The Importance of 1st May 2026

When the Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent, a key point of discussion was when Secondary Legislation would be implemented - June 2026 was a clear favourite, however, civil servants opted for 1st May 2026. May - one of the shortest months in the calendar. There are 31 calendar days, 5 weekends totalling 10 weekend days. Monday 4th May and Monday 25th May are bank holidays and after removing these two public holidays, that leaves 19 working days to ensure landlords comply with this new legal duty .

The government will publish the Information Sheet and the Written Statement of Terms in March 2026, and from the 1st May 2026 landlords must serve the Information Sheet on all existing tenants and guarantors by the 31st May 2026.

Sensible Steps

When the government publishes the Information Sheet and the Written Statement of Terms in March 2026 landlords must not only familiarise themselves with, the Information Sheet, but they must also populate the document with great deal of attention, avoiding mistakes, errors or omissions.

Landlords should then decide whether to serve the document electronically or in hard copy format, remembering that ALL tenants named on existing tenancies and their guarantors must receive a copy by the 31st May 2026.

Meeting the deadlines set by the government is paramount and failure to comply could result in penalties, and possibly impact the landlords ability to obtain possession, although the consequences on non-compliance are yet to be published.

Landlords can feel overwhelmed by these changes and if necessary should seek assistance of a letting agent.