Key Dates That Landlords Need to Be Aware of in 2026
For landlords in England, 2026 is one of the most important years for rental regulation in decades. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has changed tenancy structures, possession rules, rent increases and several day-to-day letting practices.
At the same time, some landlords are entering the Making Tax Digital system, while further changes involving the Private Rented Sector Database, property standards and energy efficiency are approaching.
Missing an important deadline can mean more than additional paperwork. It may affect a landlord's ability to regain possession, increase rent or remain compliant with the law.
Here are the key dates landlords need to be aware of in 2026 and beyond, and what each one means in practice.
Important: The Renters’ Rights Act dates discussed below primarily apply to private landlords in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate under different tenancy and housing legislation.
Landlord Key Dates 2026 at a Glance
Date | Change | What Landlords Need to Know |
6 April 2026 | Making Tax Digital | Applies to qualifying landlords with income above £50,000 |
1 May 2026 | Renters’ Rights Act Phase 1 | Major tenancy reforms take effect |
1 May 2026 | Section 21 abolished | No new Section 21 notices |
1 May 2026 | Periodic tenancies | Existing ASTs generally convert |
1 May 2026 | New rent increase rules | New statutory process applies |
31 May 2026 | Tenant Information Sheet deadline | Most existing tenants must have received the government sheet |
31 July 2026 | Transitional possession deadline | Final deadline for certain pre-May possession claims |
7 August 2026 | First MTD quarterly update | Relevant landlords submit first update |
7 November 2026 | Second MTD quarterly update | Second reporting deadline |
Late 2026 | PRS Database rollout begins | Regional registration starts |
2028 | PRS Landlord Ombudsman | Mandatory landlord membership planned |
1 October 2030 | Higher energy standard | Planned deadline for private rented homes |
The exact timing of some later reforms remains subject to legislation, consultation or implementation arrangements.
Table of Contents
6 April 2026: Making Tax Digital for Landlord Income
The first major date comes before the main Renters’ Rights Act reforms.
From 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to landlords and sole traders whose qualifying income shown on their 2024–25 tax return exceeded £50,000.
For landlords, qualifying income means gross property and self-employment income before expenses rather than taxable profit.
Affected landlords need to use compatible software to maintain digital records and provide HMRC with quarterly updates.
The rollout continues in stages:
over £50,000 qualifying income — from 6 April 2026
over £30,000 — from 6 April 2027
over £20,000 — from 6 April 2028
This makes April particularly important for portfolio landlords who have traditionally maintained their records using spreadsheets or annual accounting processes.
What Landlords Should Do
Check qualifying income against the relevant tax return rather than relying on rental profit figures.
Landlords within the threshold should also ensure their accounting software is MTD-compatible and that digital record keeping is in place.
1 May 2026: The Biggest Landlord Regulation Change
1 May 2026 is the most important date in the 2026 landlord calendar.
This was the commencement date for Phase 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act reforms in England. The changes affect both new and many existing private tenancies.
Several major rules changed simultaneously.
Section 21 No-Fault Evictions Are Abolished
From 1 May 2026, landlords can no longer issue Section 21 notices to regain possession of properties covered by the new regime.
Instead, landlords generally need to rely on the revised Section 8 possession grounds and provide a legally recognised reason for recovering the property.
This makes record keeping considerably more important.
Where possession depends on a particular ground, landlords need to be able to demonstrate that the conditions for using that ground have been satisfied.
What About Section 21 Notices Served Before 1 May?
Transitional rules applied where a valid Section 21 notice had already been served by 30 April 2026.
Those notices were not automatically worthless on 1 May, but landlords had a limited period in which to begin possession proceedings.
That brings us to another important date later in the year: 31 July 2026.
Fixed-Term ASTs Move to Periodic Tenancies
The tenancy system also fundamentally changed on 1 May 2026.
Existing assured shorthold tenancies generally became assured periodic tenancies, while new qualifying tenancies are also created on a periodic basis.
Rather than having a fixed end date, the tenancy continues until the tenant gives notice or the landlord successfully uses an applicable possession ground.
Tenants can generally leave by providing two months' notice.
For landlords, this changes how tenancy duration and future possession should be planned.
Simply waiting for a fixed-term tenancy to expire is no longer the standard route to recovering a property.
1 May 2026: New Rules for Rent Increases
Rent increases are another major part of the new system.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act regime, landlords cannot simply rely on contractual rent review mechanisms in the same way as before.
Rent increases generally follow the statutory Section 13 process and can normally occur only once per year.
