The Renters' Rights Act: What Changes When You Move Out or In

On 1 May 2026 the Renters' Rights Act changed how private renting works in England, and with it the way a rented move is planned. The fixed term that used to set your moving date has gone. Notice is now what decides when you leave, and the rules for the home you are moving to have changed as well: what you can be asked to pay up front, whether a landlord can take a higher offer, and how a pet request has to be handled.

This guide sets out what changed, from the dates and wording on GOV.UK and the Act itself, and turns the notice rule into dates. It includes a before-and-after table, a calendar showing the latest day to give notice for a given moving day, and a worked move-out timeline. It is general information for private renters in England, not legal advice.

The GOV.UK overview for tenants says the Act changes how landlords let out private properties on or from 1 May 2026, and that it applies to England. The changes are to privately rented homes. GOV.UK says different rules apply if you rent from a housing association or council, live in student halls of residence, or are a lodger. Wales and Scotland have their own tenancy law.

Inside private renting, the tenancy most people now have is an assured periodic tenancy. GOV.UK's guide for landlords lists what keeps a let outside it. The main ones for a London move are a landlord who lives in the property with you, purpose-built student accommodation run under a national code, and rent of more than £100,000 a year. If one of those applies to you, the rules in this guide may not.

The changes came in on one day. Under the commencement regulations (S.I. 2026/421), the tenancy sections of the Act took effect on 1 May 2026, as the annotations on legislation.gov.uk show. Other parts of the Act, such as a landlord register and an ombudsman, are being brought in later. Those are set out near the end, in their own section, so nothing that has not started yet is mixed in with what has.

This is what changed for someone moving out of a private rented home or into one. The right-hand column is the rule now in force; each line comes from GOV.UK or the Act, listed at the end of the guide.

Two of these change the way a move is planned more than any other. The end of fixed terms means there is no longer a date written into your agreement on which you are free to go; you choose the date by giving notice. And the ban on rent before signing, with the one-month limit after it, changes how much money you need ready for the new home.

For an assured periodic tenancy, GOV.UK's tenant overview sets out the rule. You can end the tenancy by giving 2 months' notice, in writing, on the day the rent is due or the day before. You keep paying rent during the notice. You and your landlord can agree to end the tenancy earlier, or agree in writing to a shorter notice period.

The Act itself puts the two-month rule into law. Section 20 says a tenant's notice to quit under an assured tenancy must be given not less than two months before it takes effect, unless the landlord has agreed in writing to a shorter period of no more than two months. On a joint tenancy, that agreement only counts if it is made with all of the tenants. Section 21 adds that any term binding you to a particular way of giving written notice has no effect. GOV.UK's landlord guidance puts it plainly: a landlord cannot tell a tenant how to give notice, and the most notice a landlord can ask for is two months.

If your tenancy started before 1 May 2026

This is the part most people miss. Two months is the most you can be asked for, not always the least. GOV.UK's page on tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 says that if your agreement already has a notice period, you may be able to give less. It depends on what your tenancy was before that date:

• Periodic from the start. If the agreement said it was a rolling tenancy from day one, the notice period in the agreement still applies. GOV.UK's example: if it says one month, you do not need to give more
• A fixed term ending on or after 1 May 2026. The notice period in the agreement still applies
• A fixed term that ended before 1 May 2026. If the agreement said what happens when the term ends, for example that it rolls on, its notice period usually still applies. If it said nothing, the agreement's notice period no longer applies, and you use the new two-month process
• Notice already given. Any valid notice given before 1 May 2026 still applies, and the tenancy ends on the date in that notice

So before you count two months, find your agreement and check three things: when the tenancy started, whether it had a fixed term and how that term ended, and what the notice clause says. If anything is unclear, ask your landlord or agent to confirm in writing which notice period applies. Our notice letter template gives you the wording, and works whether you give two months or a shorter agreed period.

The notice rule has two moving parts: the length, which is two months, and the timing, which is tied to your rent day. Together they decide the latest day you can send notice and still be out by a particular date. Getting it wrong by a single day usually costs a whole extra month of rent.

Here is how we worked the dates below. The tenancy ends on the last day of a rent period, which is the day before a rent day, so we take the first rent day after your moving day and step back one day: that is the end of your tenancy, and you still hold the keys on moving day. The latest notice date is then the rent day two calendar months before that. This is our arithmetic from GOV.UK's rule, not a legal ruling, and it uses rent days from the 1st to the 28th so every month has them.

Read the table from left to right. With rent due on the 15th and a move on Sat, 13 Mar 2027, notice has to go by Fri, 15 Jan 2027, and the tenancy ends on Sun, 14 Mar 2027. Send it a day late and the earliest end becomes Wed, 14 Apr 2027, a month of rent on a home you have already left.

The fifth column is the one to plan around. It is the number of days you keep paying rent after the van has gone. With rent due on the 15th, moving on Sat, 27 Feb 2027 leaves 15 days of rent on an empty home. With rent due on the 25th, moving on Sat, 24 Apr 2027 leaves 0. The cheapest moving day is usually just before your tenancy ends, with a day spare for cleaning and the check-out.

