Five months after the Renters' Rights Act took effect on 1 May 2026, landlords in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have changed how they advertise, how they review rent, how they would end a tenancy and what they keep on file. The biggest shift is that every assured tenancy is now periodic and section 21 has gone, so possession needs a legal ground. More is still to come: a national landlord database, a landlord ombudsman and, later, new housing standards.
This is a summary at the time of writing, not legal advice. The sources are GOV.UK's overview for landlords, last updated 1 May 2026, and the government's implementation roadmap.
What landlords have had to change
Advertising and letting
Every advert must state a rent, and a landlord or agent cannot invite or accept bids above it. Rent cannot be taken before the tenancy agreement is signed, and no more than one month's rent can be taken in advance. A landlord cannot refuse a tenant because they have children or receive benefits. For most local landlords the practical change was the end of "offers over" in a busy September and of six months' rent upfront from a tenant without a UK guarantor.
Existing tenancies
On 1 May every existing assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy. Landlords with written agreements had to give their tenants the government's information sheet by 31 May 2026. Those who missed it should take advice on putting it right.
Rent reviews
Rent can rise once a year, by a section 13 notice on the prescribed form giving at least two months' notice, and the tenant can challenge an increase above market rent. Rent review clauses in old agreements no longer work. We have moved every managed tenancy onto the section 13 cycle.
Pets
A tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet, and the landlord can refuse only for a valid reason. A refusal should be written and reasoned. Check the lease first: a freeholder's ban on pets is the kind of reason that counts.
Ending a tenancy
Possession now needs a ground. To sell or to move in, the landlord gives four months' notice, and neither ground can be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy. After using either, the property cannot be re-let or marketed for let for a period afterwards. For arrears, the mandatory ground now needs three months' rent owed. A tenant who is evicted wrongly can seek a rent repayment order of up to two years' rent.
For BCP landlords two cases come up often. Student landlords who want to re-let to a new cohort each September need the student ground written into the tenancy at the start. And owners thinking of moving a flat from a tenancy to a holiday let have found there is no ground for that. Our comparison of a long let and a holiday let explains the choice.
What comes next
The landlord database. The government's Housing Hub says the "Register your rental property" service starts in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and rolls out by region over a year. The South West is last: registration is expected to open on 15 August 2027, with a deadline of 14 November 2027, and an annual fee of £65 per property. Landlords will need to record the property, its safety certificates and its energy rating.
The landlord ombudsman. The roadmap expects membership to become mandatory in 2028, after the database.
Housing standards. Applying Awaab's Law and a modernised Decent Homes Standard to private renting is the third phase, with dates still to be confirmed.
Energy. Separately, the government's response of January 2026 set 1 October 2030 as the date for rented homes to reach EPC C, subject to regulations being made.
A five-point check for October
- Every tenancy has the information sheet on file.
- Every rent review is on the section 13 form, at least two months ahead.
- Gas, electrical and EPC certificates are in date and filed, ready for the database.
- The deposit is protected and the prescribed information served.
- Any plan to sell or move in allows for four months' notice and the first-year bar.
Our landlord legal checklist has the full list, and our Renters' Rights Act guide the detail. If you would rather hand the diary over, property management covers it.