The landlord must give the tenant the required notice using the prescribed procedure. Tenants also have the ability to challenge a proposed increase through the relevant tribunal process.
This means rent reviews should now be treated as a formal compliance procedure rather than an informal annual negotiation.
1 May 2026: Rental Bidding Restrictions
The way properties are advertised and offered also changed.
Landlords and agents must advertise an asking rent and cannot encourage prospective tenants to compete by offering more than that amount.
They also cannot accept an offer above the advertised rent where doing so would breach the new rules.
For landlords using letting agents, this makes it worth reviewing how listings, applicant communications and offer processes are handled.
1 May 2026: Protection for Tenants With Children or Benefits
The Act also strengthens protections against rental discrimination.
Landlords cannot discriminate against prospective tenants simply because they have children or receive benefits.
This affects not only the final decision about who receives a tenancy but potentially advertising and applicant screening practices as well.
Landlords should therefore review listing templates and instructions provided to letting agents.
1 May 2026: New Rules on Pets
Tenants can request permission to keep a pet.
A landlord must properly consider the request and cannot simply operate a blanket refusal without a valid reason.
Government guidance states that landlords generally have an initial 28 days to consider a request.
This does not mean every pet request must be accepted. It means refusal needs to be justified under the new framework.
31 May 2026: Renters’ Rights Information Sheet Deadline
Landlords with existing written tenancies faced another important deadline shortly after the reforms began.
Where an existing tenancy already had a written agreement, landlords generally did not need to replace the entire tenancy agreement.
Instead, most were required to give tenants the government's Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
For tenancies based entirely on a verbal agreement, landlords had to provide written information setting out the key tenancy terms by the same date.
Failure to provide the required Information Sheet can result in a financial penalty of up to £7,000.
Missed the 31 May Deadline?
A landlord who missed the deadline should not simply ignore the requirement because the date has passed.
The Information Sheet remains available from the government, and landlords should review their position and bring their documentation into compliance as soon as possible.
31 July 2026: Final Deadline for Certain Old Possession Claims
The transition away from Section 21 created another crucial deadline.
Where a landlord served a qualifying Section 21 or Section 8 notice before the new regime took effect, possession proceedings generally had to be started by the applicable notice deadline or 31 July 2026, whichever came first.
The government confirms that 31 July was the final date for starting a possession claim based on qualifying notices issued before 1 May.
As of September 2026, this deadline has passed.
A landlord who served an old Section 21 notice but did not begin proceedings within the permitted period cannot now simply use that notice to start a new possession claim.
The landlord will normally need to consider the current possession regime instead.
7 August 2026: First Making Tax Digital Quarterly Deadline
For landlords who entered Making Tax Digital in April, 7 August 2026 was the first standard quarterly update deadline.
The standard MTD schedule for the first year is:
Quarterly Update | Deadline |
First update | 7 August 2026 |
Second update | 7 November 2026 |
Third update | 7 February 2027 |
Fourth update | 7 May 2027 |
The associated Self Assessment return and tax payment deadline for that first MTD year is 31 January 2028.
Landlords should remember that quarterly updates do not remove the requirement to complete the relevant year-end tax process.
7 November 2026: Second MTD Quarterly Update
Affected landlords should also mark 7 November 2026.
This is the second standard quarterly update deadline for landlords who entered MTD for Income Tax from April 2026.
The shift toward quarterly digital reporting means landlords need more regular financial administration.
Waiting until January to organise a full year's rental records becomes increasingly impractical once MTD applies.
Late 2026: Private Rented Sector Database Rollout
Another significant change is expected to begin from late 2026: the rollout of the new Private Rented Sector Database.
Unlike the 1 May reforms, the government is introducing the database regionally rather than switching the entire country over on one day.
Registration will ultimately be mandatory for private landlords covered by the scheme, with an annual fee.
The database is expected to contain information such as:
landlord contact details;
property information;
Gas Safety documentation;
electrical safety information;
Energy Performance Certificates.
It is intended to give tenants greater visibility while helping councils identify and enforce non-compliance.
Because rollout begins regionally, landlords should watch for government confirmation of when registration opens for their area rather than assuming there is one nationwide deadline.
2028: Mandatory PRS Landlord Ombudsman Membership
The Renters’ Rights Act also creates a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman.
The government roadmap currently plans mandatory landlord membership for 2028, after the scheme has had time to scale up.
The purpose is to give tenants a formal mechanism for resolving complaints without necessarily taking disputes directly through the courts.
For professional landlords and property managers, this will make complaint records and documented responses even more important.