If the dates do not line up, there are two lawful ways round it, both in GOV.UK's guidance. You can ask your landlord to agree, in writing, to end the tenancy earlier. Or, if you leave before the end date by agreement, the Act now gives you a right to the rent back for any days after the tenancy ends: section 10 says a tenant who paid rent under an assured tenancy is entitled to be repaid any part of it that relates to days after the end of the tenancy. Ask for any early end, and any refund, in writing.

This timeline takes one example: rent due on the 15th, and a Saturday move on Saturday, 13 March 2027. The two legal dates, the notice deadline and the tenancy end, come from the rule above. Everything else is our suggestion for a London move, and can shift to suit you.

Notice the order. The legal deadline comes first, nearly two months before the van, and the removal booking comes after it. That is the opposite of how many people plan, booking a van first and then finding they are a few days late with their notice. Give notice first, get the end date confirmed in writing, then book the move inside it.

After the tenancy ends, the deposit has its own timetable. The landlord must return it within 10 days of you agreeing the amount, and each scheme has a dispute process if you cannot agree. Getting your tenancy deposit back in London works through that part with dates. For the check-out, keys and meters, see moving out of a rented home in London.

If the move is your landlord's idea rather than yours, the rules changed more. GOV.UK says that from 1 May 2026 you can no longer be evicted using the "no fault" section 21 process, even if your tenancy agreement says you can. If the court process was started before 1 May 2026, GOV.UK says in some cases it can be completed after that date.

A landlord who wants the home back now needs a legal reason, called a ground for possession, and must use a section 8 notice that names the grounds. The tenant overview says the notice is usually 4 months, but can be shorter for some grounds. GOV.UK's landlord guidance on ending a tenancy puts the minimum as usually at least 2 months and up to 4, depending on the ground, so check the ground named on any notice you receive.

The grounds GOV.UK lists for tenants include:

• The landlord needs to sell or move in. This cannot be used to evict you within the first 12 months of the tenancy
• Student houses in multiple occupation. A landlord may be able to use a student ground if you do not move out at the end of the academic year. GOV.UK's landlord guidance says this needs 4 months' notice that ends between 1 June and 30 September, and a written warning before the tenancy was signed
• Rent not paid on time
• Antisocial behaviour by you, people living with you or visitors

Even with a valid notice, a landlord cannot simply change the locks. If you do not leave by the end of the notice period, GOV.UK says the landlord can apply to court for a possession order. And a notice from your landlord does not stop you leaving sooner: GOV.UK's landlord guidance says tenants can give two months' notice to end the tenancy at any point.

Who pays for the removal

One small change affects moving costs directly. Section 11 of the Housing Act 1988 used to require a landlord who won possession on certain grounds, such as redevelopment, to pay the tenant's reasonable removal expenses. Section 22 of the Renters' Rights Act limits that duty to social landlords letting social housing, from 1 May 2026. For a private renter, a landlord's notice now generally means you book and pay for the move yourself, so build it into your budget early.

The other half of a rented move is the new home, and here the Act changed the money. GOV.UK's landlord guidance on rent in advance says a landlord or agent must not ask for, accept or encourage rent before you have both signed the tenancy agreement. After signing and before the tenancy starts, they can usually ask for one month's rent, or 28 days' rent if rent is not paid monthly. More is allowed only in narrow cases, such as a tenancy arranged by the council for someone legally homeless, or social or supported housing.

Alongside that, the deposit caps from the Tenant Fees Act still apply. The same GOV.UK page sets a holding deposit of up to one week's rent, to reserve the home while checks are done, and a tenancy deposit of up to 5 weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or 6 weeks' rent at £50,000 or more. The deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme.

Put together, those rules set the most you can be asked to hand over before you move in. The table works it through for some example London rents. A week's rent is the annual rent divided by 52, which is our arithmetic; the holding deposit is shown separately because the Act lets it be used to pay the first rent due before the tenancy starts, rather than adding to the total.

For a £2,000-a-month flat, that means a deposit of up to £2,307.69 and one month's rent of £2,000: £4,307.69 in all, before your removal and any overlap rent on the old home. It is still a large sum, but it is a known one. If an agent asks for several months up front, or for rent before you have signed, GOV.UK says you can complain and the council can investigate.

No more bidding wars

For London renters, the bidding ban may matter most. GOV.UK's rental bidding guidance says a landlord or agent cannot ask for, encourage or accept an offer higher than the advertised rent. Every written advert, which includes online listings, social media posts, emails and text messages, must state a specific rent, not a price range. An agent cannot tell you other people have offered more to push you up. A "to let" board is not a written advert. Councils can fine a landlord up to £7,000 for a first breach, and you can report it even after the tenancy is signed.

In practice, this means you can plan your budget from the advertised figure. If you are told on a viewing that the flat will go to whoever offers most, that is the conduct the ban is aimed at.

