About Quarterday
Quarterday is a free set of date calculators and a property tracker for self-managing landlords in England with one to ten homes. It covers the deadlines the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the existing safety rules put on a private let: rent increases (section 13 and Form 4A), possession notices (section 8 and Form 3A), pet requests, the planned landlord database, certificates, deposits and repairs. The name comes from the quarter days, the old English rent days.
How the calculations work
- Months are counted with the corresponding-date rule: a period of two months beginning on 15 March ends on 14 May. Where the matching date does not exist (31 February), the period ends on the last day of the month.
- Weeks are exact: 52 weeks is 364 days; four weeks is 28 days.
- Working days skip weekends and England and Wales bank holidays from GOV.UK.
- Where the law is ambiguous we choose the cautious date and say so next to the result, for example using the first anniversary for grounds 1 and 1A, and the day before the anniversary for gas safety checks.
- The core logic is covered by automated tests built on the worked examples in the official Form 3A guidance and Form 4A notes.
Rent data
Rents by council come from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents (September 2026 data, released 21 October 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0. These are mean rents across new and existing tenancies, so they usually sit below current asking rents. ONS stopped publishing median and lower-quartile rents by council in December 2023. We refresh the data with each monthly release.
Sources and their status, as of 25 October 2026
| Source | Status | What we use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/421) | In force | Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Act applied to private assured tenancies in England from 1 May 2026. |
| Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) | In force | Royal Assent 27 October 2025; parts commenced by regulations. |
| Housing Act 1988, section 13 (as amended by Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.6) | In force | Rent can only go up by a section 13 notice: at least two months’ notice, 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase, starting at the beginning of a period. |
| Form 4A (05.26): Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent, private rented sector | In force | Notes A1–A4 set out the two-month, 52/53-week and start-of-period requirements. |
| GOV.UK: Rent increases (guidance for landlords and letting agents) | In force | |
| GOV.UK: Apply for an open market rent determination (MR1, MR2, MR3) | In force | Tenant applies on MR1 (£47) before the new rent starts; landlord may reply on MR2 within 28 days. |
| Housing Act 1988, section 14ZB (inserted by Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.7) | In force | The tribunal’s rent can never exceed the rent proposed; no backdating; hardship deferral up to two months. |
| Housing Act 1988, section 8 (notice periods in s.8(4AA)) | In force | |
| Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2 (grounds for possession, as amended) | In force | |
| Form 3A (05.26): Notice seeking possession, private rented sector | In force | |
| Form 3A: Completing the notice seeking possession – guidance for private landlords | In force | Notice periods by ground; earliest court date is the day after the longest period; notice valid for 12 months. |
| Form 3A: Legal wording for possession grounds (PDF) | In force | Copy the full legal wording of each ground into question 4.2 of Form 3A. |
| GOV.UK: Grounds for possession – guidance for landlords and letting agents | In force | |
| Housing Act 1988, sections 16E and 16M (re-letting and marketing restriction after grounds 1 and 1A) | In force | |
| Housing Act 1988, sections 16A–16B (inserted by Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.11) | In force | Landlord must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the request; consent not to be unreasonably refused. |
| Housing Act 2004, section 213 (tenancy deposit protection) | In force | Protect the deposit and give the prescribed information within 30 days beginning with the day you receive it. |
| Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1 (deposit caps) | In force | Five weeks’ rent if annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks’ if £50,000 or more; holding deposit one week. |
| Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulations 36 and 36A | In force | Check every 12 months; copy to tenants within 28 days; a check in the 2 months before the deadline keeps the old date. |
| Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3 | In force | Inspect at least every 5 years; copy to tenants within 28 days; remedial work within 28 days or sooner if the report says. |
| GOV.UK: Domestic private rented property minimum energy efficiency standard | In force | EPCs last 10 years; you cannot let a home rated below E unless an exemption is registered. |
| Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: government response (Jan 2026) | Announced, not yet law | EPC C (new metrics) by 1 October 2030, £10,000 cap. Regulations not yet made. |
| Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (as amended 1 Oct 2022) | In force | |
| GOV.UK: The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 | In force | Existing written tenancies needed it by 31 May 2026; fine up to £7,000. |
| Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/324) | In force | |
| GOV.UK: Landlord’s guide to right to rent checks (1 October 2026) | In force | |
| Draft Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 (laid 9 September 2026) | Draft regulations | Regional start dates in draft regulation 1(3). Awaiting Parliamentary approval when we last checked. |
| GOV.UK Housing Hub: Get ready to register | Announced, not yet law | Three months to register after your region opens; £65 per property per year, pro-rated during rollout. |
| GOV.UK press release: Stronger protections and greater confidence for renters (9 September 2026) | Announced, not yet law | Database launches 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands; all landlords registered by 14 November 2027. |
| Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Part 2 Chapter 3 (sections 75–96: database duties, s.82 marketing ban, s.90 possession bar) | Not in force | |
| Housing Ombudsman: PRS Landlord Ombudsman status | Announced, not yet law | Operator not yet chosen; membership mandatory for nearly all private landlords. No go-live date on this page; 2028 is the government roadmap expectation, not law. |
| Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1042) | In force | Social housing only, from 27 October 2025. |
| Consultation: Extending Awaab’s Law to private rented tenancies and to licences (9 Oct – 18 Dec 2026) | Proposed (consultation) | Proposes the social-housing timescales for private landlords; earliest implementation 2027. |
| Decent Homes Standard: government response (updated 28 Jan 2026) | Announced, not yet law | Will apply to private rented homes from 2035. |
| GOV.UK: UK bank holidays (England and Wales) | In force | |
| ONS: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics | In force |
What is not yet law
The landlord database dates and £65 fee come from draft regulations and GOV.UK guidance; the landlord ombudsman is expected in 2028; Awaab’s Law for private rentals is at consultation; the EPC C target for 2030 and the Decent Homes Standard for 2035 are announced policy. Each is labelled wherever it appears, and we will update the tools when regulations are made.
Limits
Quarterday is not legal advice and does not decide whether a rent is reasonable or a possession claim will succeed. It covers private assured tenancies in England only, not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and not social housing, lodgers or holiday lets. Always use the current prescribed forms from GOV.UK, keep proof of service, and take advice from a solicitor, Citizens Advice or a landlord association if your case is unusual or contested.
Contact
Spotted a rule that has changed or a date that looks wrong? Join the list at the foot of any page and reply to our first email; corrections are read first.