On Friday, the Government's long-awaited Renters' Rights Act will come into force, giving tenants the biggest increase to their rights in a generation.
These measures will kick in for England and Scotland from 1 May, and then Wales from 1 June 2026.
The major shake-up means fixed-term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies will be abolished and replaced with rolling periodic tenancies, meaning renters will no longer be tied into long contracts.
Landlords must give an acceptable reason for ending tenancies, with Section 21 'no-fault' evictions barred.
But the law gives renters the right to end tenancies with two months' notice and enables them to better challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction.
Alongside new rights for tenants, the law means buy-to-let landlords and letting agents must change how they do things, or face potential big fines for breach of the rules.
'Landlords will need to adapt quickly to a more structured and regulated system,' says Megan Eighteen, president of Propertymark, the membership body for letting agents.
A new dawn: From Friday, almost 40 years of legislation underpinning the private rental sector will change overnight
She added: 'The removal of Section 21 means all possession claims must be justified, while longer notice periods and a 12-month protected timeframe will extend how quickly properties can be recovered.
'At the same time, allowing tenants to give notice at any point increases the likelihood of shorter stays and potential void periods.
'It is therefore essential that landlords fully understand the new grounds, maintain robust documentation, and plan ahead to manage both compliance risks and income stability.'
With the changes just days away, This is Money spoke to experts and asked them to outline the ten most important elements that landlords and tenants must be aware of.
1) Renters can't be evicted without a valid reason
One of the most significant changes is the end of 'no-fault' evictions. This is the rule where landlords can ask tenants to leave without having to give a reason. As long as they are served with the required two months' notice, renters can effectively be told to leave at any time.
From next week, renters can no longer be evicted without a valid reason. Instead, tenants will have the right to remain in their home unless specific legal grounds apply.
These include the landlord or a family member needing to move into the property, or the landlord planning to sell it.
Other acceptable grounds will include the tenant being in serious rent arrears, committing anti-social behaviour, or breaching the tenancy agreement by subletting or damaging the property. It will also apply if the landlord's mortgage lender repossesses the home.
When it comes to rent arrears, the tenant will have to be at least three months in arrears to warrant an eviction notice; this is up from two months previously.
2) Landlords can't re-let for 12 months if they try to sell
The law also includes rules to try to prevent landlords from abusing certain eviction grounds.
If they tell tenants to move out because they plan to sell it the property, they won't be allowed to re-let it for 12 months. This would stop landlords from briefly putting the home up for sale to tick the box before putting it back on the rental market for more money.
But this could backfire on landlords who genuinely want to sell but struggle to in today's sluggish property market.
If they put it on the market but don't find anyone to buy it, they could be forced to keep it empty for 12 months before renting it out again.
If landlords break these rules, they could be fined £25,000, according to the Government's guidance.
3) Tenants will get four months' notice to leave
Landlords currently need to give tenants a notice period of two months when evicting them from their property. From Friday, this will be increased to four months.
Shorter notice periods can apply, though, if the tenants are in rent arrears or have shown anti-social behaviour.
In these cases, notice periods can be less than four months - often two months or even shorter.
From 1 May, landlords will need to use the new section 8 notice (form 3A), stating which grounds they are using to evict the tenants.
If a landlord needs to take court action, their claim will likely be dismissed or delayed if the notice of possession is incomplete or inaccurate.
Landlords who try to end the tenancy improperly, such as over the phone or in person (rather than in writing) or without a valid reason, could face a £6,000 fine.
Tenants will be able to give two months' notice to end the tenancy at any time unless they have agreed on a shorter notice period.
4) Renters can't be evicted in the first year
Under the new rules, a landlord will not be allowed to serve notice within the first year of a tenancy.
Even if the landlord wishes to move into the property or they wish to sell, they cannot serve notice until the first 12 months have passed.
With the typical four-month notice period included, it means tenants generally can't be forced to leave for at least the first 16 months.
However, landlords can still seek possession within the first year where there are valid breach-based grounds, such as serious rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, or property damage.
A court order will usually be required if the tenant does not leave voluntarily.
5) No more fixed-term contracts
Commonly, renters sign on for a one-year (or longer) fixed term at the start of their tenancy, meaning they have to keep paying rent for the whole 12 months even if they leave.
But from Friday, it will be illegal for landlords to use fixed contracts.
All tenancies will now become rolling or periodic, meaning that as long as tenants give the required notice they can leave at any time.
It will apply retrospectively so that even if someone is in the middle of a one-, two- or three-year rental agreement without a break clause, they'll be able to serve two months' notice and move out.
In theory, a tenant could serve notice immediately upon arrival and leave after just two months, with no protection for the landlord in this situation.
Those landlords who continue trying to let on a fixed-term basis could be fined £4,000.
6) Limits on rent increases
Rent increases will be limited to one per year, as was already the case with periodic tenancies.
But now, the rent increase must be issued with a two-month notice period and it must be in line with local market rents. Increases must be issued through an official 'Section 13' notice.
Tenants will be able to appeal excessive above-market rents if they believe they are designed to force them out.
Under the new law, they will also be able to challenge their rent at a tribunal within six months of moving into a property.
Separately, it has also been reported that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering a one-year freeze on all rent rises as part of a wider package of policies to help people cope with rising living costs; however, this is unconfirmed.
7) No more rental bidding
Landlords will no longer be able to accept more than the advertised rent for a property. This will effectively ban the practice of offering a home to the highest bidder.
A landlord found to have accepted more than the advertised rent could face a £4,000 fine. They can also be fined £3,000 for failing to specify what the rent is in their advert.
8) Landlords can't accept rent upfront
From 1 May, landlords will only be able to accept one month's rent in advance.
It means the practice of tenants paying six or even 12 months rent up front will be banned. Previously, this was commonly requested for tenants from overseas and students.
9) Landlords can't discriminate
The Act will make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants.
This means that adverts specifying that tenants in receipt of benefits should not apply will be banned.
It also means that landlords cannot refuse to rent a property to someone because they have children.
10) Pets can't be refused unreasonably
The majority of landlords don't allow their tenants to keep dogs or cats.
However, renters will now have the right to ask for permission to keep a pet at any time. The landlord must consider their request can only say no if they have a good reason.
To protect their property, the will be able to require the tenant to pay for insurance to cover any damage.
Landlords who are deemed to fall foul of this could be dealt a £6,000 fine.