Does the Renters' Rights Act apply if I have a lodger?

If you rent out a room in your home, you might be wondering whether the Renters’ Rights Act applies to you - and importantly, what rights your lodger has.

The Renters’ Rights Act does not apply to lodger landlords.

Most of the rules introduced by the Act are designed for traditional landlord-tenant relationships, where the landlord does not live in the property. If you share your home with the person renting a room, the law treats your arrangement very differently.

Lodgers are not treated the same as tenants

A tenant usually has more rights than a lodger because they have a tenancy agreement with their landlord, most often an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).

A landlord and lodger will have a licence instead of a tenancy agreement. As a lodger landlord, you should get your lodger to sign a licence which sets out the conditions of their stay in your property and outlines any house rules, before they move in.

What this means for you:

You don’t need to follow eviction rules

You don’t need to use Section 21 or Section 8 notices, and you don’t need a court order to ask a lodger to leave. You just have to give reasonable notice, usually based on the rental period (e.g., a week if they pay weekly).

Deposit protection rules don’t apply

Unlike ASTs, you’re not required to protect your lodger’s deposit in a government scheme. You can still choose to, but it’s not a legal obligation.

You’re still responsible for safety

Both types of landlord should have annual gas safety checks done and be responsible for keeping the property safe and free from health hazards.

You still need to make sure your home is safe and that your lodger is treated fairly, but legally, the relationship is very different from a traditional landlord-tenant setup.

What’s changing for traditional landlords?

*A traditional landlord is someone who does not live in the property

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces significant reforms for landlords, with the first major changes taking effect from 1 May 2026.

Key changes include:

Replacing fixed-term ASTs with open-ended periodic tenancies
Ending Section 21 no-fault evictions
Requiring valid grounds to evict a tenant
Capping rent increases to once per year
Limiting rent in advance to one month
Banning rental bidding wars
Adding new anti-discrimination rules and stronger enforcement

These changes are significant - but they only apply to landlords who do not live in the property.