Renters' Rights Act: Shared Ownership changes

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA), which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, introduces significant changes to the legal framework for renters in England, including major reforms to shared ownership repossession processes.

When will the changes impact Shared Ownership?

Under the current system, shared ownership leaseholders are treated as assured tenants under the Housing Act 1988. This allows landlords to use Section 8 notices (NoSPs) to seek possession.

Section 31 of the RRA amends a list of long tenancies and financial services products which cannot be assured tenancies, including fixed term tenancies of more than 21 years and fixed term tenancies of 7-21 years. This means shared ownership leases will now be considered “long leases” and must be treated as such. 

This will mean that landlords of shared ownership properties will be unable to use Section 8 possession proceedings as a method of recovering rent or service charge arrears. Instead, landlords will need to use the forfeiture process.

Importantly, while the bulk of the implementation plan of the RRA will start to be phased in in May 2026, Section 145 “Commencement” of the RRA confirms that Chapter 2 of Part 1 will “come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed”.

This means that the above changes detailed in Section 31 of the RRA will come into force on 27 December 2025 (two months after Royal Assent was received), confirming that there is a two-month window from Royal Assent to commencement for this specific part.

How long will landlords be able to use Section 8 notices?

The RRA does make provision for landlords with valid Section 8 notices, to make sure that there is some leeway with the seemingly impending Section 31 commencement date of 27 December 2025.

If, before 27 December 2025, a landlord has already started court proceedings to repossess a property using a valid Section 8 notice under the Housing Act 1988 and those proceedings are still ongoing, or if the landlord has served a valid Section 8 notice but has not yet started proceedings and the deadline for doing so has not passed (become “time-barred”), then the tenancy will continue to be treated as an assured tenancy and the notice will remain valid.

This will stay the case until the court proceedings finish or the time limit for starting them runs out under the valid notice. Up until that point, the changes introduced by the new law will not apply to that tenancy. 

The provisions set out in Section 31 mean as long as the landlord has a valid Section 8 notice prior to 27 December 2025 – this will remain valid until the proceedings conclude or become time-barred. 

Shared Ownership & Forfeiture 

With Section 31 of the Renters’ Rights Act redefining shared ownership leases as “long leases,” the forfeiture process will become the primary legal route for landlords to regain possession. 

Forfeiture is generally more complex than Section 8 proceedings, prompting for specialist legal advice. Put simply - in order to forfeit a lease, a landlord must first serve a s.146 Law of Property Act 1925 notice. In order to serve a s.146 notice, the landlord must first obtain a determination that the Lease has been breached. While this can be obtained by application to the FTT, it is more straightforward for arrears cases to obtain a money judgment against the leaseholder for said arrears. Such a judgment will act as determination. The notice requires the leaseholder to remedy the breach within a reasonable timeframe. If they fail to comply, the landlord may initiate possession proceedings through forfeiture.

This transition will require landlords to adapt their processes, as forfeiture is a more complex and stringent route, often involving additional safeguards for leaseholders and greater judicial oversight.

As the sector moves toward implementation, both landlords and shared owners will need to prepare for a legal landscape where forfeiture, rather than Section 8 notices, will determine possession proceedings. This reinforces the long-term nature of shared ownership and its alignment with leasehold principles.

For further information, please contact Jatinder Bhamber or Ronnie Pumfrey.

On Thursday 20 November, we'll be hosting a webinar to further discuss the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on Shared Ownership and Leasehold Management. Be sure not to miss out, register here.