How does the Renters' Rights Act affect Manchester landlords?

The Renters' Rights Act removes section 21 no-fault evictions, converts fixed-term ASTs into periodic tenancies, limits rent increases to once a year with a right of tenant challenge, and restricts rent in advance. Beacon Living Group notes that Manchester landlords using standard ASTs now carry more process and less certainty, which is why some are moving to corporate lease arrangements that sit outside the AST regime.

Is section 21 gone completely?

Yes. Under the Renters' Rights Act, landlords can no longer end a tenancy without grounds. Possession now requires a valid statutory ground, such as serious rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, sale of the property or the landlord moving in, each with its own notice requirements and evidence.

Does the Renters' Rights Act apply to guaranteed rent?

A guaranteed rent arrangement structured as a corporate commercial lease between the landlord and an operating company such as Beacon Living Group is not an assured shorthold tenancy, so the AST provisions of the Act do not govern that lease. The landlord's tenant is a company, guests stay under short licences, and the landlord's exit at the end of the term is contractual.

Can I still increase rent under the new rules?

Yes, but only once a year using the statutory notice procedure, and tenants can challenge an increase they consider above market at tribunal. Landlords should document local comparable rents before serving any increase.

What should Manchester landlords do first?

Review every existing tenancy agreement, understand which statutory grounds for possession would realistically apply to your circumstances, check your compliance paperwork is current, and decide whether the AST route still suits you. Landlords who want fixed income without the new regime's process can request a corporate lease assessment from Beacon Living Group.

The Renters' Rights Act: What Manchester Landlords Need to Do Now

Summary: the Renters' Rights Act is now in force and it changes the fundamentals for Manchester landlords. Section 21 no-fault evictions are gone, fixed terms have become periodic tenancies, rent rises are limited to once a year and can be challenged, and rent in advance is restricted. Beacon Living Group explains what changed, the readiness checklist to work through, and the corporate lease route that sits outside the AST regime entirely. This article is general information, not legal advice.

For most of the last three decades, the assured shorthold tenancy came with an escape hatch: section 21. Whatever else happened, a landlord could recover the property with two months' notice and no reason given. That escape hatch has now closed. The Renters' Rights Act's main provisions commenced this spring, and every Manchester landlord letting on an AST is now operating under a materially different set of rules.

This is not a panic piece. Manchester's rental demand has not changed, tenants have not changed, and good landlords will adapt as they always have. But the changes are real, and pretending the old playbook still works is the one mistake that will genuinely cost you.

What actually changed

Section 21 is abolished. You can no longer end a tenancy without grounds. Recovering possession now requires one of the statutory grounds, such as serious rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, selling the property, or moving in yourself or a close family member. Each ground carries its own notice period and evidence requirements, and several cannot be used in the first year of a tenancy. Our full grounds for possession guide breaks down every ground, its notice period, and whether it is mandatory or discretionary.

Fixed terms are gone. Tenancies are now periodic, rolling month to month. Tenants can leave with two months' notice at any point. The twelve-month fixed term you relied on for planning no longer exists in the AST world.

Rent increases are regulated. One increase per year, served through the statutory notice procedure, and tenants can refer an increase they consider above market to a tribunal. Comparable evidence matters now in a way it did not before. Our full breakdown of the Section 13 process covers the notice period, the market rent cap, and the tribunal route in detail.

Rent in advance is restricted. Asking for several months upfront, previously a common way to de-risk a marginal application, is no longer available. One month is the limit.

And the rest. Rental bidding is banned, pet requests cannot be unreasonably refused, and the sector is gaining a landlord database and ombudsman scheme. Individually small, together they add administration to every tenancy you run.

Your readiness checklist

Work through this in the next fortnight if you have not already. Tick items as you complete them.

Renters' Rights Act readiness

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Tenancy audit. You know which of your tenancies were fixed-term ASTs and understand they are now periodic. Grounds knowledge. You have read the statutory grounds for possession and know which could realistically apply to your circumstances. Compliance file. Gas safety, EICR, EPC, deposit protection and How to Rent documentation are current for every property — work through our 2026 landlord compliance checklist if you have not already. Weak paperwork now directly weakens possession claims. See our EPC C by 2030 roadmap if your current rating needs planning. Rent review plan. You have a documented view of local comparable rents to support any future statutory rent increase. Cash-flow stress test. You have modelled what a long possession process would mean for your finances, since regaining a property now takes grounds, notice and possibly court time. Pet and bidding policies. Your listings and processes reflect the bidding ban and the new approach to pet requests. Database and ombudsman. You are registered for, or tracking the rollout of, the landlord database and ombudsman scheme. Strategy decision. You have actively decided whether the AST route still suits you, rather than defaulting to it.

The route that sits outside the AST regime

Here is the structural point most coverage of the Act misses: everything above applies to assured shorthold tenancies. It does not apply to a corporate commercial lease, because a company cannot hold an AST.

When Beacon Living Group takes a Manchester property on a corporate lease, the landlord's tenant is a company, not an individual. The lease runs for an agreed term of three to five years at a fixed rent. Guests stay under short licences managed entirely by Beacon. Our standard lease is designed so that, when the term ends, the property comes back under the contract terms, without statutory grounds, notice battles or tribunal risk. The landlord keeps the income of being a landlord and steps out of the regime the Act just rewrote.

This is not a loophole and we would not describe it as one; corporate lets have existed for decades and the Act deliberately regulates residential ASTs, not commercial leases. It is simply a different legal structure with a different risk profile, and after this year's changes, a growing number of Manchester landlords are concluding it is the structure they should have been using all along. Our corporate let vs AST comparison sets out the legal test in full, with a side-by-side table and a five-question fit quiz. Our comparison of guaranteed rent and letting agents covers the financial side of that decision.

What we would honestly tell a friend

If you enjoy managing your tenancy and your tenants are good, the Act is workable: keep immaculate paperwork, budget for slower exits and carry on. If you were already tired of the admin, the Act tips the balance. The two structural answers are selling, which crystallises your position in a soft moment, or restructuring to a corporate lease, which keeps the asset and the income while removing the regime. Take proper legal advice on your specific situation before acting on either; this article is general information, not legal advice.

Common questions

Section 21 is gone, fixed terms are now periodic tenancies, rent rises are limited to once a year with a right of challenge, and rent in advance is restricted. Landlords on ASTs carry more process and less certainty than before.

Yes. Possession now requires a valid statutory ground such as serious arrears, antisocial behaviour, sale, or moving in yourself, each with its own notice and evidence requirements.

A guaranteed rent arrangement structured as a corporate commercial lease is not an AST, so the Act's AST provisions do not govern that lease. The landlord's tenant is a company and the exit at the end of the term is contractual.

Once a year, via the statutory notice procedure, and tenants can challenge an above-market increase at tribunal. Keep documented comparable evidence.

Audit your tenancies, learn the grounds, get your compliance file current, and make an active decision about whether the AST route still suits you. If fixed income without the new process appeals, request a corporate lease assessment.

Key takeaways

The Act is in force: no section 21, periodic tenancies, regulated rent rises, restricted rent in advance.
Compliance paperwork is now your possession case. Keep it immaculate.
A corporate lease is the established structure that sits outside the AST regime while keeping the income.

About Beacon Living Group. Beacon Living Group is a Manchester guaranteed rent and serviced accommodation operator. It leases properties from landlords across Manchester on 3- to 5-year corporate leases, pays a fixed monthly rent with no fees, and is built to manage every stay in-house. Beacon Living Group Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company no. 17076795.