Awaab’s Law for Private Landlords: Date Still to Be Confirmed
Awaab’s Law is also due to extend into the private rented sector.
It will establish legally enforceable timescales requiring landlords to investigate and address serious hazards within specified periods.
However, landlords should be careful with articles claiming a specific 2026 implementation date.
The government's current Renters’ Rights Act roadmap lists implementation of Awaab’s Law in the PRS as TBC and subject to consultation.
The same applies to the planned Decent Homes Standard extension to private rented properties.
For SEO content, I would not publish an invented June 2026 Awaab's Law deadline. That could quickly make the article factually inaccurate.
1 October 2030: Higher Energy Efficiency Standard
Energy efficiency is another major date landlords should start planning for well before the deadline.
The government's current plan is for private rented properties to meet a higher energy efficiency standard by 1 October 2030, unless a valid exemption or transitional arrangement applies.
The planned framework is centred around achieving the equivalent of a C-level standard under the new EPC methodology.
Importantly, this is not simply an “EPC C from 2028” rule, as older articles sometimes suggest.
Under the government's latest timetable, legislation for higher minimum energy efficiency standards is planned from 2027, while the principal compliance date is 1 October 2030. The proposals remain dependent on the necessary legislation and implementation process.
Landlords with older or energy-inefficient properties should nevertheless plan early because upgrades can involve significant work.
Annual Dates Every UK Landlord Should Remember
Not every landlord deadline comes from the Renters’ Rights Act.
Several recurring tax and property compliance dates remain important each year.
31 January: Self Assessment Deadline
For landlords who complete Self Assessment online, 31 January is normally the deadline for submitting the previous tax year's online return and paying tax due.
Landlords making payments on account may also need to make their first payment on this date.
6 April: Start of the New Tax Year
The UK tax year starts on 6 April.
This is particularly important when tax thresholds, allowances or reporting obligations change.
For qualifying landlords in 2026, it also marked the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
31 July: Second Payment on Account
Landlords required to make Self Assessment payments on account will normally make their second payment by 31 July.
These tax dates should be included in a landlord calendar even where there are no major housing-law reforms that year.
Property-Specific Deadlines Landlords Should Track
Some of the most important landlord dates are not fixed national calendar dates at all.
They depend on the individual property.
Gas safety checks are generally required every 12 months where applicable. EPCs normally have a 10-year validity period, while electrical installations in privately rented homes in England generally require inspection and testing at least every five years.
HMO and selective licensing schemes create additional deadlines that vary by local authority and property.
Landlords should therefore maintain a compliance calendar for each property rather than relying solely on national legislative dates.
A portfolio with five properties may effectively have five different compliance calendars.
What Should Landlords Do Now?
September 2026 is a particularly important point to review compliance because several major deadlines have already passed while another phase of reform is approaching.
Landlords in England should check that existing tenancies have transitioned correctly under the Renters’ Rights Act, confirm that required tenant information has been supplied, stop using outdated Section 21 processes, review rent increase procedures and prepare for the regional PRS Database rollout.
Landlords affected by Making Tax Digital should also prepare for the 7 November 2026 quarterly reporting deadline.
Most importantly, landlords should distinguish between rules that are already law, measures with a confirmed future date and proposals that are still awaiting consultation or secondary legislation.
That distinction can prevent expensive compliance mistakes.
FAQs
What are the most important dates for landlords in 2026?
For landlords in England, 1 May 2026 is the key date because major Renters’ Rights Act reforms came into force. Other important dates include 6 April for Making Tax Digital, 31 May for the Renters’ Rights Information Sheet and the PRS Database rollout from late 2026.
When did Section 21 end?
Landlords in England can no longer issue Section 21 notices from 1 May 2026. Transitional provisions applied to some valid notices issued before that date.
Do landlords need a new tenancy agreement in 2026?
Not necessarily. Existing written agreements generally did not need to be replaced solely because of the Renters’ Rights Act. Most landlords instead had to provide the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
When does Making Tax Digital start for landlords?
MTD for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for qualifying landlords and sole traders with income over £50,000. The threshold falls to over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028.
When will landlords need to join the PRS Database?
The government plans to begin the regional rollout from late 2026. Registration will ultimately be mandatory for landlords covered by the system.
When does Awaab’s Law apply to private landlords?
A specific implementation date for the private rented sector has not yet been confirmed. The government lists it as subject to consultation.
Do landlords need EPC C by 2030?
The government's current plan is for private rented properties to meet the new higher energy standard by 1 October 2030, subject to exemptions, transitional arrangements and the necessary legislation.
