The biggest overhaul to the private rented sector in a generation arrived on 1 May 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is now in force across England, and for Stourbridge landlords, the time to make sure your processes reflect the new rules is right now.
Whether you own a single terraced house in Lye or a portfolio of flats across DY8 and DY9, the rules have changed for most private assured tenancies.
The latest ONS figures provide useful context for the wider Dudley rental market. Average private rents across Dudley reached £858 per month in August 2026, up 3.4% from £830 a year earlier.
That does not tell us exactly what an individual Stourbridge, Lye or Oldswinford property will achieve, but it shows that local rents have continued to rise while landlords are adapting to a substantially different regulatory framework.
Here’s your plain-English guide to what’s changed and what you need to do.
What the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 actually changes
This isn’t a minor adjustment to existing rules. The first phase has materially changed the way most private assured tenancies operate.
Let’s break down the key changes affecting Stourbridge landlords.
Section 21 is gone
Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction has been abolished for private assured tenancies.
Landlords can no longer use Section 21 simply to regain possession without relying on a statutory possession ground.
From 1 May 2026, landlords generally need to use the reformed Section 8 framework, relying on an appropriate legal ground such as serious rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, or the landlord genuinely intending to sell or move themselves or qualifying family members into the property.
Each ground has its own requirements, evidence and notice period.
If you’ve relied on Section 21 in the past, you now need to understand the updated Section 8 grounds and make sure the correct process is followed from the beginning.
Most assured shorthold tenancies have become assured periodic tenancies
Most existing assured shorthold tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026.
Most new private assured tenancies created from that date also operate on a periodic basis rather than under the traditional fixed-term AST model.
What this means in practice:
- Traditional fixed-term ASTs have largely been replaced by assured periodic tenancies.
- Tenants can generally end the tenancy by giving two months’ written notice.
- Landlords need to rely on the correct statutory possession ground and procedure if they need the property back.
Existing written tenancy agreements did not all need to be replaced immediately.
For most existing written tenancies, landlords instead had to provide the government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by the relevant deadline.
For new tenancies beginning from 1 May 2026, landlords need to provide the prescribed written tenancy information.
Rent increases: the new Section 13 process
Landlords can still increase rent, but the statutory process is now central.
For private assured tenancies, rent increases generally need to be made using the Section 13 process and the prescribed Form 4A.
In most cases, the landlord must give at least two months’ notice. Rent can generally only be increased once in a 12-month period.
Tenants can challenge a proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal if they believe it exceeds the market rent.
Old contractual rent-review clauses cannot be used to bypass the statutory procedure.
If you plan to review a Stourbridge rent, make sure the increase is supported by current comparable evidence and the correct notice process is followed.
The Landlord Ombudsman is coming, but it is not mandatory yet
The Renters’ Rights Act creates a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman, but mandatory membership did not begin on 1 May 2026.
Government’s implementation roadmap places the Ombudsman in Phase 2.
The PRS Database will begin rolling out regionally from late 2026, while mandatory Ombudsman membership for private landlords is currently expected in 2028, once the service is ready.
Landlords should therefore be aware of the forthcoming requirement and monitor government guidance, but they should not treat Ombudsman registration as an obligation that already applies in September 2026.
The one-month cap on rent in advance
The rules on rent in advance changed on 1 May 2026.
Landlords and agents cannot ask for, encourage or accept rent before a tenancy agreement has been entered into.
Once the agreement has been signed and before the tenancy begins, the landlord can generally require no more than one month’s rent in advance, or 28 days’ rent for shorter rental periods.
Once the tenancy is running, landlords cannot use contractual terms to require rent earlier than the agreed due date.
This means asking a new tenant for several months of rent upfront is no longer a lawful workaround under the new regime.
Pet requests must be fairly considered
Tenants now have a statutory right to make a written request to keep a pet.
Landlords must consider that request and cannot unreasonably refuse it.
The landlord generally has 28 days to respond and must give valid reasons if the request is refused.
There can be legitimate reasons for refusal, for example where keeping a pet would breach a superior lease and the necessary consent cannot be obtained.
But an automatic blanket ‘no pets’ approach is no longer appropriate for assured tenancies covered by the new rules.
The Decent Homes Standard is coming, but it does not apply yet
The Renters’ Rights Act provides for a modernised Decent Homes Standard to be extended to the private rented sector.
However, it is not currently in force for private landlords.
Government has placed this reform in Phase 3, and the final implementation date remains subject to consultation.
That does not mean landlords can ignore property condition.
Existing obligations concerning repair, gas and electrical safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, damp and mould, and serious hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System continue to apply.
