We’re Renters’ Rights Act ready
You can rent with us between now and 1 May 2026 and be confident we’ll be fully compliant and you’re covered.
The Renters’ Rights Act brings in stronger protections for renters, clearer rules for landlords, and hopefully a better experience for UK renters overall. At Quintain Living, we’re genuinely pleased to see the Renters’ Rights Act coming in and bringing up the standard of renting an apartment in London. As a build-to-rent owner and operator (as opposed to an individual landlord and high street agent) many of the things the Act introduces – long-term security, transparent rents, better quality maintained homes, equal choice for pet-owners and just better customer service – are why we exist and have done since 2016, because we believe everyone deserves to love where they rent.
Here’s what’s changing for renters in the Act:
| How the Act is changing renting | What it means for London’s renters | Renting with Quintain Living | QL before the Act | QL after the Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling tenancies (also called Periodic tenancies) | Flexibility | Like all landlords we used to do fixed term contracts but our contracts worked around you and could be from 3 months to 3 years. From 1 May all tenancies will be open-ended, rolling tenancies | ✓ | |
| Clearer rental pricing rules | Fewer surprises | Transparent pricing and fair ‘rent reviews’ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No bidding wars | Fair access | Clear, advertised pricing and whoever decides to reserve the flat & completes referencing first gets the apartment. First come, first served | ✓ | ✓ |
| Decent Homes (& Awaab’s Law) | Safer, well maintained homes | Stylish, quality apartments – purpose-built for renters. Well maintained and cared for inside and outside the four walls of your home | ✓ | ✓ |
| Better, faster repairs | Faster fixes | 24hr support from concierge, Resident & Maintenance teams | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clear accountability | Someone responsible | One professional landlord, steady & secure who wants you to stay & enjoy your home | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pet rights | Fewer barriers | Pet-friendly flats by design plus pet parks in the neighbourhood. The Act now allows anyone to rent a home with their pet and at no extra cost | ✓ | ✓ |
| End of no-fault evictions | Greater stability | Professionally owned and managed, rental homes for those who pay their rent and respect the conditions of their Tenancy Agreement | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ombudsman protection | Independent support | Clear escalation routes & a landlord that plays by the rules* | ✓ | ✓ |
*The Ombudsman process the Act will bring in after 1 May will be different to the existing process via the TPO however we have always worked to rules and regulatory guidance from notable industry bodies such as part of TPO (the Property Ombudsman) and Propertymark
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about how the Renters' Rights Act may affect you.
The Act was designed to bring up rental housing standards and make things fairer and more transparent for renters who historically have had mixed experiences renting in London and the UK as a whole.
The reason Quintain Living launched in 2016 and exists is because we wanted to deliver a rental experience like no other. Something better, transparent, fair and somewhere our residents can genuinely say they love where they rent.
Yes – but it will operate under the new legal framework. Any clauses or renting conditions that conflict with the Renters’ Rights Act will no longer apply or be charged for. You don’t have to do anything, it will happen automatically. Rest assured you’ll benefit from all the conditions of the Renters’ Rights Act from 1 May 2026 onwards.
No, you shouldn’t feel you need to delay or be worried about renewing before the Act comes in as every renter (and therefore every Quintain Living resident) will immediately have access to all the conditions and benefits of the Renters’ Rights Act automatically without you having to do anything. Your tenancy automatically changes to a rolling tenancy (also called a periodic tenancy) and your new notice period becomes 2 months by law. When you moved in if you had paid our £1,000 deposit (or even took our ‘no deposit’ option) we won’t ask you to pay more to top up to the 5 or 6 week deposit that we currently charge. And if you have a pet and therefore currently pay a small monthly ‘pet rent’ fee, after 1 May we will stop charging pet rent as renting with a pet is now a right within the Act and is free.
If your tenancy expires before 1 May, your Resident team will have already reached out to you to discuss your renewal options so you can ask any questions you have and renew your tenancy now with peace of mind knowing your covered when the clock ticks into 1 May 2026. If your tenancy ends in the months shortly after 1 May 2026 we’ll be ensuring the process and paperwork aligns with the Renters’ Rights Act and our teams will guide you though it.
We’ll be happy to help you move to a new apartment in a different Quintain Living building before the Act launches, after you’ve found an apartment, reserved it and signed a new Tenancy Agreement, everything will switch over seamlessly from 1 May where you will immediately have access to all the conditions and benefits of the Renters’ Rights Act without having to do anything. Your tenancy changes to a rolling tenancy (also called a periodic tenancy) and your new notice period by law becomes 2 months. And if you have a pet and therefore currently pay a small monthly ‘pet rent’ fee, after 1 May we will stop charging pet rent as renting with a pet is now a right within the Act and is free.
