-30T22:18:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/929390\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T22:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:18:22","slug":"new-era-for-private-renters-as-stronger-rights-and-protections-come-into-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/929390\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018New era\u2019 for private renters as stronger rights and protections come into force"},"content":{"rendered":"

Housing Secretary Steve Reed visited Shelter\u2019s regional hub in Bristol on Thursday to mark the occasion<\/p>\n

Vicky Shaw, Press Association Personal Finance Correspondent<\/strong><\/p>\n

22:30, 30 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Marking the Renters\u2019 Rights Act, the Housing Secretary Steve Reed has met with key campaigner Shelter and its CEO Sarah Elliott at the charity\u2019s regional hub in Bristol on Thursday, April 30(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach Plc)<\/p>\n

Eleven million private tenants in England have stronger rights and protections from tomorrow (Friday), helping to transform their experiences in the sector.<\/p>\n

The Renters\u2019 Rights Act signals the end of Section 21 \u201cno fault\u201d evictions, meaning private landlords will not be able to evict tenants without a valid justification. Landlords must also reasonably consider renters\u2019 requests to live with a pet.<\/p>\n

To mark the Act coming into force, the Housing Secretary Steve Reed visited campaigner Shelter and its CEO Sarah Elliott at the charity\u2019s regional hub in Bristol on Thursday (April 30)<\/p>\n

Rather than fixed contracts, tenancies in the private rented sector will also roll on from month to month or week to week, giving renters more flexibility. Tenants can end them with two months\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n

There are also fairer rent rules, with landlords only able to raise rents once a year and tenants able to challenge unfair hikes.<\/p>\n

Potential bidding wars should be avoided as landlords must stick to no more than the advertised rent price.<\/p>\n

Landlords can now only ask for up to one month\u2019s rent upfront and they cannot refuse tenants because they receive benefits or have children.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: \u201cFor too long, families have lived with the constant fear of eviction, while young people have been outbid for the homes they need to start their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we are putting that right. We promised to fix a broken rental system and we\u2019re delivering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis historic action will make renting fairer, safer and more secure for millions, so people can settle, put down roots and build their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Housing Secretary Steve Reed(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach Plc)<\/p>\n

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: \u201cRenters have been living at the mercy of rogue landlords and in fear of losing their home for too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are putting a stop to this with historic changes that give renters the security they deserve \u2013 marking the beginning of a new era for private renters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new rules have heftier penalties of up to \u00a340,000 if they are broken.<\/p>\n

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey said: \u201cToday marks a new era for private renters across England. This new law is a vital step towards re-balancing power between renters and landlords and should be celebrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur homes are the foundations of our lives, but for decades Section 21 evictions forced renters to live in fear of being turfed out of our homes, preventing us from raising valid concerns with our landlords. At last, this outdated and unfair law has been sent packing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this law is to reach into people\u2019s homes and improve their lives, it\u2019s vital councils across the country are using all their powers to make sure landlords stick to the new rules. Meanwhile I encourage every renter to take the time to understand their new rights and how to enforce them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clara Collingwood, director at the Renters\u2019 Reform Coalition, said: \u201cAs well as abolishing Section 21, the Renters\u2019 Rights Act will make it easier for tenants to have pets in their home, limit rent upfront to one month, end exploitative practices like bidding wars, and make it easier to hold landlords to account over repairs. These are the biggest changes to private renting in a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said: \u201dAt last, private renters can feel safe and secure in their homes without the threat of an unnecessary eviction forcing them into homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Private landlord repossession claims using the Section 21 process that are going through the courts will still be able to proceed.<\/p>\n

Dogs Trust pet friendly housing lead Jennifer Leonard said: \u201cAcross the UK, one in seven requests we receive from people wishing to hand over care of their dog is due to a housing-related issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we hope that fewer renters will face the heart-breaking choice between finding a safe place to live and keeping their beloved pet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said the Act \u201cwill bring in other positive changes, including limiting ludicrous upfront costs for rent in advance and banning discriminatory \u2018no child\u2019 and \u2018no benefits\u2019 policies\u201d.<\/p>\n

The housing charity said it estimated that more than 2,000 households a month \u201cwill now be protected from the threat of homelessness directly caused by no fault evictions\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Shelter CEO Sarah Elliott (Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach Plc)<\/p>\n

Government data published on Thursday showed that 4,960 households in England at the end of December were assessed by their local authority as needing help to prevent them becoming homelessness after being served a section 21 notice.<\/p>\n

Amira Campbell, National Union of Students president, said: \u201cI hope the momentum to give renters our rights only continues. Students are an important part of any university town or city and we need a warm, decent place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

A survey of more than 1,000 renters in March for Rightmove found nearly three-quarters (73%) were aware that rental laws were set to change, but more than a third (37%) were not confident they fully understood their rights.<\/p>\n

The research indicated uncertainty was particularly pronounced among renters aged 18 to 34.<\/p>\n

More than a third (35%) of renters in this age group said they were not confident in their understanding of their rights, while some described their experience of renting as uncertain (38%) or stressful (31%).<\/p>\n

The research was taken from Rightmove\u2019s consumer research panel of over 18,000 home movers.<\/p>\n

Rightmove said the average rental home receives eight inquiries, down from 11 a year ago and 29 at the peak of competition in 2022, indicating an easing in tenant competition.<\/p>\n

Societal changes also mean many people are renting into later life.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Johnson, group sales and marketing director at McCarthy & Stone, said: \u201cRenting has long been seen as something temporary \u2013 or something that\u2019s not right for later life \u2013 but that perception is starting to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joanna Elson, chief executive at Independent Age, said: \u201cMany of the tenants in later life that we speak to say that, until now, they lived in a constant state of anxiety, worried about being evicted for no reason and the consequences of asking their landlord for repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the job of making renting safe, secure and affordable for everyone is not yet done, today we are a significant step closer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Housing Secretary Steve Reed visited Shelter\u2019s regional hub in Bristol on Thursday to mark the occasion Vicky Shaw,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,393,4884,6332,6334,807,528,285,16,3106,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-929390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-homelessness","13":"tag-housing-crisis","14":"tag-keir-starmer","15":"tag-labour-party","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-uk-politics","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116495981831268177","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}