Renters' Rights Act: The Information Sheet Landlords Must Issue by 31 May

On 20 March 2026, the government published the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. If you are a private landlord in England with existing tenants, you must give this document to every named tenant on your tenancy agreement by 31 May 2026. Fail to do it and your local council can fine you up to £7,000. This is not optional, not a recommendation, and not something you can deal with later. The deadline is 67 days away.

The information sheet is part of the wider Renters' Rights Act 2025, which takes full effect on 1 May 2026. It represents the biggest change to English tenancy law in over 30 years: Section 21 no-fault evictions are abolished, fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are scrapped, and new rules on rent increases, advertising, and eviction grounds kick in simultaneously. The information sheet exists to tell your existing tenants what these changes mean for them. And the government has made it your legal responsibility to deliver it.

What is the information sheet?

It is a government-produced PDF document that explains, in plain language, how the Renters' Rights Act changes will affect existing tenancies. The document covers the shift from fixed-term ASTs to rolling periodic tenancies, the abolition of Section 21 notices, new rules on rent increases, updated eviction grounds under Section 8, and tenants' new rights around challenging unfair rent hikes.

You cannot write your own version. You cannot summarise it in a letter. You must use the exact PDF published on the GOV.UK website. The government has been specific about this: only the official document downloaded from their site counts as valid compliance.

Who needs to receive it?

Every tenant named on an assured or assured shorthold tenancy agreement that started before 1 May 2026. That means your current tenants. If a tenancy has two names on it, both people must receive a copy. If you have a property with a joint tenancy of three people, three copies.

You do not need to give it to lodgers (people who share your own home). You do not need to give it to tenants whose tenancies start on or after 1 May 2026, as they will receive separate mandatory pre-tenancy information under the new rules.

For HMO landlords, think carefully about your tenant count. A six-bed HMO with individual tenancy agreements means six separate information sheets to six separate tenants. If you manage multiple properties, the numbers add up fast. A portfolio of 10 tenanted properties could mean 15 to 20 individual deliveries, each one needing to be done correctly and documented.

How must you deliver it?

This is where landlords will trip up. The government has specified exactly how the information sheet must be delivered, and there is a catch that will catch out anyone who tries to do it quickly.

Valid delivery methods: Print a hard copy and post it or hand it to the tenant in person. Or send the PDF as an email attachment or text message attachment.

Invalid delivery: Sending a link to the GOV.UK page where the PDF is hosted. This does not count. Texting a URL does not count. Emailing a hyperlink does not count. The tenant must receive the actual document, not a pointer to where they can find it themselves.

This distinction matters because it is exactly the kind of technical compliance detail that catches landlords out. You might think emailing a link is equivalent to emailing the PDF. The government disagrees. And if a tenant later claims they never received it, a link in an email is much harder to prove was actually accessed than an attached document that was demonstrably sent.

Keep a record of delivery. Screenshot the sent email with the attachment. Get a signature if handing over a printed copy. If a dispute arises, you need evidence that you complied. Councils now have stronger enforcement powers under the Renters' Rights Act, and a £7,000 fine for something this simple to get right is not a position you want to be in.

What changes on 1 May 2026?

The information sheet is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Here is what actually changes when the Renters' Rights Act takes full effect.

Section 21 is gone. The last day you can serve a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice is 30 April 2026. After that, every eviction must go through Section 8 with documented grounds: rent arrears (now three months, up from two), antisocial behaviour, the landlord wanting to sell, or the landlord wanting to move in. The final deadline to apply to court using an existing Section 21 notice is 31 July 2026. After that date, Section 21 ceases to exist entirely.

Fixed-term tenancies are abolished. Every tenancy becomes a rolling periodic tenancy with no end date. Tenants can leave with two months' notice at any time. Landlords can only end a tenancy through the Section 8 grounds. This is a fundamental shift in the power dynamic, and it is permanent.

Rent increases are restricted. One increase per year, maximum. You must use a Section 13 notice with at least two months' warning. Tenants can challenge any increase they consider above market rate at a tribunal, which costs them £47 to file. If the tribunal agrees the increase is excessive, they can set a lower figure. No more informal rent negotiations backed by the implicit threat of a Section 21 notice.

