Renters’ Rights Act 2025: What’s new for private sector housing enforcement?

By Tara O’Leary 

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“the RRA”) extends the existing enforcement powers available to local housing authorities (“LHAs”) under the Housing Act 2004, including those applicable to HMOs and licensable residential premises. Importantly it also introduces entirely new enforcement duties and powers – via amendments to the Housing Act 1988 and Protection from Eviction Act 1977 – which will significantly extend the scope of LHAs’ role in the sector.  

The Government’s “Roadmap” for implementation of the RRA confirms these changes will come into effect on 1 May 2026. New investigative powers for local authorities will apply earlier, from 27 December 2025.  

New guidance for local authorities was published on 13 November 2025 dealing with: 

• Enforcement of the new tenancy system under the RRA; 

• Investigatory powers under the RRA; 

• Civil penalties under the RRA and other housing legislation; and  

• Rent Repayment Orders  

Housing Act 2004: licensable premises and HMOs  

There has been much publicity that the RRA extends liability for rent repayment orders over superior landlords and officers of any company landlord: see ss.103 and 104 RRA which will amend the Housing and Planning Act 2016. This change responds to the conclusions in Rakusen v Jepson [2023] UKSC 9 and Kaszowska v White [2022] UKUT 11 (LC) that the current regime does not apply to such persons.  

Surprisingly there has been much less publicity around highly significant changes to the offences of failing to licence HMOs under s.72(1) and selective licence houses under s.95(1) of the Housing Act 2004, made by s.105 RRA. 

Once the amendments take effect, the offence will be committed by: 

1. Any person having control of or managing the premises, as defined by s.263 of the 2004 Act;  
2. Any person who is the landlord or licensor in relation to a person occupying the premises under a tenancy or licence, as defined by s.264 of the 2004 Act; and  
3. Any person who as landlord under a tenancy or licensor under a licence to occupy has an estate or interest in, or a right in relation to, the premises that is superior (whether directly or indirectly) to the estate, interest or right of any of the persons in categories (a) or (b).  

Sections 72 and 95 will also be amended so as to extend the reasonable excuse defence to persons in categories (b) and (c). For superior landlords, this will apply if they can prove that they: 

1. did not know, and had a reasonable excuse for not knowing, that the building or part of the building concerned was an HMO;  
2. took all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the HMO was licensed; or  
3. had some other reasonable excuse for failing to ensure that the HMO was so licensed.  

These are important changes which should help to remove much of the complexity – and fraught litigation – which arose from the older definitions of persons ‘in control’ and ‘managing’ under s.263 of the 2004 Act. Those definitions are opaque and often caused difficulty for local authorities taking enforcement action or tenants applying for RROs in cases involving ‘chains’ of letting to superior and intermediate landlords. Two recent examples of cases which would likely result in different decisions post-RRA are Kumar v Kolev [2024] UKUT 255 (LC) and Cottam v Lowe Management Ltd [2023] UKUT 306 (LC). The new offences will also clearly catch landlords who permit their rent to be retained by a third party, as was seen in Cabo v Dezotti [2024] EWCA Civ 1358.  

We can inevitably expect the focus of appeals at the FTT and prosecutions at the Magistrates’ Court to shift towards arguments about what landlords and managers did and did not know about the occupation of their premises. This may include renewed scrutiny of a landlord’s constructive knowledge – i.e. what they ought to have known about the premises: I R Management v Salford CC [2020] UKUT 81 (LC) [30]. 

In the HMO context, it is presently unclear whether the Secretary of State will amend the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006/372 so as to extend the definition of ‘persons managing’ who commit offences under s.234(3) of the 2004 Act to include immediate or superior landlords. If not, the decision in R (Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd) v Swindon Magistrates’ Court [2024] EWHC 2023 (Admin) will remain important insofar as it extends liability for the s.234(3) offence to persons ‘in control’ in at least some circumstances.  

Maximum civil penalty notices which may be issued by local authorities for housing offences under the 2004 Act will increase from £30,000 to £40,000 (by a statutory instrument yet to be published: s.249A(8)).  

Local authorities will also gain powers to serve improvement notices for unlicensed premises on superior landlords: see s.106 RRA.  