If your property in Stourbridge, Oldswinford, Wollaston, Lye or elsewhere across DY8 and DY9 has significant repair or safety issues, those should be dealt with under the current legal framework rather than waiting for the future Decent Homes Standard.
The penalties for getting it wrong
The Renters’ Rights Act has strengthened local-authority enforcement.
From 1 May 2026, maximum civil penalties for certain offences under existing housing legislation increased from £30,000 to £40,000.
Local councils also have enhanced investigatory powers, including stronger powers to inspect, obtain documents and use relevant data when enforcing housing legislation.
However, not every administrative error automatically results in a £40,000 penalty.
The offence, circumstances, legislation and enforcement route determine what penalty can apply.
Live obligations landlords need to take seriously include following the new tenancy rules, complying with rent-in-advance and rental-bidding restrictions, providing required tenancy information and meeting existing housing, safety and licensing obligations.
Future requirements such as mandatory Ombudsman membership and the private rented sector Decent Homes Standard should not be presented as existing offences before those provisions come into force.
Why Stourbridge landlords still have opportunities
The regulatory environment has become more demanding, but the latest official data still provides useful rental-market context.
Across Dudley, average private rents reached £858 per month in August 2026, up 3.4% year-on-year.
Average rents varied significantly by property size. One-bedroom properties averaged £611 per month, two-bedroom properties £782, three-bedroom properties £942 and properties with four or more bedrooms £1,249.
By property type, average rents were £681 for flats and maisonettes, £870 for terraced homes, £913 for semi-detached homes and £1,084 for detached properties.
These are Dudley-wide figures, not specific valuations for Lye, Stourbridge town centre, Oldswinford or any individual DY8 or DY9 property.
That distinction matters.
Local rental performance depends on the individual property, purchase price, achievable rent, condition, transport, amenities, maintenance costs and management.
Lye, Stourbridge, Oldswinford, Wollaston and surrounding areas each contain different housing stock and tenant markets.
Good transport links, including services from Stourbridge Junction, schools, local amenities and employment access can all form part of a property’s appeal.
But landlords should use current comparable evidence rather than relying on unsupported postcode-wide yield assumptions.
A property-specific rental appraisal remains the best starting point.
Your Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist
Use this as your starting point:
- Review existing tenancies and make sure your management process reflects the assured periodic tenancy framework.
- Remove Section 21 from your current possession workflow for tenancies covered by the new rules.
- Familiarise yourself with the updated Section 8 possession grounds and notice periods.
- Make sure the required Renters’ Rights Act information was provided for applicable existing tenancies.
- Use the prescribed Section 13 process and Form 4A for appropriate rent increases.
- Make sure rent-in-advance arrangements comply with the one-month limit.
- Create a written process for receiving and responding to pet requests.
- Review current repair, safety, licensing and property-condition obligations.
- Prepare for the PRS Database rollout from late 2026.
- Monitor government guidance on the future Landlord Ombudsman and Decent Homes Standard.
If you manage multiple properties, consider working through the checklist property by property.
Different tenancies and properties may have different documentation, safety requirements and management issues.
How Hunters Stourbridge can help
Navigating this level of change takes time, and getting important tenancy procedures wrong can create unnecessary risk.
The team at Hunters Stourbridge works with landlords across the local area, from single-property landlords in Wordsley and Lye to portfolio investors managing homes across the wider DY postcode area.
Depending on the service you choose, professional management can help with tenancy administration, rent collection, maintenance coordination, property marketing and other day-to-day management responsibilities.
Professional management does not remove a landlord’s underlying statutory responsibilities, and legal possession questions should be handled using the correct process and appropriate professional advice where necessary.
But having an experienced local lettings team managing the day-to-day tenancy can make it easier to keep processes organised as the regulatory environment changes.
If you want a fresh rental appraisal, Hunters Stourbridge can also assess your individual property using current local comparable evidence rather than relying on broad postcode yield claims.
Ready to review your Stourbridge rental property?
The Renters’ Rights Act does not mean landlords need to leave the market.
It does mean landlords need to understand the rules that already apply and distinguish them clearly from reforms that are still to come.
Section 21 is gone. Most assured tenancies are now periodic. Rent increases have a prescribed statutory process. Rent-in-advance rules have changed. Pet requests need to be considered properly.
Meanwhile, the PRS Database, Landlord Ombudsman and Decent Homes Standard are being introduced through later phases.
Whether you own one property near Stourbridge town centre or a portfolio across DY8 and DY9, now is a sensible time to review your tenancy documentation, property-management processes and current rental position.
Book a free rental appraisal with Hunters Stourbridge today and get a current, property-specific view of what your home could achieve.
Get in touch with the Hunters Stourbridge lettings team directly to talk through your property, management options or the practical impact of the Renters’ Rights Act.
Here to get you there.
