14 new rules to prepare for as a landlord in 2025

Landlords in the UK are facing one of the biggest shake-ups in a generation. 

With the Renters Rights Bill expected to pass into law this year, along with tighter energy and equality regulations, there’s more rules and ambiguity than ever about what you will be required to do when renting out your property.

And while the Renters Rights Bill will be the major change affecting landlords, other laws are coming into effect, from the end of the Furnished Holiday Letting regime, to the leasehold & freehold laws coming into force.

This article breaks down 14 of the most important new rules you’ll need to understand to stay compliant, avoid fines, and continue running a successful rental business in 2025 and beyond.

Please note – August, on our all-in-one app for small landlords, contains practical advice on how to prepare for all these regulatory changes. Plus, you can provide us with your tenancy information to provide bespoke guidance based on your specific property. You can use the app for the first month for free, too – just download August to try our app for small landlords today.

1. The end of Section 21

Under proposed 2025 reforms, Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notices would be abolished​. This means you could no longer evict tenants at the end of a tenancy without giving a concrete reason.

Every eviction would require a valid Section 8 ground (such as rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, or selling the property)​. 

The intent is to boost tenant security and stop unfair, arbitrary evictions. In practice, it will lead to higher compliance stakes – going forward, you must follow a longer process and provide more time to tenants before an eviction. 

Given the treacle-like speed of the lower courts, and their natural tendency to find with renters unless reason is provided to find otherwise, it’s especially important to be aware of the bases on which you’ll evict tenants going forward.

2. Fixed term tenancies are scrapped

The Renters Rights Bill would scrap fixed-term rental contracts, replacing them with open-ended periodic agreements.

In simple terms, this means all tenancies—new and existing—would roll on monthly with no set end date. Tenants could leave anytime with notice (e.g. two months), instead of being tied in. This is a key change for student lets, which are often based on academic terms or fixed end dates.

As a landlord, you won’t be able to rely on a tenancy naturally ending—you’ll need a legal reason to regain possession. All existing ASTs would convert to periodic, including termly or quarterly agreements. You’ll still be able to repossess for valid reasons (like selling or moving in), but you can’t assume a set end date without formal notice.

3. Rent in advance will be abolished

The Renters Rights Bill will significantly change how landlords collect rent. Under the proposed rules, landlords won’t be allowed to request more than one month’s rent upfront at the start of a tenancy.

This change targets the practice of requiring, say, 6 or 12 months of rent in advance – often a barrier that priced out less affluent or overseas tenants. For landlords, it means you’ll no longer be able to collect large upfront payments as a security measure.

The intent is to balance the market, but it does shift a bit more risk onto landlords, who must vet tenants carefully and cannot rely on large pre-paid rent buffers. If you typically asked for several months upfront to deal with, for example, a tenant missing UK credit history, you’ll need to find other ways to mitigate risk, such as using guarantors or insurance. 

4. Rental Bidding is banned

Proposed legislation also aims to ban rental bidding wars. The idea is to level the playing field by ensuring tenants pay no more than the advertised price. You’ll need to set a clear rent and stick to it—no encouraging higher bids.

The new rule is part of the Renters Rights Bill, aiming to ensure tenants pay no more than the property was advertised for, creating a fairer playing field. 

If you receive multiple applications, you’ll have to choose on criteria other than who offers the most money. Taking a higher rent under the table or hinting that tenants should bid more would violate the new ban (the current wording of the bill makes it illegal to even solicit overpayment, yet alone accept it)​.

5. Tenants will have the Right to Pets

62% of UK households have pets. To help those people rent, the Renters Reform Bill is set to give tenants a new “right to request” a pet in their home, meaning landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant’s pet request​ with blanket pet bans. 

Currently, many rental contracts ban pets outright, but the proposed law flips the default: you’ll be expected to allow pets unless you have a valid reason to deny them (for example, if keeping a pet would breach building rules or pose serious damage risk).

You should prepare to handle pet requests on a case-by-case basis, citing specific property-related reasons if you must refuse (e.g. inadequate space or allergy concerns in an HMO). A blanket “no pets” stance will no longer be lawful, so instead set reasonable pet rules – you might include a clause requiring professional cleaning or the mentioned insurance, or increase the deposit needed to rent your property. 

6. The institution of the Landlord Ombudsman

The Renters Right Bill will institute a mandatory Landlord Ombudsman scheme – something that’s been discussed, but not put into law, for years. All private landlords will have to join this official redress service (and pay a membership fee) under the new proposals​.

