Government guidance explains how the Renters' Rights Act 2025 applies from 1 May 2026 to shared owners who sublet, who count as landlords to their tenants.
Key facts
- Who: Shared owners who sublet their home, and their tenants
- From: 1 May 2026, when the tenancy reforms apply
- Source: The Renters' Rights Act and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home
The guidance is non-statutory. It says a shared owner who sublets is a landlord to their tenant and must follow private renting rules, including the tenancy reforms in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 from 1 May 2026.
Section 21 and fixed terms
From 1 May 2026, a shared owner cannot serve a section 21 ("no fault") notice to evict a tenant. Fixed-term tenancies will be banned for most private tenancies, which become rolling tenancies. The guidance says this applies even where the shared owner's permission to sublet from their own landlord says an assured shorthold tenancy or section 21 must be used. The shared owner's provider will contact them if the permission needs to change, and they may need to give tenants a Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026.
Ending a tenancy
After 1 May 2026, landlords must use the correct notice and notice period. A section 8 notice can be used where the landlord is moving back in or selling (possession grounds 1 and 1A). Under those grounds the tenant must be given at least 4 months' notice, and cannot be asked to leave earlier than 12 months from the tenancy's start date. A notice can be served earlier, but the date in it must fall after the tenant has been in the property for 12 months. This applies even if the tenancy began before 1 May 2026.
Permissions to sublet
A shared owner's landlord should give at least 6 months' notice that permission to sublet is ending. This applies to permissions starting on or after 1 May 2026 and to existing permissions due to end on or after 1 December 2026. If a shared owner has to go to court to recover possession, the guidance says the landlord should extend the permission until the process concludes. A shared owner who wants a new tenant after one leaves should get permission from their landlord.
The 12-month restriction after selling-ground possession
From 1 May 2026, a landlord who has used the selling ground (Ground 1A) will not normally be allowed to market the property for let or re-let it for 12 months. Shared owners may be exempt. To qualify, a shared owner must:
1. Tell anyone they plan to rent to, in writing and before agreeing the tenancy, that they are a shared owner and that the restriction may not apply to a later letting. Template notice 1 can be used. 2. Tell their shared ownership provider in writing, before the possession notice period ends, that they intend to sell. 3. Before marketing for let or letting, either obtain a RICS valuation to sell or advertise the home for sale, for example through an estate agent.
Shared owners who already had a subletting tenant before 1 May 2026 may still use the exemption. They must complete step 1 for existing tenants by 31 May 2026, using Template notice 2, and must also follow steps 2 and 3.
What this means for shared owners who sublet
Shared owners who sublet are treated as private landlords. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 rules on notices, notice periods and rolling tenancies apply to them from 1 May 2026. This is so even where their subletting permission says an assured shorthold tenancy or section 21 must be used.
The guidance sets out written steps for shared owners who want to use the exemption from the 12-month restriction. Those who already had a subletting tenant before 1 May 2026 must complete the first step for those tenants by 31 May 2026.
The guidance does not itself impose legal obligations or amount to legal advice. It says individuals are responsible for their own compliance and should seek independent legal or professional advice where appropriate.
Sources
- The Renters' Rights Act and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home, GOV.UK