Finally, for the purposes of tenancy management by landlords:  

• A new exemption will be inserted into Schedule 14 Housing Act 2004, so that dwellings occupied solely by students will no longer qualify as HMOs in certain circumstances: s.62 RRA.  

• Landlords will benefit from a new mandatory ground of possession under the Housing Act 1988 – Ground 6B – which will apply where necessary to comply with any enforcement action or licensing requirement, for example prohibition orders, the refusal of an application for an HMO license, or in order to comply with a planning enforcement notice. 

Duty to enforce ‘landlord legislation’ 

Section 107 RRA will impose a duty upon every local authority to enforce ‘the landlord legislation’ in their district, which includes the many new requirements and restrictions imposed by landlords and agents by the RRA, and amendments to the Housing Act 1988 and Protection from Eviction Act 1977.  

Interestingly LHAs will enjoy a discretion to take enforcement action outside their district, subject only to a requirement to notify the authority where the contravention took place. County Councils (who are not LHAs) will also be entitled to take action if they wish to do so: ss.108-109 RRA. This may prove a useful power where an authority becomes aware of mass offending by a portfolio landlord across a number of properties.  

Local authorities will be required to report regularly to the Secretary of State about their exercise of their functions in this area: s.110 RRA.  

Enforcement powers for ‘landlord legislation’ 

In order to comply with their duty to enforce ‘the landlord legislation’, LHAs will gain a significant suite of new powers to issue financial penalties or prosecute.  

The Act amends the Housing Act 1988 to introduce new duties for landlords. A new s.16D in the 1988 Act will require landlords to: 

1. Provide tenants with a written statement of terms about their tenancy containing information required by regulations;  
2. Provide tenants with prescribed information;  
3. Notify the tenant before the commencement of the tenancy if the landlord reserves the right to rely on certain grounds of possession.  

Landlords will also be expressly prohibited from misleading tenants about their rights. Section 16E of the 1988 Act will prohibit landlords from: 

1. Purporting to let premises for a fixed term;  
2. Purporting to bring the tenancy to an end orally or by serving a Notice to Quit or Notice of Possession;  
3. Relying or purporting to rely on grounds of possession where they do not reasonably believe the landlord is or will be able to obtain an order for possession on that ground;  
4. Relying on certain grounds of possession where the landlord has not notified the tenant in advance that they reserved the right to rely upon them; 
5. Re-letting the premises (or advertising it for re-let) within 12 months of the landlord previously relying upon on Grounds 1 and 1A which apply where the landlord intends to occupy or sell the premises. 

Most of these requirements will apply to landlords and to persons actually or purporting to act on their behalf such as agents and managers, though not legal representatives: see s.16D(8) and “relevant persons” as defined by s.16M(1) of the 1988 Act.  

Beyond amendments to the 1988 Act, the RRA imposes other restrictions including:  

1. The prohibition on landlords discriminating against current or potential tenants on the basis that they have or will be visited by children or claim social welfare benefits: Part 1, Chapter 3 RRA;  
2. The prohibition on rental ‘bidding wars’, i.e. advertising a tenancy without specifying a proposed rent and on accepting rents which exceed the stated amount: s.56 RRA; 
3. A requirement for landlords to be a member of an accredited landlord redress scheme: s.64 RRA; and 
4. The prohibition on advertising a dwelling for let unless the landlord is entered into the PRS database: s.82 RRA. 

Where persons have ‘contravened’ these requirements, LHAs will be able to impose an initial financial penalty of up to £7,000 if satisfied of the contravention beyond reasonable doubt. Further penalties can then be issued if the contravention continues for more than 28 days after the first penalty was imposed or where the landlord has already received penalties for other breaches within the previous 5 years. For some contraventions penalties can also be imposed jointly and severally against two or more persons for the same conduct where one or more of the persons was acting on behalf of others: see s.16I of the 1988 Act and ss.40, 57, 66 and 91 RRA. 

