Checked against the Act and the government roadmap, 17 September 2026
After Section 21: what changed, and what it did not
Since 1 May 2026 a tenancy in England has no end date and cannot be ended without a statutory ground. Owners have started asking whether letting to a company is the way out. Sometimes it is. This page sets out what actually changed, what a short let is instead, where the line falls — and the four things none of this solves.
What changed on 1 May 2026
The first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on that date, brought in by the Commencement No. 2 Regulations. In the private rented sector it did all of this at once:
- Section 21 was abolished. No new no-fault notices can be served
- Assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies — with no end date
- Possession now rests on the reformed statutory grounds, and on a court if the tenant stays
- Rent may be increased once a year at most; rental bidding and advance rent demands are banned
- Council enforcement powers were strengthened
The practical consequence for an owner is simple to state and uncomfortable to live with: the date you get your flat back is no longer something you and the tenant agreed at the start. It is something the grounds — and, if it comes to it, a court — decide.
Why a short let is a different thing
The Act governs tenancies. A tenancy gives someone exclusive possession of a home. A guest staying four nights has a licence to occupy, not a tenancy, so nothing in the Act is triggered — there is no assured tenancy to end and no ground to prove, because there was never a tenant.
That is a real difference, not a clever one. It is also the point where most of what you will read online stops being true, so here is the boundary written plainly.
Where the line actually falls
Calling something “serviced accommodation” does not put it outside the Act. What matters is how the arrangement works in practice. If a person occupies a flat as their only or principal home, on their own, with exclusive possession, the courts can treat it as an assured tenancy whatever the document is headed. The label follows the substance, not the other way round.
So the honest version is this: nightly and weekly stays are not tenancies. The longer an occupation runs and the more it looks like somebody’s home, the closer it moves to being one. Anyone promising you that the Act simply will not apply is promising something they cannot deliver — and if a tribunal disagrees with them later, it is your flat, not theirs.
What your agreement with us is instead
You keep the flat. We market it, price it, run the guests and the cleaning, and take a fee. There is no tenant in the arrangement, so the way out is not a legal process — it is a clause:
| Question | The answer in our agreement |
|---|---|
| How does it end? | Thirty days’ written notice, from either side |
| What does ending it cost? | Nothing. No penalty, no exit fee |
| Is there a minimum term? | No. And no sign-up fee |
| What about bookings already taken? | They are honoured — guests who booked in good faith still arrive |
| What comes back to me? | The keys, the listings and the review history |
| What does it cost while it runs? | 12% of what the flat collects, plus VAT. Nothing else |
| I have a tenant in there now | The existing tenancy can run to its end date; nothing here shortens it |
The fourth line is the one people skip, so it is worth being direct about it. Thirty days means thirty days plus whatever is already in the calendar. If a guest booked your flat for a week in November, that week happens. What you are buying is a predictable exit, not an instant one.
What this does not solve
If this page only listed advantages it would not be worth reading. Four things stay exactly where they were, and any one of them can make short letting impossible for a particular flat:
- London’s 90-night cap. Without planning permission, a whole flat can be short-let for 90 nights in a calendar year and no more. That is roughly a quarter of the year. The whole rule is set out here
- Your lease. Most London leasehold flats restrict subletting or short letting outright, and the freeholder’s consent is a separate conversation from anything in this Act
- Your mortgage and insurance. A residential mortgage usually forbids short letting without written consent, and standard home cover generally excludes paying guests
- Tax. The Furnished Holiday Let regime was abolished on 6 April 2025. Short-let income is taxed under the ordinary rules for residential property, and the old reliefs are gone
There is also a registration scheme on the way. The government’s implementation roadmap puts the Private Rented Sector Database at “from late 2026”, with mandatory landlord sign-up to the PRS Ombudsman in 2028. Neither has landed yet; both will.
What we check before anything is listed
Because of the four points above, the first work on any flat is reading, not photography. We look at your lease and its subletting clauses, your building’s planning position, your mortgage terms, and what the borough’s own policy says about short lets. Then we tell you plainly what the flat can do.
Sometimes the answer is that it cannot. You hear that at the start, before anyone has spent money — that is the whole point of doing it first.
Where this comes from
Written from primary sources: the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on legislation.gov.uk, the Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions Regulations 2026 that brought the first phase into force on 1 May 2026, and the government’s own implementation roadmap for the dates that have not arrived yet. Where a date is not in those documents, it is not on this page.
This is a plain-English guide, not legal or tax advice, and we are not solicitors. Whether a particular arrangement is a tenancy or a licence turns on the facts of that arrangement, and your lease or mortgage may be stricter than the law. Take your own advice before you change how a flat is let. If you would like us to look at your specific building, email owners@stayq.co.uk — we will tell you honestly if the answer is no.