Changes for tenants and landlords since 1 May 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act has come into force on 1 May 2026. New rules around renting will give more protections to tenants, while landlords who need to evict tenants causing anti-social behaviour will be able to do so more quickly.
Tenants
You will have more rights, for example:
- You can’t be evicted without a good reason (and your landlord cannot intimidate or harass you into giving up your tenancy)
- There are new rules about how much and how often your landlord can put up your rent
- Rental bidding and large deposits will be banned
- You can’t be refused a property because you’re on benefits or have children
The housing charity Shelter has really good information about these changes. Find out more on the Renters' Rights Act: changes for private tenants page on the Shelter website.
A useful summary document is also available on the The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 page on the GOV.UK website.
If you are a tenant, we can help by investigating reports of poor standards in rented properties and breaches of the new tenancy rights. We can get involved when your landlord has broken the rules, or the standard of the property is so poor that we might prosecute or fine them.
(It’s important to understand that this is different from reporting a repair or making a complaint to your landlord - you should still do that direct or through the letting agent. You can report repairs to us in some situations, if you have already tried to report the repair directly. For more information on this, go to our report a repair issue page.)
Report a concern about your landlord or property
If you believe your landlord has broken the new rules, you are now able to report this to us since 1 May 2026.
To make a report, you'll need:
- landlord details (including your landlord's telephone number)
- tenancy details (including tenancy start date and rent paid)
If you're having repair issues you can report this on our report a repair issue page.
Landlords
Good landlords have nothing to fear from the new legislation – it’s designed to give tenants more security but it does not prevent landlords from taking action on certain grounds, such as anti-social behaviour. It will, for example, protect tenants from:
- eviction because they have asked for reasonable repairs
- frequent rent rises
- discrimination because they are on benefits or have children
It puts more of an emphasis on the landlord as a service provider, and the tenant as a service user. Some of the new rules protect good landlords, for example reducing the amount of time before a landlord can take action against a tenant who is causing anti-social behaviour. The Renting is changing page on the GOV.UK Housing Hub website has a lot of information about the changes and what they mean for landlords.
You will have new responsibilities, and one of these is to give existing tenants a Government information sheet – you can read more about this and download a copy of the information sheet on the Renting is changing page on the GOV.UK Housing Hub website.
If you use a letting agent, you can also talk to them – any reputable agent should have all the details and help you understand what it means for you. If you are having problems with a tenant, you should normally contact your letting agent first. However, we can help by investigating reports of anti-social behaviour. We can advise on how to record incidents and, in serious cases, may take action ourselves. You will still need to manage the process but we may be able to support you with it.
If you don’t have a letting agent or want advice from the council, please email housingstandards@west-norfolk.gov.uk.