GEO courseModule 8 of 10: Accurate and Above BoardLesson 8.2
Rental Adverts and Guides Under the Renters’ Rights Act
Making sure your lettings adverts, landlord guides and tenant pages match the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and its rules for England, so neither you nor an AI quoting you repeats rules or wording that are now out of date, or now banned.
Why it matters
AI can quote your 2023 guide to section 21 notices, or a "rents from £900" advert, as current. One is out of date; the other now breaks the rental bidding rules.
The evidence
Evidence: Official guidance
gov.uk guidance for the advertising rules and fines. The database timetable comes from secondary sources and may change. That AI repeats stale rules is common sense.
Do this first
Search your site for "section 21", "assured shorthold", "offers over", "best offer" and "from £".
01What it is
When the rules of a board game change, the old rule cards have to go in the bin. Keep handing them out and people play the wrong game.
Think of it like
A road sign left up after a new one-way system. Drivers who follow it end up in trouble, and the sign's owner gets the blame.
02Why it matters
To the people searching
Landlords act on guidance that looks authoritative. Tenants see the advertised rent and expect it to be the rent. Out-of-date advice misleads both, and AI repeats it with confidence.
buyers
Not directly affected, though buy-to-let investors read landlord guides.
tenants
See the advertised rent, and the rules on how offers are handled.
sellers
Not directly affected.
landlords
Need the current rules on tenancies, advertising and the new property register.
To Google, Bing and AI
Evidence: Official guidanceThe Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in October 2025, and its first phase took effect on 1 May 2026: section 21 "no-fault" evictions ended, assured shorthold tenancies became periodic tenancies, and rental bidding was banned. Official gov.uk guidance says landlords and agents can't ask for, encourage or accept an offer above the advertised rent, and written adverts (online, print, social media posts, emails and messages) must state one specific rent, not a range. Fines are up to £7,000, with a further £7,000 for a repeat within five years. Next comes a private rented sector database: reported to open in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026, then region by region, with all actively let properties registered by 14 November 2027, at £65 per property per year. Google and Bing keep old pages until they're updated or removed, and AI built on them can present an old page as current.
- Maximum fine for breaching the rental bidding rules, per offence
- £7,000Maximum fine for breaching the rental bidding rules, per offence
- Section 21 ended and the rental bidding ban began
- 1 May 2026Section 21 ended and the rental bidding ban began
- Reported deadline for every let property to be on the new register
- 14 Nov 2027Reported deadline for every let property to be on the new register
An agent example
A lettings branch audits its site and finds a 2023 landlord guide explaining section 21 steps, a "rents from £900" line on its lettings page, and a blog post called "How to get above asking in a bidding war". It updates the guide with a date and links to gov.uk, replaces ranges with exact rents, removes the bidding post, and trains negotiators on what they can say when higher offers arrive.
03Your turn
Check yours, then fix it
- 1Search your site for: site:yourdomain.co.uk "section 21", then "assured shorthold", "offers over", "best offer", "best and final", "price range" and "from £".
- 2List every page that comes up.
- 1Open ten lettings adverts across your site, portals, social posts and email templates.
- 2Does each state one exact rent? Any wording that invites or encourages offers above it?
- 1Open the gov.uk rental bidding guide and the Renters' Rights Act guide.
- 2Compare them with your advert wording and your landlord and tenant pages.
- 1Ask: "What is the rule on advertising rent in England?" and "Can a letting agent accept offers above the asking rent?"
- 2Are the answers right? Which pages do they cite, including yours?
Mark any wording in this lettings page that may be out of date after the Renters' Rights Act in England (for example section 21, assured shorthold tenancies, rent ranges, "from" prices or anything inviting higher offers). List each with the sentence it appears in. Don't give legal advice. [paste page]
- 1Change every written advert to a single, specific rent.
- 2Remove ranges, "from", "offers over", "best and final" and anything implying competition on price.
- 3Ask your CRM or portal supplier how to stop ranges and "from" prices being entered at all.
- 1Rewrite landlord and tenant guides for the current rules, with a visible "last reviewed" date and links to gov.uk.
- 2Remove what you can't keep current, and redirect the old addresses.
- 3Add a short change note: "Updated 11 October 2026: removed guidance on section 21 notices."
- 1What negotiators can and can't say when higher offers arrive. Use the gov.uk guidance and your redress scheme's code.
- 2Check emails and messages too: they count as written adverts.
- 1Track when the database opens in your region.
- 2Plan to check registration before you market a property, once that applies.
Then: This is general information for England, not legal advice, and the Act is still rolling out. Ask Propertymark, your redress scheme or a solicitor to review your wording, and put a quarterly review in the calendar.
04Keep it up
Quarterly while the Act rolls out, and the same week any new phase starts.
That's lesson 8.2
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