The Renters' Rights Act changed how you let. A separate set of regulations, six weeks later, changed how councils inspect, and fine. Here's exactly what applies to your Blackpool property right now, and how PPS keeps you covered.
It's easy to lump them together because they landed so close. They're not the same regime, and they don't cover the same ground.
All assured shorthold tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies on this date, fixed terms gone. "No fault" eviction under Section 21 is no longer available; possession now requires a Section 8 ground. Rent increases are limited to once a year, formally notified, and challengeable at tribunal. Rent in advance is capped at one month.
Landlords and agents had to issue the government's Information Sheet to tenants on existing tenancies by this date, alongside the written statement of terms now required for anything let after 1 May.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System moved from 29 hazard categories to 21, and from A–J letter bands to a High / Medium / Low numeric score. Separately, councils gained the power to issue an on-the-spot civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a Category 1 (High) hazard, without first serving an improvement notice.
Written statements, rent notice templates, and hazard inspection checklists across our Blackpool and Fylde Coast portfolio have been rebuilt to the post-May, post-June standard.
Not the headlines, the parts that change your paperwork and your Tuesday.
Regaining possession now means citing a specific ground, arrears, sale, moving back in, or anti-social behaviour, each with its own notice period and evidence standard.
No more fixed terms. Every new letting is a rolling periodic tenancy, and tenants can leave with two months' notice at any point.
Increases go through a formal Section 13 notice, must reflect market rate, and tenants can refer them to the Property Tribunal for free.
A prescribed written statement is now required before a tenancy starts, a standalone document or built into the agreement itself.
Fewer hazard categories, plainer scoring, and a penalty a council can now issue the moment it finds a problem.
Where a council finds a Category 1 (High) hazard it judges reasonably removable, it can now issue the civil penalty immediately, no obligation to give an improvement notice and time to fix it first.
The old A–J bands are gone from every form and log. If your inspection checklist still says "Category 1, Band B," it's already out of date.
Drafted to the post-1 May template for every new and existing tenancy we manage.
Property checks scored High / Medium / Low under the 21-hazard framework, not the retired A–J system.
Evidence and notice periods built for whichever ground actually applies, not a generic template.
A one-off walk-through of your portfolio flagging anything that could now trigger the £7,000 on-the-spot fine.
A 20-minute call tells you whether your tenancies, notices, and hazard records are actually current, no obligation, no sales pitch.
Book Your Free Compliance Check