How to deal with a tenant not paying rent with Renters Rights 2025? How to manage tenant rent arrears.

It's recently been confirmed that the Renters Rights Bill will be coming into law within the coming months. Although there are certainly some good changes with the renters rights bill that will enable tenants and landlords to have a longer and more fruitful relationship, it does leave a lot of Landlords with concerns on how to manage if the tenant they have isn't cooperating.

It's all well and good that tenants have more power to give landlords 2 months notice to vacate, especially if they have a bad Landlord, but with the abolishment of Section 21's, how does a good Landlord fight a bad tenant when they refuse to pay?

What changes to rent does the Renters Right bring?

Most notably, tenants are not allowed to pay for their rent upfront. This means no more paying for 6 months in one lump sum.

It's an understandable change, when you think about it. Now that tenants can give more flexible notice, they may leave before the period those 6 months covered. So it's not as though the Landlord will be able to use that money any earlier anyway, as they'll need to give back whatever is owed for the period when the tenant had vacated.

But these changes also mean that tenants must sign their contract before paying rent. They can pay their deposit first, but this means tenants must have the opportunity to read through the full terms and begin the legally binding agreement before making any further financial commitments.

Again, in a worst-case scenario where a rouge Landlord takes a payment without being upfront about terms, or runs away with the money, this will certainly help. But there's also the concern of a worse-case scenario from a Landlord's perspective; a tenant legally begins the agreement but does not make the first payment of rent.

So how do Landlords manage tenant rent arrears in 2026?

You can still evict notice tenants for not paying their rent - via a Section 8.

The main differences are:

• The notice period for a section 8 has been extended from 14 days to 28 days.

• The amount of rent arrears a tenant must be in has extended from 2 months to 3 months.

Securing strong tenants or strong guarantors are more important than ever. But with ever-changing financial struggles, you may find even the best tenants could miss a month or two. This next piece of advice is crucial: you'll want to apply for a form of rent assurance, or go for a service that ensures you get your monthly rent payments - like Northwood Northampton's Guaranteed Rent Service.

Guaranteed Rent in Northampton

Ensuring you are as prepared as you can be for a worst-case scenario is critical. Don't leave yourself open to be taken advantage of.

Make sure you are as prepared as possible by watching our other Renters Rights Bill Guides.

Contact Northwood Northampton Estate Agents for advice on the Renters Rights bill in Northampton.

Northampton@northwooduk.com / JasonWells@Northwooduk.com 

01604 607080

Jason Wells is Branch Manager at Northwood Northampton. With over 15 years’ experience in the local property market, Jason specialises in helping landlords competitively price their properties reduce risk,