The Renters' Rights Act received Royal Assent in October 2025, and its most significant provisions came into force on 1 May 2026. For landlords across the private rented sector, this is the biggest change to tenancy law in decades. For HMO landlords specifically, the impact touches almost every part of day to day management, from how a tenancy begins to how it ends.
This article sets out the main changes that affect HMO landlords and what they mean in practice.
The end of Section 21
Section 21 notices, often called no fault evictions, have been abolished. Landlords can no longer end a tenancy simply by giving notice. Every possession now requires a Section 8 notice citing a specific legal ground, followed by a court order if the tenant does not leave voluntarily.
For HMO landlords, this changes how turnover is managed. Grounds still exist for legitimate situations: rent arrears, anti social behaviour, property damage, or the landlord's intention to sell or move in. What has gone is the ability to end a tenancy without giving a reason.
Periodic tenancies from day one
Fixed term assured shorthold tenancies no longer exist in their previous form. All new tenancies from 1 May 2026 are assured periodic tenancies, and existing fixed term tenancies are now treated as periodic. In practice, this means a tenant can give two months' notice to leave at any point, regardless of how long they have lived in the property.
This has particular implications for HMOs with a high proportion of tenants who move for work or study, where predictable turnover has traditionally supported planning around maintenance and marketing.
Rent increases
Rent can no longer be increased through a contractual review clause. Any such clause became void from 1 May 2026. The Section 13 process is now the only lawful route, and it comes with tighter rules than before: at least two months' notice, no more than one increase in any 12 month period, and no increase at all within the first 12 months of a tenancy.
Tenants can refer a proposed increase to the First tier Tribunal. Under the new rules this carries less risk for landlords than it once did: the Tribunal can confirm the landlord's proposed figure or reduce it, but it can no longer set a higher rent than the landlord asked for. A well evidenced notice, priced to market rent from the outset, is the best protection against a successful challenge.
For landlords managing multiple rooms within a single HMO, this means each rent review needs to follow the correct notice period and format, room by room, with the 12 month clock tracked separately for each tenancy.
Pets and discrimination
Tenants now have a statutory right to request a pet. The request must be made in writing and describe the pet, and the landlord must give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days, which can be extended if further information is reasonably needed or if a superior landlord's consent must be sought. Failing to respond within that window does not hand the tenant automatic permission. It puts the landlord in breach of the implied term the Act creates, and a tenant can apply to court, which can order the landlord to give consent. Responding on time, in writing, every time, is the simplest way to avoid that situation entirely.
Landlords cannot refuse as a blanket policy. Reasonable grounds for refusal include a superior lease or freeholder restriction, or a property genuinely unsuitable for the animal in question. Landlords also cannot require or charge for pet damage insurance as a condition of granting consent, and cannot increase the rent simply because a tenant has a pet.
The Act also reinforces existing protections against discrimination, including restrictions on rental income or benefit status being used as a blanket reason to refuse an applicant.
What this means for HMO licensing
The changes introduced by the Act sit alongside, not instead of, existing HMO licensing requirements. A landlord who must hold an HMO licence still needs one, and the obligations under the Act do not reduce or replace that separate regime.
Preparing for what comes next
Many of the practical requirements introduced this year, from removing fixed term clauses in tenancy agreements to issuing the correct information to tenants, are already in effect. Further phases of the Act, including a national database for landlords and a dedicated ombudsman service, are expected to follow. Landlords who keep their compliance documentation and tenancy paperwork in good order now will be better placed for what comes next.
The Renters' Rights Act represents a significant shift in how HMOs are run, but it does not make professional, well run HMOs less viable. If anything, it raises the bar for what good management looks like, and rewards landlords who already operate with strong compliance and clear processes in place.