Bidding wars are banned. Every rental advert must state a specific asking rent. You cannot invite or accept offers above the advertised price. This is new and applies immediately from 1 May. Landlords and agents who encourage bidding risk fines of up to £7,000 for a first offence and £40,000 for repeat breaches.

Penalties have teeth. First offences under the Act carry fines up to £7,000. Repeat or serious breaches can reach £40,000. Rent repayment orders now cover up to 24 months of rent, doubled from the previous 12-month limit. These are not theoretical maximums. Councils have been given dedicated funding and expanded powers to enforce them.

What this means for your investment strategy

If you have been relying on Section 21 as your safety net for problem tenants, that net disappears in five weeks. The practical impact depends on how you operate.

For landlords with good tenants paying market rent, not much changes day to day. Your tenants stay, your rent comes in, and the rolling tenancy structure actually reduces your admin because there are no fixed terms to renew.

For landlords with problem tenants, the transition is harder. Evicting for rent arrears now requires three months of arrears (up from two) and a four-week notice period (doubled from the current requirement). The process is slower and more evidence-heavy. If you have a tenant you have been meaning to deal with, the next five weeks are your last window to use Section 21. After 30 April, you are on the new system whether you are ready or not.

For portfolio investors buying ex-landlord stock with tenants in situ, due diligence on the existing tenancy becomes even more critical. You are inheriting tenants you cannot easily remove. Check rent payment history carefully. Verify the tenancy agreement is properly documented. Use a tenant screening tool to assess the quality of inherited tenancies before you exchange contracts, not after.

How AI helps landlords manage compliance

The Renters' Rights Act adds compliance obligations on top of an already complex regulatory stack. You now need to track information sheet delivery for every existing tenant, use the correct Section 13 process for rent increases, document grounds properly for any possession proceedings, comply with new advertising rules, and maintain records that prove compliance if a council investigates.

For a landlord with one or two properties, this is manageable with a spreadsheet and a diary. For a portfolio investor with 10, 20, or 50 units, the admin overhead is real. This is where AI compliance tools earn their keep. Automated deadline tracking, document generation, compliance checklists tailored to your specific portfolio, and audit trails that prove you did what you were supposed to do, when you were supposed to do it.

An HMO compliance checker that already tracks licensing, fire safety, and room size requirements can now incorporate Renters' Rights Act obligations into the same workflow. One system tracking all your compliance deadlines is better than four different spreadsheets, a wall calendar, and a vague sense of dread.

The landlords who will get caught out by the new regime are not the ones who disagree with it. They are the ones who meant to deal with it next week, then next month, then suddenly it is June and the council is asking questions. AI does not make the rules simpler. But it makes forgetting about them much harder.

Five things to do before 1 May

Download the information sheet today. Go to GOV.UK, search for "Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026", and download the PDF. Do not bookmark the page. Download the actual file. You will need to send it as an attachment, not a link.

List every tenant who needs a copy. Pull up every tenancy agreement across your portfolio. Write down every named tenant. If you have joint tenancies, list each person individually. This is your delivery checklist.

Send it now, not on 30 May. The deadline is 31 May, but postal delays, bounced emails, and tenants who claim they never received it are all problems you avoid by sending early. Send it this week. Keep proof of delivery.

Review your rent increase process. If you have been raising rents informally through conversations or letters, that stops on 1 May. Every increase must go through a Section 13 notice with two months' notice. If you were planning a rent increase for the summer, serve the notice now under the current rules or wait and use the new process correctly.

Audit your problem tenancies. If you have a tenant with persistent arrears, antisocial behaviour complaints, or property damage, assess whether a Section 21 notice served before 30 April is the right move. After that date, you will need documented Section 8 grounds and a longer, more involved process. Read up on common compliance mistakes to make sure your documentation is in order.

The Renters' Rights Act is not going away. Whether you think it is fair or not, it is the law your business operates under from 1 May. The landlords who treat it as a compliance exercise and get ahead of the deadlines will spend their time finding deals and growing their portfolios. The ones who ignore it will spend their time dealing with councils, tribunals, and fines. The information sheet takes five minutes to send. The fine for not sending it is £7,000. That is the easiest compliance decision you will make all year.