by The Renters Rights Act will see swathes of changes affecting landlords, tenants and agents in Bournemouth, Poole and around the country. This brings lots for us all to learn and prepare for.
As members of ARLA Propertymark we are very lucky to be supported with lots of information to help prepare landlords for the changes. They helpfully produced some answers to some FAQs on the implementation date -
Q. When will template assured periodic tenancy agreements and written statements be available?
A. From 1 May 2026, all assured periodic tenancies must have a written tenancy agreement. A template agreement to be used for new tenancies will be made available by the UK Government in January 2026.
For existing tenancies that already have a written tenancy agreement the agent or landlord will need to provide an information sheet to the tenant telling them about the changes. The UK Government will publish this information sheet in March 2026.
Q. Can I still ask for rent in advance?
A. You will only be able to ask for rent in advance after the landlord and tenant have signed the tenancy agreement and before the date the tenancy starts. The maximum amount you can ask for is:
-1 month’s rent if the tenant will be paying rent monthly
-28 days’ rent if they will not be paying rent monthly
This measure is designed to prevent tenants from being asked to pay large sums of rent upfront to secure a property. It does not affect the regular collection of rent once the tenancy has started. See the full guidance on rent payments and deposits.
Q. What are the rules for the first 12 months of an assured periodic tenancy?
A. From 1 May 2026, agents and landlords will not be able to serve a Section 8 notice during the first 12 months of a new tenancy using mandatory grounds 1 – occupation by landlord or family, or 1a – sale of a dwelling house. This exclusion does not apply to discretionary grounds, such as anti-social behaviour, breach of tenancy, or rent arrears.
It is not yet clear how this will apply to tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, though a fairly safe assumption in most cases would be to apply the rules back to when the tenancy started if this was within 12 months from the implementation date.
Q. What happens to Section 21s issued before 1 May 2026?
A. You will usually only be able to use a Section 21 notice to start court proceedings for up to six months after you gave it to your tenant or until 1 August 2026, whichever is sooner. After a maximum of three months beginning on 1 May 2026, you will not usually be able to use a section 21 notice to start an eviction process. This will apply even if you gave the tenant notice less than six months ago. See the full guidance on giving notice to evict tenants.
Q. Are any tenancy types exempt?
A. Some types of tenancy will not be assured periodic tenancies. These include:
-if the landlord lives in the property
-the property is purpose-built student accommodation, the tenants are university students, and the provider has signed up to the National Code
-the tenancy has a fixed term of over 21 years
-the rent is more than £100,000 a year or less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London)
-it’s a business tenancy or tenancy of licensed premises
-the property is a holiday let
Source for answers provided by ARLA Propertymark - 14 November 2025.
by 
Share this with
Email
Facebook
Messenger
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Copy this link