Renters’ Rights Act update: registration deadlines and new approach to rent disputes

Duncan McGregor, Partner & Head of Residential Property

Yesterday (9 September 2026) HM Government announced the next steps to be rolled out concerning the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

From December this year the new landlord registration service will be rolled out region by region, starting with the West Midlands.  Initially the service will allow councils access to information to “help them spot rogue landlords and take quicker action” but ultimately landlords themselves will need to sign up.  At first this will apply only to landlords with properties that are currently let but eventually it will require unlet properties to be registered also.  Letting agents and landlords will need to include the registration numbers on adverts for those properties.  It will launch on 15th December, with the scheme rolling out all areas over the following 12 months.  When are area is called to register, landlords in that region will have a 3 month period in which to sign up, but all must have registered by 14th November 2027.

The other part to the announcement concerned the Valuation Office becoming the body that will deal with challenges to rent increases, rather than the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).  As has been widely reported in the media, since the introduction of the Act that applications to the FTT have increased enormously driven by challenges to rent increases.  This puts pressure on an already over-stretched system so moving the process to the Valuation Office is an attempt to ameliorate that.  No timeline has been given on the change, so tenants wishing to challenge rental increases will still need to apply to the FTT.