Renters' Rights Act 2025: A guide for Insolvency Practitioners and Fixed Charged Receivers

The PRS Database will be a digital register of private rental properties and landlords in England. Once in force, all relevant landlords will be legally required to register themselves and their properties.

The PRS Database will be introduced in late 2026, once the supporting infrastructure is in place.  

Once in force, IPs and receivers will need to ensure the landlord and property are registered on the PRS Database because:

• Failure to register and/or update registration may result in sanctions and fines;
• The Act prohibits the marketing of unregistered properties for letting; and
• There is a restriction on gaining possession where the landlord and property are not registered and the court may not make a possession order in such circumstances.

IPs taking an appointment as a trustee in bankruptcy will need to exercise particular caution, as they will become the registrable landlord on appointment.  It is not yet clear whether or not receivers or other insolvency officeholders will be required to register personally on the database once appointed.

Whilst in most cases the identity of the landlord will not change following the appointment of a receiver or officeholder, it remains to be seen how the secondary legislation bringing the database into effect will address this.  IPs and receivers will at the very least need to ensure contact details for the landlord are updated to ensure correspondence reaches the correct address.

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Section 21 “no fault” evictions will no longer be available to landlords with effect from 1 May 2026 (subject to limited transitional provisions where possession proceedings could be issued if a valid section 21 notice was served prior to the 1 May 2026).

For new proceedings, commenced on or after 1 May 2026, landlords seeking to end a tenancy will need to do so by service of a section 8 notice relying on the grounds for possession as set out in the amended Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. The Act:

• Amends the existing grounds for possession (for example, it increases the level of rent arrears required to rely on ground 8 (rent arrears);
• Simplifies the requirements for ground 2 (sale by mortgagee);
• Introduces some new grounds for possession (for example, ground 1A where a landlord wants to sell the property);
• Extends notice periods; and
• Requires all possession claims to be supported by evidence and listed for a hearing.

The Government has confirmed that funding will be provided to the justice system to support with increased resources and capacity that will be needed as a result of these changes, in addition to the introduction of new digital systems for the County Court and Tribunal who will typically deal with possession claims and rent increase challenges.  IPs and receivers will need to factor in the additional time and costs of possession proceedings under the new process.  

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IPs and receivers should be aware that the requirements toprotect a tenancy deposit in an authorised scheme will be extended to allassured tenancies.  

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The Decent Homes Standard has applied to social housing for some time.  The Act will extend these requirements to the private rental sector, allowing for a long transitional period with full compliance potentially expected by either 2035 or 2037.  Private landlords will be required to ensure properties:

• Are free from serious health and safety hazards;
• Are in a reasonable state of repair;
• Have modern facilities; and
• Meet statutory efficiency and comfort criteria.

While this change is not imminent, it is a development that IPs and receivers should ensure they stay alert to.  

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The Act limits rent increases within tenancies to one per year.  Rent increases are also limited to market rent (with the ability for tenants to refer proposals to the First-tier Tribunal).  In practice this means it will no longer be possible to rely on a rent increase clause in a tenancy agreement.

IPs and receivers should factor this into any rent trajectories if it is anticipated that rental properties will be retained and managed for a longer period.

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