Renters' Rights Act notice rule adds £1,800 to moving costs

Tenants in England must now give at least two months' written notice to end a tenancy, and that change is costing first-time buyers an average of £1,800. The notice period doubled from one month on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act, according to What Mortgage (26 August 2026). In London, where average rent alone is £2,317 a month, the overlap bill passes £2,700.

What does the two-month notice rule actually require?

Before 1 May 2026, most renters in England gave a single month's notice to leave. The Renters' Rights Act replaced that with a minimum of two months' written notice to the landlord (What Mortgage, 26 August 2026). Tenancy law is devolved, so this notice rule applies in England only, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own. Landlords who want the wider tenancy picture in plain English can start with Property Filter's free property investing resources.

In practice this means the timing of a purchase sets the cost. A tenant cannot safely serve notice until exchange of contracts (the point at which a purchase becomes legally binding), because the sale can still collapse before then. Completion (the day ownership transfers and the keys change hands) usually follows within a few weeks. So the tenant ends up paying for a rented home for well over a month after moving out (What Mortgage, 26 August 2026).

Why does the change cost first-time buyers £1,800?

The £1,800 figure is the typical cost of that extra month, based on official average figures compiled by the Newspage Agency and reported by What Mortgage on 26 August 2026. It covers rent, council tax, energy and water on a home the buyer has already left. In London the average rent alone is £2,317 a month, which takes the bill above £2,700.

Mortgage advisers told the agency that buyers are reaching completion day and only then finding out about the double payment. Those outgoings arrive at the same time as legal fees, moving costs and a first mortgage payment. Toby Quanstrom, director at Quanstrom Financial, said the government had "scored an own goal against the very renters it set out to protect".

Quanstrom said a purchase takes roughly three to four months from offer to completion, so buyers who offered after 1 May are only now completing. He also pointed to the cut in the first-time buyer stamp duty (the tax paid on a property purchase) threshold in April 2025, from £425,000 to £300,000. That, he said, has made it harder to get on the ladder. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland, and our free stamp duty calculator shows the bill by price and buyer type. His suggested fix is to allow one month's notice where exchange of contracts can be evidenced.

What the notice period means if you are the landlord

If you let property in England, the same rule runs in your direction. A tenant who wants to leave must now give you at least two months' written notice instead of one (What Mortgage, 26 August 2026). In practice this means more warning before a void period (a stretch with no tenant and no rent), and more time to market the property.

It also changes what the last weeks of a tenancy look like. A tenant who is buying will often have moved out already, so the property can sit paid for but empty. You may wish to agree viewing access and a check-out date in writing early, rather than assuming the tenant is still living there. Property Filter's property investment strategies hub covers void planning in more depth.

There is one lever worth knowing. Shelter England's guidance on the Renters' Rights Act states that a tenant needs to give two months' notice unless the tenant and the landlord agree a shorter notice in writing.

Agreeing a shorter period when a tenant is buying can cut your paid-but-empty window as well as their bill, provided you are confident of re-letting. That confidence comes down to local demand and to the rent the numbers can carry. Our stress test calculator shows what a lender's rental cover requirement asks of that rent.

Key takeaways

• Tenants in England must give at least two months' written notice to end a tenancy from 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act, double the previous single month (What Mortgage, 26 August 2026).

• The extra month of rent, council tax, energy and water costs first-time buyers an average of £1,800, and above £2,700 in London.

• London's average rent of £2,317 a month is what drives the capital's higher overlap bill.

• Landlords in England now get at least two months' warning before a tenancy ends, instead of one.

• A shorter notice period can be agreed between tenant and landlord in writing, according to Shelter England.