Children and benefits

GOV.UK also says a landlord cannot refuse to rent a home to you because you have children or receive benefits, and cannot discriminate because of a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. The government's roadmap adds that this covers withholding information about a property, including whether it is available, and stopping someone from viewing it.

If your move involves a pet, the Act gives you a right to ask. GOV.UK's pet guidance for landlords says the request must be made in writing and describe the pet: what kind of animal it is, how big it is and how much room it needs. The landlord has 28 days to answer in writing. They can ask for more information within that time; once you give it, they have the rest of the 28 days or 7 extra days, whichever is later.

A landlord cannot refuse without a fair reason, and should explain any refusal. GOV.UK gives examples of reasons that may be fair, such as another tenant's allergy, a home too small for the animal, or a freeholder's lease that bans pets, and reasons that would usually not be, such as simply not liking pets or worrying about damage in general. Once a landlord says yes, they cannot change their mind. If a pet causes damage, the landlord can claim the repair from the deposit.

Two practical points for moving day. The right is to ask the landlord of a tenancy you hold, so for a new home, raise the pet when you apply and get the answer in writing as soon as the tenancy is signed. And on the day itself, keep the animal in one closed room or away from the house while the doors are open and furniture is moving.

Many moves start with a rent increase. Under the new rules, GOV.UK's rent increase guidance says a landlord can only raise the rent once a year, and not in the first year of the tenancy. They must use Form 4A and give it to you at least 2 months before the new rent starts. If you think the new rent is above the open market rent, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide what it should be.

Two transitional rules are worth knowing. If your landlord gave notice of an increase on the old Form 4 before 1 May 2026, that increase still applies even if it starts after that date. And if a rent review clause in your agreement set an increase before 1 May 2026 that would take effect after it, GOV.UK says that increase will not apply.

For a renter weighing a move, the two-month window is useful. A Form 4A notice gives you at least two months before the new rent starts, which is time to look at the market, challenge the figure at the tribunal if it looks too high, or give your own notice. If you decide to go, give notice promptly: as the calendar above shows, your tenancy end date depends on your rent day, so a few days' delay can mean paying the new rent for a month before you leave.

If you share a tenancy, the new rules make one person's decision count for everyone. GOV.UK's landlord guidance says one joint tenant can usually end the whole tenancy without the others' agreement. A shorter notice period needs the landlord and all the other tenants to agree, and so does anyone who wants to stay on after giving notice. If some of you want to stay, the landlord can sign a new agreement with them.

Changing your mind is harder than it used to be. Section 21 of the Act says a tenant's notice can be withdrawn before it takes effect only if the tenant and landlord agree to that in writing, and on a joint tenancy, only if all the tenants agree. If the landlord does not agree, the tenancy ends as planned. Talk to everyone on the agreement before anyone sends notice. Our notice letter guide covers the joint-tenant wording.

Some parts of the Act are not in force for private renters yet. These are the dates GOV.UK gives, labelled as plans rather than rules:

• A landlord register. GOV.UK's Register your rental property guidance, published 29 October 2026, says regional registration begins on 15 December 2026. London's window runs from 15 July 2027 to 14 October 2027. GOV.UK says landlord and property numbers will have to appear in adverts "in the future", with guidance before that takes effect
• A landlord ombudsman. The government's implementation roadmap says membership is expected to be required in 2028, with landlords given notice in advance
• A Decent Homes Standard for private rented homes. The roadmap says its timescales depend on consultation, and that the government proposed bringing it into force in 2035 or 2037
• Awaab's Law for private tenancies. A consultation on extending it to private rented homes opened on 9 October 2026 and closes on 18 December 2026
• Social housing. The roadmap says the end of section 21 and the tenancy changes apply to social housing later, in a second phase

None of these change the notice you give or the money you pay when you move this winter. They may change what you can check about a landlord before you sign, so look again at GOV.UK when you next search for a home.

If you think a landlord or agent is breaking the rules that are in force, the tenant overview says you can get support from Shelter and Citizens Advice, that your local council has new powers to investigate, and that for some offences you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent.

Once your end date is confirmed in writing, the move can be planned around it. Book a day inside the tenancy, ideally a day or two before the end, so the empty home can be cleaned and the check-out done with the keys still in your hands. Our house removals in London cover flats and houses across the city. You get a written quote within 24 hours, and a 20% booking deposit secures the date.

• If the new home is not ready. When the new tenancy starts after the old one ends, we can arrange storage through a partner as part of your removal, so belongings are kept until you can move in
• If the dates move suddenly. A same-day move is possible for homes up to two bedrooms when booked by 2pm, subject to a free van, with no extra charge for short notice
• If parking is tight. A parking suspension is applied for and paid for by you, through the council. Parking suspensions for moving day explains how it works
• What we do not do. We do not clean, and we do not take rubbish or unwanted furniture away, so book cleaning separately and plan for anything you are leaving behind

Send us your tenancy end date, both postcodes and a room-by-room list, and the team will confirm the van, crew and price in writing. Start from the London house removals page, or message us on WhatsApp at +44 333 772 3714.