The Renters' Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its main provisions came into force on 1 May 2026 — so for landlords in Northumberland, this isn't a future change to prepare for. It's already the law you're operating under, whether or not the paperwork has caught up.

If you own a let property here — in Morpeth, Cramlington, Alnwick or anywhere in the county — here's a plain-English run-through of what actually changed, three months in.

Section 21 is gone. Every tenancy is now periodic.

The headline change: no-fault Section 21 evictions no longer exist, and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) with a fixed term have been abolished entirely. Every tenancy — new or existing — automatically became a rolling, periodic tenancy from 1 May 2026.

In practice, this means there's no more "12-month fixed term" to plan around. Tenants can give two months' notice to leave at any point. Landlords, in turn, can only regain possession by using one of the specific grounds under Section 8 — you can no longer simply decline to renew.

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Possession now needs a stated ground

The two grounds that matter most to landlords considering their options are:

  • Ground 1 — you or a close family member (spouse, partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild) need to move into the property.
  • Ground 1A — a new ground introduced specifically for landlords who want to sell. You need a genuine intention to sell, not just an intention to end the tenancy.

Both require at least four months' notice, and neither can be used within the first 12 months of a tenancy — a protected period designed to stop landlords using these grounds as a workaround for a disguised no-fault eviction.

Rent arrears possession (Ground 8) still exists, but the threshold has risen from two months' unpaid rent to three months for a monthly tenancy (13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly rent) — a higher bar than under the old regime.

Section 21 hasn't been reformed. It's gone. Every existing fixed-term tenancy converted to a periodic one on 1 May 2026, whether the paperwork was updated or not.

Rent increases: one process, once a year

Landlords can no longer build automatic rent-review clauses into a tenancy agreement. Increases must go through the Section 13 process — a formal notice, capped at once every 12 months — and tenants can challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal if they believe it's above the market rate for the property. There's also now a ban on landlords or agents accepting rent bids above the advertised price, and on asking prospective tenants for more than one month's rent in advance.

Other changes worth knowing

A few further provisions took effect alongside the headline changes on 1 May 2026: tenants now have a right to request a pet, which landlords can't unreasonably refuse; blanket bans on renting to families with children or tenants receiving benefits are prohibited; and landlords must provide a written statement of tenancy terms.

Two bigger pieces are still to come, not yet live. A Private Rented Sector Database is due to begin a regional rollout from late 2026, and a mandatory Landlord Ombudsman scheme will follow — but landlords aren't expected to be required to join it until 2028. A Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector is further out still, not due until the mid-2030s. If you see a supplier or article claiming these are already compulsory, they aren't yet.

What this means for Northumberland landlords

We're a sales-focused agency, not a letting agent, so we won't pretend to manage your tenancy compliance day to day — your solicitor or letting agent is the right place for that detail. But we're seeing a real, practical effect of these changes locally: a steady rise in landlords across Northumberland, from Blyth to Hexham, weighing up whether continuing to let a property still makes sense once the reduced flexibility and higher compliance burden are priced in.

If that's a decision you're turning over, Ground 1A gives you a clear, lawful route to sell with vacant possession once the 12-month protected period has passed and the four months' notice has run its course. Knowing what your property would actually achieve on the open market — against what it's currently earning in rent, net of everything the Act now requires — is the sensible starting point either way.

Tags: Landlords Renting Buy-to-let