When the Act comes into force every UK renter (and therefore every Quintain Living resident) will immediately have access to all the conditions and benefits of the Renters’ Rights Act without you having to do anything. So effective immediately from 1 May 2026, your tenancy changes to a rolling tenancy (also called a periodic tenancy) and your new notice period by law becomes 2 months, and all the other conditions apply also.
Our Resident Team would reach out to you up to 3 months before end of your tenancy to discuss your renewal options e.g. different tenancy lengths and associated pricing. This will now change to what the Act stipulates as a ‘Rent Review’ and occurs on the 12 month anniversary of your move in date (or the 12 month anniversary of your most recent rent increase). We will conduct a fair and balanced review of your monthly rent versus other prices in the area for a comparable home in size, standard, service and amenity. At rent review, your rent will either stay the same or potentially go up but the price stated will be evidence-based and benchmarked against comparable apartments in the immediate vicinity.
As part of the Act, the government is planning on bringing in a system where you can formally challenge a rent increase given to you at rent review and have it reviewed by an independent third party. Current indication from the UK government suggests this is likely to require the renter to share evidence as to why that increase is materially not aligned.
Just like currently at the end of your tenancy where you have a conversation with us about your renewal options, this chat is now called a ‘Rent Review’ post 1 May 2026 when the Act comes into play. It is the 12 month anniversary of your move in date (as all tenancies are rolling or also called ‘periodic’) and at this point the Act allows us to conduct a fair and balanced review of your monthly rent versus other prices in the area for a comparable home in size, standard, service and amenity. At rent review your rent will either stay the same or go up but the price stated will be evidence-based and benchmarked against comparable apartments in the immediate vicinity.
Though not in force from 1 May, the government is planning on bringing in a system where you can formally challenge a rent increase given to you at rent review and have it reviewed by an independent third party. Current indication from the UK government suggests this is likely to require the renter to share evidence as to why that increase is materially not aligned.
The good news is you can rent with us now or any time before 1 May 2026 and be confident you will immediately have access to all the conditions and benefits of the Renters’ Rights Act when it comes into force on 1 May 2026, without you having to do anything. From 1 May 2026, your tenancy will switch automatically to a rolling tenancy (also called a periodic tenancy) and your new notice period by default becomes 2 months. You will pay a 5 or 6 week deposit as standard. Most will pay 5 weeks if the total annual rent is under £50,000, if it’s over £50,000 it will be 6 weeks. And if you have a pet you can bring them with you and there’s no extra cost after 1 May, however up to the 1 May, there will be a smally monthly pet rent fee.
Our deposit is the 5 or 6 weeks’ worth of rent. 5 weeks is the default unless the total annual rent of the apartment exceeds £50,000 where it will then be 6 weeks.
Yes, after 1 May 2026 you can ‘serve notice’ at any time after you move in but a 2 month notice period applies. However for full transparency, a quirk of the Act means that if you were to give notice on 2 April, for example, your 2 months’ notice would only start from 1 May (not from 3 April), so in effect this would be nearly 3 months. At Quintain Living, we’ve decided we won’t hold you to this, we’ll just let you serve 2 months’ notice directly based on the date you serve notice. This is easier to understand, unlikely to be misunderstood and best of all saves you a little bit of money. So by way of example if Mo gave notice on their 1 bed flat on 20 March 2026, they would pay rent up to their move out date of 19 May 2026. If Sarah instead gave notice on their 2 bed flat on 2 April 2027 they would pay rent up to their move out date of 1 June 2027.
Currently you may have a designated lease for a fixed period e.g. 12 months. After 1 May there’s no such thing as a fixed lease length. All tenancies become periodic, that is to say they are ‘rolling’ contracts and you can serve notice at any time but that notice period is 2 months.
Just as before though, you still have a ‘contract’ though in the form of a Tenancy Agreement with us (your landlord), with rules & conditions you must abide by such as paying your rent on time, responsibility for damages to your apartment (outside of acceptable wear and tear), etc.
After the Act launches, it is only at ‘Rent Review’ stage that we can tell you what your new rent will be for the forthcoming 12 months. At this time, we can formally benchmark your rent versus other comparable flats of size, quality & service in the immediate area.
For context, it’s important to note how we price our apartments. Firstly, we have a ‘Market Rent’ – the full price of the apartment minus any offers/concessions. Secondly, we have the ‘Net Effective Rent’ or NER price, this is the monthly rent after any offer/concession has been applied. For full terms and conditions of our offers read our T&Cs.
