Renters' Rights Act and Landlord Licensing in Leicester

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and Phase 1 took effect on 1 May 2026. It changes the legal landscape for every landlord in England, but for Leicester landlords operating in the five selective licensing wards, the interaction between national reform and local licensing creates some specific pressure points.

Section 21 Is Gone

Phase 1 abolished Section 21 "no-fault" evictions and converted all existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies into Assured Periodic Tenancies. Landlords seeking possession must now use expanded Section 8 grounds under the Housing Act 1988.

For licensed landlords in Leicester, this matters because having a valid licence is now even more important for possession proceedings. A landlord operating without a required licence was already on shaky legal ground when serving notices, but under the new regime — where every possession claim goes through Section 8 — the absence of a licence gives tenants and the tribunal additional grounds to challenge proceedings.

Doubled Rent Repayment Orders

The most significant change for unlicensed landlords is the increase in rent repayment order exposure. For offences committed before 1 May 2026, tenants could claim up to 12 months of rent; for offences committed on or after that date, the maximum is 24 months.

For a Leicester property let at £700 per month, that is a potential claim of up to £16,800 for an offence committed on or after 1 May 2026 — on top of any civil penalty the council imposes. A tenant may apply for an RRO, and the local housing authority may apply to recover housing benefit or universal credit paid for the property. This is a direct financial consequence of operating without a licence, and the extended recovery period makes it far more expensive than it was.

The PRS Database Connection

The Renters' Rights Act also created the national PRS Database. For Leicester and the East Midlands, the registration window runs from 15 February 2027 to 14 May 2027. The property registration asks for details including any local licences; outstanding property information can be provided within 28 days after registration.

This creates a compliance chain: if your property is in a mapped selective licensing area, you still need to meet the local licensing requirement. The database registration is separate, and missing information can lead to deactivation if it is not supplied within 28 days. Failure to register can lead to a penalty of up to £7,000; certain knowingly or recklessly false information and repeated or continuing breaches can lead to penalties of up to £40,000.

What Has Not Changed

The Renters' Rights Act did not alter Leicester's current selective licensing designation itself. It is scheduled to run until 9 October 2027 across mapped parts of the same five wards, with the same fees (£1,290 for selective, £900 for mandatory HMO) and application process. The Act did not change the Fit and Proper Person test, document requirements or licence conditions.

What it did change is the consequence of non-compliance. The civil penalty ceiling is now £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, the RRO window is wider for those offences, and the national database creates a separate registration duty.

The Landlord Licensing in Leicester guide covers both the local licensing process and the 2027 PRS Database timeline, so you can handle them in the right sequence.

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