New Rules - Section 8 Grounds 1 and 1A
The reliance on these 2 Mandatory Grounds under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 have raised significant questions throughout the private rented sector.
Comments published by the national press, trade press and those who do not understand the intricacies and detail are far from helpful.
Landlords must obtain legal advice before going down this route, ensuring the time-frames are adhered to and the restrictions are not breached.
The government has published further guidance on the rules that will govern the service of Section 8 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
The Importance of 1st May 2026
When the Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent, the 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. Whilst it is too late to change anything now, May is one of the shortest months in the calendar.
The Renters’ Rights Act has put in place some significant time frames for landlords and letting agents when Time will be of the Essence. The government will publish the Information Sheet and the Written Statement of Terms in March 2026 which landlords must not only familiarise themselves with, but also adhere to some strict time frames. From the 1st May 2026 landlords must serve the Information Sheet on all existing tenants and guarantors. The deadline to ensure they have complied is 31st May 2026, however, May is a very short month. There are 31 calendar days, 5 weekends totalling 10 weekend days.
A Request for Landlords
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is preparing to launch the second pilot of the new Private Rented Sector (PRS) database and is seeking support to recruit landlords to test the system during its private beta phase.
The PRS Database team would be grateful if landlords would take part as their participation will help test how the database performs in practice and provide valuable feedback on what works well and where improvements may be needed.
Government Response to the Decent Homes Standard
The Government’s response to the consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard signals a clear intention to raise the minimum quality of rented homes across England and, for the first time, to apply the same basic standard to both social housing and the private rented sector.
In straightforward terms, the Government is saying that every rented home should be safe, warm, in good repair, and free from serious hazards such as damp and mould, regardless of who the landlord is.
What is changing?
Until now, the Decent Homes Standard has only applied to social housing. The Government has confirmed that it will be extended to the private rented sector as part of wider housing reform.
This means private landlords will be expected to meet a defined quality benchmark that has previously only applied to councils and housing associations.