Renters Reform Act and Landlord Obligations in London: What Changes in 2026

What the Renters Rights Act Means for Maintenance Duties

The Renters Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in 2025 and is being brought into force in phases through 2025 and 2026, represents the most substantial overhaul of the private rented sector in England in a generation. For London landlords, the legislation introduces strengthened obligations around property maintenance and repair that sit alongside, and in some respects extend beyond, existing duties under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Understanding how the new framework interacts with existing law is essential for any landlord managing residential property in the capital.

One of the most significant changes introduced by the Act is the abolition of section 21 no-fault evictions. While this is primarily a tenancy security measure rather than a maintenance provision, it has a direct practical effect on how London landlords approach repair disputes. Under the previous regime, a landlord faced with a tenant who had complained about disrepair could, in theory, use a section 21 notice to end the tenancy rather than address the underlying problem. The removal of this route means that complaints about property condition must now be addressed on their merits, and landlords who fail to carry out required repairs face a higher risk of formal enforcement action, rent repayment orders, and civil claims than was previously the case.

The Decent Homes Standard and Its Application to Private Landlords

The Renters Rights Act also extends the Decent Homes Standard, which previously applied only to social housing, to the private rented sector. This is a fundamental change for London landlords. The Decent Homes Standard requires that a property must be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services, provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort, and be free from category one hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. In practice, this means that London landlords are now subject to a statutory baseline for property condition that goes beyond the minimum repair obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

For London properties, the thermal comfort requirement has particular relevance given the age of much of the housing stock. A significant proportion of London rented properties are Victorian or Edwardian terraced houses where the original building fabric offers limited insulation. Landlords who have not upgraded heating systems or addressed draughts and inadequate insulation may find their properties fall below the Decent Homes Standard and face enforcement action from the relevant local authority or, for properties managed by a managing agent, regulatory scrutiny.

Awaab Law and the Hazard Remediation Timeframes

The Act incorporates what is commonly referred to as Awaab Law, named after Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 as a result of exposure to mould in a social housing property. The Awaab Law provisions, which were first introduced for social housing through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, now apply to private landlords and impose specific statutory timeframes for responding to and remedying reported hazards including damp and mould. Under the provisions, a landlord must investigate a reported hazard within fourteen days of being notified, provide the tenant with a written explanation of the findings and planned remediation within a further fourteen days, and complete remediation works within a prescribed period that varies depending on the severity of the hazard.

For London landlords, the practical implication is that damp and mould complaints can no longer be treated as low-priority matters to be addressed at the next convenient opportunity. Prestige Engineers carry out damp investigations, mould remediation assessments, and the plumbing and heating works that are frequently required to address the underlying causes of damp in London properties, including defective pipework, inadequate heating, and condensation resulting from insufficient ventilation. Landlords who receive a damp or mould complaint should act promptly and document both their investigation and their remediation works in order to demonstrate compliance with the statutory timeframes.