The new UK housing laws for landlords, known as the Renters’ Rights Act, will come into effect on May 1, 2026.
The law which landlords are not happy about includes many changes in favour of tenants rights which campaigners have been calling for for decades.
Probably the most surprising is the right for a tenant to move into a landlord’s home if the tenant is not happy with the rent.
On written notification of rent unhappiness the landlord will have one week to make the chosen property ready for the tenant.
The chosen property must be rented to the tenant at a 10% lower rent than before.
10% LOWER RENT
Unsurprisingly there have been mixed reactions.
Private tenant Terisa Lyon lives in a block of flats in Brixton and she is happy.
“I’ve lived in this place for 12 years, when I moved in the rent was £550 a month, pretty expensive even then but it has gone up 3 times a year since, I now pay £1850 a month for this 1 bed mouldy flat. I’m always complaining but the landlord just says if you don’t like it, move out.
Well after May 1st that is exactly what I’m going to do, the landlord lives in a beautiful place in Chelsea and I’m having it, it’s got a garden with a swimming pool!”
Landlord Seth Sialis owns over 30 2 bed properties in Kent. “I’m fucking furious to be honest, I rent to low income families, I’m not greedy, for rent I ask the going rate plus a bit extra because I can but they get 4 walls over their heads for £1900 a month.
Now many of them are rushing to be the 1st on the list to claim my £2,500,000 stately home for less than that! Zero fucking chance of that happening so to get round this I’ve purchased a shedload of cheap shitty bedsits and I’m technically moving into one, they are very welcome to claim that and pay £1710.
I’ll just move into the next one…..technically”
