Renters’ Rights Act guides for landlords

Plain-English guides to the dates and duties that apply to private landlords in England, each with its legal sources and the date we last checked them.

• Form 4A: how to fill in and serve it

  Question-by-question guide to Form 4A (05.26), the only way to raise rent on a private assured periodic tenancy in England since 1 May 2026.

• Section 13 rent increases after 1 May 2026

  How private rent increases work in England since 1 May 2026: two months’ notice, once every 52 weeks, Form 4A only, and what a tribunal challenge does.

• Rent increase challenged? The MR2 reply

  Your tenant applied to the tribunal on MR1. How the MR2 reply works, the 28-day deadline, what evidence to send and when the new rent can start.

• Assured periodic tenancies after 1 May 2026

  How the Renters’ Rights Act turned every private AST in England into an assured periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026, and what landlords must do now.

• Landlord compliance checklist 2026/27

  Every recurring legal duty for a private landlord in England, with frequency, deadline and source: gas, EICR, EPC, deposits, alarms, database and more.

• Form 3A: section 8 notice periods by ground

  How the new Form 3A section 8 notice works in England from 1 May 2026: every ground, its notice period, the court date and the 12-month validity.

• PRS landlord database: dates, fee, details

  England’s private rented sector database opens region by region from 15 December 2026. Your region’s dates, the £65 fee and the details to have ready.

• Pet requests: the landlord’s 28-day reply

  A tenant asks to keep a pet: you must reply in writing by the 28th day after the request and cannot refuse unreasonably. Deadlines, extensions and letters.

• Awaab’s Law for private landlords: 2026 status

  Awaab’s Law binds social landlords from 27 October 2025. For private landlords it is only proposed, consultation to 18 December 2026. What applies now.