The Act then ramps up the severity of enforcement powers for more serious or continuing offending. Section 16J of the 1988 Act will introduce new offences including: 

1. Knowingly or recklessly relying on a ground of possession that the landlord will not be able to make out, if the tenant then surrenders without an order for possession;  
2. Re-letting the premises (or advertising it for re-let) within 12 months of the landlord previously relying upon on Grounds 1 and 1A;  
3. Continuing to engage in conduct or contraventions for more than 28 days after a financial penalty has already been served; and 
4. Engaging in repeated or continuing contraventions, i.e. where the conduct or contravention occurs within 5 years of receiving an earlier penalty or being convicted of an earlier offence.  

Where these offences are committed by a company, officers are also individually liable if the company acted with their consent, connivance or neglect: s.16J(7)-(8). 

Various offences are also created in relation to the requirement to be a member of an accredited landlord scheme (s.67 RRA) and to be entered onto the PRS database (s.92 RRA).  

These offences will be liable to unlimited fines upon summary conviction or LHAs can choose to impose financial penalties of up to £40,000: see ss. 16J(10) and 16K of the 1988 Act and ss.66(2)(b), 67(6), 91(2)(b) and 92(7) RRA.    

Separately, LHAs will also gain powers to issue civil penalty notices of up to £40,000 against landlords for unlawfully evicting or harassing tenants contrary to s.1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, by the inclusion of a new s.1A in that Act.  

The procedure for issuing penalties and bringing appeals to the First Tier Tribunal will be essentially identical to that already applicable under s.249A and Schedule 13A of the Housing Act 2004: see Schedule 5 RRA, Schedule 2ZA to the 1988 Act and Schedule A1 to the 1977 Act. 

As is already the case under the 2004 Act, LHAs will be entitled to use the revenues collected from financial penalties to meet the costs of their housing enforcement work in the private rented sector.  

New Guidance on Civil Penalties  

The new Guidance on civil penalty notices replaces the 2017 Guidance which previously applied to CPNs issued under s.249A of the 2004 Act. It applies to s.249A housing offences, s.1 of the 1977 Act, and all the other new contraventions and offences created by the RRA.  

The new Guidance takes a very different approach to the 2017 version insofar as it now identifies – for the first time – national starting points for individual offences which LHAs must apply when assessing the seriousness of the offence (Step 1), before going on to identify aggravating and mitigating factors (Step 2) and to consider localised or landlord-specific financial matters (Step 3). For example the starting point for failing to licence HMOs will be £17,000 and selective licence premises £12,000. Breaches of HMO Management Regulations under s.234(3) will vary from £3,000 (failing to provide information to occupiers under Reg.3) to £20,000 (failure to take safety measures under Reg.4) 

Although every individual LHA must still adopt its own policy setting out how it will calculate appropriate penalties, the Government’s intention is plainly to increase consistency and reduce variations in the levels of penalty imposed by different LHAs.  

All LHAs will need to substantially revise and replace their existing policies relating to CPNs under the 2004 Act, before commencing use of the new powers from 1 May 2026.  

New investigatory powers 

Sections 114 – 136 RRA introduce a wide range of new investigatory powers to help LHAs comply with their duties to enforce ‘the landlord legislation’ and the 2004 Act. These powers take effect on 27 December 2025.  

A helpful overview is provided in the recent Guidance on the subject. The new powers include: 

• Requesting information from “relevant persons”, which is anyone who has acted in the past 12 months as a landlord, licensor, agent or marketer of the premises; 

• Requesting information from any person or organisation to determine if offending has occurred; it appears this could be used – for example – to request disclosure of account statements from a bank to determine who has received rents for premises;  

• Entering rental sector business premises – such as an agent or manager’s offices – to search and seize documents and records;  

• Entering residential premises if there is suspicion it is being privately rented as a home;  

• Using information from council tax, housing benefit and tenancy deposit schemes to assist an investigation;  

• Amending the existing investigatory powers under ss.235 and 239 Housing Act 2004 to cover buildings controlled or managed by co-operative societies 

The Guidance emphasises that “Care should be taken to ensure that the power can be exercised for the purpose a local housing authority intends”. LHAs will need to consider adopting policies and procedures to ensure that information gathered using these powers are stored securely, only used for permitted purposes, and comply with parallel legislation such as the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.  

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