Six weeks. That’s what stands between Southampton’s landlords and the most significant change to private renting in nearly thirty years.
The Renters’ Rights Act isn’t a tightening of existing rules. It’s a full structural overhaul of how tenancies in England work. The assured shorthold tenancy, the framework that has underpinned private renting since 1997, effectively disappears on 1 May 2026. Section 21, the notice that most landlords have relied on to recover possession without needing to prove fault, goes with it. And every existing tenancy in the country converts to a new form of agreement on the same day, automatically, whether you’ve prepared for it or not.
We’ve been talking to landlords across Southampton about this every week. Some are well prepared. Many are not. So here’s what you actually need to do before the end of April — not as legal boilerplate, but as a frank conversation from a team that manages property in this city every day.
What actually changes on 1 May and what doesn’t yet
On 1 May, every assured shorthold tenancy in England converts automatically to a new type of agreement called an assured periodic tenancy. It doesn’t matter whether your tenant is two months into a twelve-month fixed term or has been on a rolling periodic since 2019. From that date, the old framework no longer applies.
In practice, this means there are no more fixed terms. Tenancies run continuously until a tenant gives two months’ notice to leave, or until a landlord satisfies one of the legal grounds to seek possession through the courts. There’s no mechanism to end a tenancy simply because a contract period has expired.
You do not need to reissue tenancy agreements to existing tenants. Your existing contractual terms remain in force where they don’t conflict with the new legislation. What you do need to provide, by 31 May 2026, is the government’s information sheet explaining the new rules to your tenants. The final version hasn’t been published yet, but the deadline is real. When it lands, there will be a short window to distribute it. For landlords with properties under our full management, we’ll handle this the moment the document is available. If you’re self-managing, you need a process ready to go.
Miss the 31 May deadline and you’re already in breach. Most landlords don’t know this date exists yet.
The section 21 window is tighter than most people realise
You can serve a section 21 notice up to and including 30 April 2026. The notice must be received by the tenant by that date, serving it on the 30th is cutting it dangerously fine and risks invalidity if there’s any issue with delivery.
There’s another cut-off that catches people out. For any new tenancy that started on or after 1 January 2026, you cannot use section 21 at all, because the tenancy won’t have been running for the required four months before the deadline arrives.
If you do serve a valid section 21 before 1 May, you must initiate court proceedings by 31 July 2026 or the notice lapses completely. The transitional rules don’t give you an open-ended window, there’s a hard backstop date.
The more important question isn’t whether to scramble and serve a notice before the deadline. It’s whether you have any situation, a tenant relationship that has broken down, a property you’re thinking of selling, a need to move a family member in, where acting now is genuinely in your interest. If so, that’s a conversation to have with us this week, not the last week of April.
The advance rent rule that’s catching landlords off guard
From 1 May, you cannot request or require more than one month’s rent in advance. Any clause in a tenancy agreement that demands more than that, whether it’s three months upfront, six months, or any other arrangement written in as a condition, becomes void.
The nuance worth knowing: if a tenant voluntarily chooses to pay several months upfront after the tenancy is signed, that’s permissible. What you cannot do is stipulate or imply that it’s required, either before or during referencing. And you cannot accept rent in advance before the tenancy agreement has been signed, that becomes a prohibited payment.
For landlords who have historically used advance rent as security for tenants with non-standard income, international students being a common example in Southampton, this changes your referencing approach entirely. The question of how you satisfy yourself that a tenant can afford the rent, without the buffer of a large advance, is something we help landlords think through carefully.
The practical checklist for the next six weeks
None of this requires a solicitor, but it does require time. Six weeks goes faster than you’d think.
- Deposit protection – Check that every deposit is correctly registered and that the prescribed information has been served to your tenants. This matters more now than it ever has. Under the new section 8 possession process, which replaces section 21, a landlord cannot obtain a possession order if the deposit hasn’t been properly protected and the required information hasn’t been provided. If you have an older tenancy where this was handled loosely years ago, now is the time to fix it.
- Your tenancy agreements – You don’t need to reissue them, but you do need to understand what’s in them. Any clause that contradicts the new legislation, advance rent demands, rent review mechanisms that don’t comply with the new process, fixed-term expiry language, will become unenforceable from 1 May. That doesn’t invalidate the rest of the agreement, but you should understand where the gaps are.
- Rent increases – From 1 May, you can only raise rent once in any twelve-month period and must do so using a prescribed form, Form 4a, with at least two months’ notice. Rent review clauses in existing agreements that were due to operate after 1 May are not valid under the new rules. Any increase you want to implement needs to follow the new statutory process, not whatever your current agreement says.
- Properties where possession might be needed – Think through every tenancy in your portfolio. Is there anything you might want to sell in the next couple of years? Any tenancy that’s become strained? Any arrangement you’re not confident about going forward? These are conversations to have before 1 May, not after.
What possession looks like after 1 May
Section 21 is gone. What replaces it is an expanded set of section 8 grounds, but they work differently, and the timelines are longer.
If you need to sell your property, Ground 1A applies. If you or a close family member need to move in, Ground 1 applies. But neither of these grounds can be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy. If you take on a new tenant in June and decide you want to sell in October, you cannot use Ground 1A to recover the property. The twelve-month protected period is a genuine constraint that changes how you need to think about new lettings from here.
Notice periods under the new section 8 regime are longer, in most cases four months. And the court process for enforcing possession, if a tenant doesn’t leave after notice, remains slow. These are the practical realities that sit behind the removal of section 21, and they make getting the right tenant in at the start, and managing the relationship well throughout, more important than it has ever been.
What to do right now
The landlords navigating this transition most confidently aren’t those who beat every deadline by a whisker. They’re the ones who know what’s in their tenancy agreements, have their deposit protection in order, have good relationships with their tenants, and have a clear process for maintenance and rent reviews.
The legislation, for all its complexity, is pointing towards a more professional private rented sector. That’s a challenge for some landlords and a genuine competitive advantage for those who were already operating to a high standard.
If you want to understand exactly what the Renters’ Rights Act means for your properties , which of your tenancies need attention, what your obligations are from 1 May, and whether professional management would take this off your plate, we’re happy to talk it through.
Speak to the Hunters Southampton Property Management team on 02380 987720.
We’re walking every landlord we work with through these changes right now. If you manage your own properties and want a straight conversation about what you need to do before 1 May, call us, email us, or come into the office. No obligation, just practical advice from people who know this market.
Hunters Southampton | huntersproperty.co.uk | 023 8000 1234