If a tenant has a complaint – such as unresolved repairs or disputes – they will be able to go to the Landlord Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can order landlords to apologise, provide information, fix the problem, or even pay compensation to the tenant, similar to the Property Ombudsman between estate agents and tenants.

Landlords will need to register with the Ombudsman and promptly address tenant issues to avoid disputes or penalties for non-compliance. 

7. The Creation of the Rental Property Portal

One of the Government’s biggest challenges when it comes to enforcing rules like in the Renters Rights Bill is knowing how many small landlords there are, or how many rental properties exist.

Best guesses put the number at around 2.6 million landlords, and some 4.5 million households. But there are many illegal or dubious renters and tenants, from those landlords with improper contracts with tenants to renters who have snuck in lodgers without permission.

That’s why the Renters Right Bill also will introduce a new national landlord database. The Government worked with groups like the NRLA, the National Residential Landlords Association, to create the structure of the database to both help protect genuine landlords, and shut down a burgeoning number of illegal tenancies in the UK.

In practice, staying off the portal could mean you’re unable to regain possession and could face fines, so ensure you register when you are able.

8. The Introduction of the Decent Homes Standard

Minimum property standards are being tightened. The Decent Homes Standard – currently used in social housing – is set to be extended to private rentals​. 

This will legally require landlords to ensure their properties are “decent,” meaning free from serious hazards and in a reasonable state of repair. 

9. A block on rejecting renting to families with children

Landlords will no longer be allowed to blanket-refuse tenants just because they have kids​. In other words, any “no children” policies in your advert or agreement will be unlawful.

Any clauses in your insurance or buy-to-let mortgage that forbid renting to families will be made null and void by law​. 

You can still carry out normal referencing and consider a tenant’s overall suitability (e.g. ability to pay rent), but you must assess applicants with children fairly rather than excluding them outright. 

Failing to comply could lead to discrimination complaints or action from the soon-to-be-created new Property Ombudsman.

10. And a similar blocker on rejecting renting to benefit claimants

Likewise, refusing applicants just because they receive benefits (“No DSS” disclaimers) is set to be banned outright​. Landlords won’t be able to reject someone solely for being on Universal Credit or other benefits.

Instead, you’ll need to vet all tenants on ‘individual merit’ – for example, checking that their income (whether from work or benefits) covers the rent – rather than a blanket ban. With this change, landlords will need to adjust any screening processes to avoid any hint of benefit-based discrimination.

11. You will be limited to one increase in rent per year

Currently, there’s no legal limit on how much a landlord can increase rent, but increases must be “fair and realistic” and in line with average local rents.

The Renters Rights Bill will limit rent increases to once a year at market rent. Landlords will be required to give tenants two months’ notice of any increases, and tenancies cannot contain rent review clauses – clauses that allow landlords to periodically review and potentially increase the rent, reflecting market changes or inflation.

12. A ban to new leasehold flats

The government plans to ban the sale of new flats as leasehold​. Instead, new-build flats would use the commonhold system – so flat owners will own and manage the building, not someone else charging ground rent.

For a landlord buying a newly built flat, this change has pros and cons. You won’t pay ground rent or answer to a freeholder, but you’ll become part of an owners’ association responsible for the block’s upkeep.

The reform aims to end the “feudal” leasehold model and give homeowners more control, but it also means taking on shared management duties in commonhold properties.

13. An expected increase to Stamp Duty

From April 2025, stamp duty rates will increase, raising the upfront tax costs of buying property for landlords.

For example, a £700,000 buy-to-let bought after the change would incur around £60,000 in SDLT (versus roughly £57,500 if purchased before April 2025)​.

That difference will cut into your yield. Bottom line: budget for higher purchase taxes – and if you plan to expand your portfolio, you may want to do so before the new rates kick in.

14. More regulation on Property Agents

In 2019, Lord Best completed a report to completely change the estate agency industry. Labour’s housing minister, surprising many, has promised to implement the changes to force stricter regulation on lettings companies, such as strict accreditation and integrity requirements. 

While this mostly affects letting and estate agents, any landlords using property managers will likely experience both an increase in quality – unqualified or unscrupulous agents should be pushed out – and price, to cover compliance costs.

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Disclaimer: This article is a guide and not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. August does not accept any liability for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained in this article. Always speak to a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information.