COBB WARREN INSIGHTS
COBB WARREN INSIGHTS
Articles & Updates
On 14 May 2026 the Government introduced the Social Housing Bill. Following on from the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the Crime and Policing Act 2026 this Bill proposes further changes to the social housing sector. The Bill introduces a range of new measures designed to deal with domestic abuse. The headline changes are that, in domestic abuse cases where the abuser and their victim are joint tenants: The court must transfer the abuser’s interest in the property to the victim (and any other non-abuser joint tenants) rather than make a possession order; and The abusive joint-tenant can be blocked from serving a valid Notice to Quit. The Bill introduces a new mandatory ground of possession for both assured and secured tenancy agreements which allow for possession where the landlord is a social housing provider and: A tenant has been convicted of a domestic abuse offence, and the offence took place against a resident partner or a family member of the partner (who was a resident at the property); or A tenant has been found to have breached either a non-molestation order or a domestic abuse protection order and the breach took place against a resident partner or a family member of the partner (who was a resident at the property). For both grounds, there is no requirement for the offence/breach to have taken place in (or in the vicinity of) the property, merely that it takes place against a partner or family member who was a resident of the property (at the time of the offence/breach). Domestic abuse offences have been set out by the Bill as including: controlling or coercive behaviour, breaching a non-molestation order, breaching a restraining order, breaching a domestic abuse protection order, or any offence under Schedule 2A of the Housing Act 1985 (the current list of serious offences for the mandatory anti-social behaviour ground of possession) where there is a finding that the offence involved domestic abuse by the offender. The Bill also amends the current discretionary domestic abuse grounds of possession (Ground 2A for secure tenancies and Ground 14A for assured tenancies). The amended ground, which will still only be available to social landlords, no longer requires the victim of the domestic abuse to have fled the property and be unlikely to return. The amended discretionary ground requires that there has been domestic abuse by a tenant towards a resident partner or the family member of a resident partner (who must also be resident in the property). For the purposes of the Bill ‘domestic abuse’ has been defined by reference to section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and therefore requires conduct (whether as a course of conduct or single incident) which amounts to: Physical or sexual abuse; Violent or threatening behaviour; Controlling or coercive behaviour; Economic abuse; Psychological, emotional or other abuse. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, the Bill gives the court options beyond possession. Where the abusive tenant is a sole tenant, or the victim isn’t themselves a joint tenant, both the new mandatory and amended discretionary grounds still allow for possession to be sought however, where the victim is a joint tenant with the abuser (and potentially with other people), the court must make an order transferring the abuser's interest in the property to the victim (and any other joint tenants). This means that, subject to a couple of exceptions as set out below, if the court finds that either the new mandatory or amended discretionary ground is made out it must order that a joint tenancy would become a sole tenancy in the sole name of the victim. The court does not have to make such an order if it would be inappropriate to do so by reference to the nature of the abuse or there is suitable accommodation available. The Bill also stops the practice of abusers serving Notice’s to Quit to terminate a tenancy as, once a notice has been served under the new mandatory and amended discretionary (or possession proceedings have commenced on one or more of those grounds but hasn’t concluded) any Notice to Quit served by the offender is of no effect. Separate to the above changes, the Bill also proposes changes to the Right to Buy such as: Increasing the qualification period from 3 to 10-years; Limiting the ability for someone to exercise the Right to Buy when they have previously done so; Allowing for suspension of the Right to Buy where there is suspected fraud; Capping discounts at 15%; Increasing the discount repayment period from 5 to 10-years; Removing the 10-year limitation on the right of first refusal. by Daryl Bigwood
On Friday 20 March 2026 the Government published new forms to be used for properties let on private assured tenancies from 1 May 2026. Private assured tenancies have been defined as being any assured tenancies which are not social tenancies. For the purposes of these forms (and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 in general) social tenancies are further defined by reference to section 68 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. This means that, in order to be a social tenancy, the tenancy must be a low cost rental accommodation (defined by section 69 of the 2008 Act) and the landlord must be a private registered provider of social housing. Accordingly, the new forms may therefore be applicable to some private registered providers of social housing where: 1. They let properties at (or above) market rent levels; or 2. They let properties outside of a social housing allocation scheme; 3. They let properties via a subsidiary or sister company where said company is not itself a private registered provider of social housing; 4. They manage properties on behalf of non-social landlords. There are three key documents: 1. The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026; 2. The new Notice of Seeking Possession (Section 8 Notice); 3. The new Rent Review Notice. The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 must be given to all existing assured tenants who fall under the definition above (where their assured tenancy started before 1 May 2026) by 31 May 2026. Where the tenancy is a joint tenancy, it needs to be given to each individual tenant. The sheet must be given to all assured tenants regardless of whether, before 1 May 2026, their tenancy was an assured shorthold tenancy or a periodic assured tenancy. Failure to provide this information sheet could result in a fine of up to £7,000 per tenant. The new Notice of Seeking Possession must be used for all possession notices served on or after 1 May 2026 and the new Rent Review Notice must be used for all rent review notices served on or after 1 May 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026 The new Notice of Seeking Possession and Rent Review Notice are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms-for-privately-rented-properties-from-1-may-2026#giving-notice-of-possession-before-1-may The new Notice of Seeking Possession and Rent Review Notice are currently watermarked and provided for information only. On 1 May 2026 the forms will be moved to the usual assured tenancy form website ready for use ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms ). article by Daryl Bigwood
Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 The above Regulations have been brought in as part of the implementation of the Renters Rights Act 2025. They require landlords to provide (in addition to the Tenancy Agreement) a Written Statement of the Terms and a Government prescribed Information Sheet. To start with, this will only apply to non-social housing tenancies, it is likely to be extended to social housing in 2027. Associations with market rent tenancies need to be aware of this change for those tenancies ready for 1 May 2026. The full details are below. 1. What Landlords Must Provide The Regulations prescribe two separate documents: A Written statement of terms and, B an Information Sheet. A. Written statement of terms A draft version of the written statement of terms has been published by the government. This draft is expected to be finalised in March 2026. Based on the current draft, the written statements of terms must contain the following prescribed information: Details of the parties Landlord’s details: Full name of the landlord(s). Address for service: An address in England or Wales where the tenant can serve notices on the landlord Tenants’ details: Names of each of the tenants. Tenancy terms Start date: The date on which the tenancy begins and the tenant may take occupation. Rent: The amount of rent payable and the date it falls due. The rent period must not exceed one calendar month. Bills: Where the landlord charges the tenant for bills, the written statement must specify whether these charges form part of the rent or are payable in addition to the rent. If bills are payable separately to the landlord, the statement must set out: either the amount of each payment or how and when the tenant will be told the amount, and ·either the due date for each payment or how and when the tenant will be told the due date. Rent increases: A statement confirming that any rent increase must be proposed by serving a notice under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. Deposit: The amount of any tenancy deposit. Ending the tenancy Tenant’s notice to quit: The minimum notice period the tenant must give to end the tenancy, where the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 applies. Possession by the landlord: A statement confirming that the landlord may only end the tenancy by obtaining a possession order from the court and having that order executed. To apply for possession, the landlord must first serve a notice of proceedings in the prescribed form, setting out the ground or grounds relied upon, and giving the correct notice period for those grounds. Safety and compliance information Fitness for human habitation: A statement that the landlord must ensure the property is fit for human habitation in accordance with section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Repairs: A statement of the landlord’s repairing obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Electrical safety: A statement that the landlord must ensure electrical safety standards are met throughout the tenancy Gas safety: A statement that the landlord must maintain gas appliances and flues in a safe condition, arrange annual safety checks, and provide the tenant with a copy of the gas safety record (if the gas safety regs apply) Tenant rights Pets: A statement that the tenant may request permission to keep a pet in accordance with section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, and that the landlord must not unreasonably refuse consent. Disability improvements: Information about the tenant’s right under section 190 of the Equality Act 2010 to apply to make disability‑related improvements, and that the landlord must not unreasonably withhold consent. The written statement can be included within the tenancy agreement, provided that all required information is present. B. Information sheet This is a standard Government document summarising: 1. Tenant rights 2. Landlord duties 3. Routes for raising concerns or seeking redress Landlords must provide the official version and cannot substitute their own. 2. When the Requirements Apply As a general rule, the required information must be provided before the tenancy is entered into. An exception applies in cases of succession. In those circumstances, the landlord must give the tenant the prescribed information within 28 days of acknowledging the tenant’s right to succeed to the tenancy. Landlords and letting agents do not need to provide a written statement of terms where: There is already a written record of the tenancy agreement between the landlord and the tenants, whether the agreement is wholly or partly in writing. This includes, for example, an assured shorthold tenancy agreement or any written record of the key terms. The tenancy agreement was entered into before 1 May 2026, meaning it was signed by both parties before that date and is therefore an existing agreement. In these cases, instead of issuing a written statement of terms, landlords must give all tenants who are in occupation on 1 May 2026 a copy of the official Government Information Sheet, which explains how the Renters Rights Act may affect their tenancy. 3. Who Must Comply The Regulations apply to all private landlords in England who grant new assured tenancies, including landlords who use letting agents. It does not apply to social housing landlords yet. Section 145(8) of the Renters Rights Act states that Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Act will apply to private and social housing tenancies on different dates. We do not have a commencement date for the social housing sector yet. 4. Enforcement and Consequences of Non‑Compliance If a landlord does not provide the written statement of terms before the tenancy is entered into, the local authority may issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Author: George Ufumwen