Renters' Rights Guides

Free guides to renting in England, written for the law as it actually stands after the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026.

No advertising, no sign-up, no paywall. Every guide says plainly what the rules are, what to do about them, and where the free routes are when a landlord will not act.

Start here if something has gone wrong

• Problems with your landlord, and which free body handles which problem
• When a landlord will not repair
• If you have been served with an eviction notice
• Getting your deposit back
• What to do about a rent increase

Start here if you are about to rent

• A tenant's guide to renting in England, the whole picture in one place
• Finding a good rented property
• Checking a landlord is legitimate
• What you can and cannot be charged
• Moving into student accommodation

What changed in May 2026

The biggest change to renting in thirty years, and a lot of advice online has not caught up with it.

• Section 21 no-fault eviction is abolished. A landlord needs a specified ground and has to prove it in court.
• No fixed terms. Tenancies are periodic, and you leave on two months' notice.
• Rent in advance is capped at one month, and bidding above the advertised rent is illegal.
• You can request a pet, and it cannot be unreasonably refused.
• Awaab's Law sets statutory timescales for damp, mould and emergency hazards.

The full list, and what is still to come.

How these are written

Every guide is checked against primary sources, GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and the deposit schemes, and the source links sit at the bottom of each one so you can go and read them yourself.

They cover England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems, and each guide says so. This is general information rather than legal advice, and where something has a deadline attached the guide says to get advice from Shelter or Citizens Advice rather than relying on us.

Written by Ben Yarrow, who founded Marks Out Of Tenancy after his own bad tenancy.

The thing the guides cannot tell you

They set out what a landlord must do. They cannot tell you what a particular landlord actually does when the boiler fails in December.

Only the last tenant knows that. Search an address, a landlord or a letting agent, and when your own tenancy ends, write the review you wish you had been able to read.