Advice on tenancy implications under the Renters' Rights Act for the owner of a country estate

In each edition of the Brief, the Farrer & Co Residential Property partners give us a brief insight into their working lives. This month we provide an overview of advice for a longstanding client on the impact of the tenancy reforms due to come into force on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Act).

The Brief

Our client owns a significant country estate, which includes a number of cottages currently let to private tenants under assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), all of which will be subject to the tenancy reforms due to come into force on 1 May 2026. An additional cottage on the estate is empty while it is being refurbished. Our client anticipates that the refurbishment will be finished by the end of April, and they are lining a tenant up to move into the cottage in early May, by which point the new tenancy regime will be live.

Executing the Brief

As a first step, we carried out a review of the existing tenancy agreements which identified that one of the cottage ASTs contains a contractual rent review which was overdue by almost 18 months. We flagged this to our client emphasising that the provision would be deemed void from 1 May, at which point rent will only be able to be increased in line with the more restrictive (and burdensome) annual statutory rent review procedure. The missed rent review was an oversight by our client, and they have since been able to agree a rent increase with the tenant. The rent review has been documented and the new rent was introduced at the start of this month.

We highlighted to our client that they will need to serve a prescribed form information sheet on each existing AST tenant, explaining the new rules, by no later than 31 May 2026. The government published the information sheet on Friday, so we are now arranging for the requisite notices to be served (as a landlord is able to serve these notices ahead of 1 May, so there is no need to delay this process).

Our client expressed concern regarding the changes to the rules on pets. From 1 May, tenants (including existing tenants) will have a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet; landlords must respond within 28 days and may refuse only on reasonable grounds (landlords can request more information, which extends the response window by seven days). Our client explained that many of the cottages have gardens leading directly on to grazing land that is home to sheep (including lambs) during the spring and summer, so our client has historically maintained a strict 'no pet dogs' policy for the cottages. While our client may not be able to reasonably refuse consent to a tenant keeping a dog going forward, with their concerns in mind, we have helped our client to prepare a clear, evidence‑based pets policy addressing the livestock disturbance risk and biosecurity (eg fouling, use of leads and field access) for those living in the estate cottages.

We then turned to new lettings and explained that in-scope tenancies granted from 1 May must have a written tenancy agreement which contains (or is accompanied by) a written statement of terms covering various minimum standard terms. Regulations made by the government last week clarify the minimum standard terms (and a draft copy of the Regulations has been available since the end of January), so we have updated our client’s precedent tenancy agreement to ensure they have a new form assured periodic tenancy agreement ready to go once a tenant is found for the refurbished cottage.

The debrief

While the Act is the biggest shake up of the private rented sector since the 1980s, our client is feeling informed and equipped for the changes that are due to come into force on 1 May, and we will continue to support and work with our client as we move through the further implementation phases of the Act.

For additional reading, we refer you to our 10 things you might not know about the Renters' Rights Act article and our Renters' Rights Act Q&A. We also include a link to a recent Renters' Rights Act webinar (passcode is ZzK+7M24) delivered by Laura Conduit and Camilla Tunnicliffe in collaboration with Russell Simpson.

We are always happy to discuss the conveyancing process and how to manage a transaction.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, March 2026