Renters' Rights Act 2025 · Housing Act 1988, section 16E
The 12-Month Re-Letting Restriction
What landlords cannot do after using Ground 1A or Ground 1 to recover possession. The rule, the calculation that takes the practical exposure to around sixteen months from service, and what happens when the original reason for serving the notice no longer applies.
⚖ Drafted by UK solicitors · 📜 Aligned with the Bracton April 2026 RRA landlord guide · 🧭 Sourced to section 16E of the Housing Act 1988 as inserted by the RRA 2025
What the restriction is
Three clarifications before the detail.
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 inserts a new section 16E into the Housing Act 1988, creating a statutory restricted period that applies after a landlord has relied on either Ground 1 (the landlord or a close family member intends to occupy the property) or Ground 1A (the landlord intends to sell the property) to recover possession. During the restricted period the landlord cannot re-let the property, market it for letting, or grant a licence to occupy it.
Not the protected period
The protected period is the timing condition on serving notice — the rule that Ground 1A and Ground 1 cannot be used in the first year of a tenancy. The restricted period is the post-possession consequence — the rule that the landlord cannot re-let for a period after relying on those grounds. Different rules, different triggers, different consequences.
Grounds 1 and 1A only
Other Schedule 2 grounds — Ground 8 (rent arrears), Ground 12 (breach of tenancy), Ground 14 (anti-social behaviour), and the remaining grounds — do not trigger the restricted period. A landlord who recovers possession on those grounds is free to re-let immediately, subject to normal compliance.
Triggered by service, not court proceedings
The restricted period begins on the date the Section 8 notice is served, not on the date of any possession order. A landlord who serves a Ground 1A notice and then changes their mind before proceedings begin is still within the restricted period for the full statutory term.
When the clock starts
And when it actually ends.
The restricted period begins on the date the Section 8 notice is served and ends 12 months after the earliest date specified in the notice on which proceedings may begin.
Because Ground 1 and Ground 1A both require a minimum of four months' notice, the practical exposure window is closer to sixteen months than twelve.
A notice served on 1 January 2027 specifying a relevant date of 1 May 2027 — the earliest lawful relevant date with four months' notice — creates a restricted period that ends on 1 May 2028, sixteen months after service. A notice with a longer notice period extends the exposure proportionally: a notice served on 1 January 2027 specifying a relevant date of 1 August 2027 creates a restricted period ending on 1 August 2028, nineteen months from service.
The clock does not pause, reset, or shorten if the landlord later withdraws the notice or decides not to pursue possession. Once the notice has been served citing Ground 1 or 1A, the restriction attaches.
What the restriction prevents
Three independent prohibitions.
The three prohibitions are independent of each other. A landlord who has not yet found a tenant but has listed the property on Rightmove has breached the marketing prohibition even if no letting follows. A landlord who lets a friend stay rent-free on a favour basis without a written agreement has breached the licence prohibition even if no rent changes hands.
Re-letting
The landlord cannot enter into a new tenancy of the property — assured periodic or otherwise — during the restricted period. This includes letting to a different tenant on different terms, letting to the same tenant on a fresh agreement, or letting to a connected person.
Marketing for letting
The landlord cannot list, advertise, or otherwise market the property for letting during the restricted period. This includes online listings (Rightmove, Zoopla, OpenRent, Spareroom, Facebook Marketplace), agent boards, agent windows, social media posts, and informal notices. The marketing prohibition is independent of whether any tenant actually responds.
Granting a licence to occupy
The landlord cannot grant a licence to occupy the property during the restricted period. This closes the route some landlords might consider — letting a friend or relative occupy the property informally on a non-tenancy basis. A licence is captured by the restriction even where no rent is paid.
Four scenarios
The scenarios landlords actually face.
Scenario 1
Sale or move-in completes
The sale goes through, or the landlord moves in as planned. The restricted period remains a feature of the original possession action but is rarely a practical issue once the underlying purpose has been delivered.
Scenario 2
Tenant leaves voluntarily before the notice takes effect
The tenant moves out before the proceedings date. The property is vacant. The restricted period nonetheless applies. The landlord cannot re-let until the restricted period expires, despite never having needed a possession order.
Scenario 3
Sale falls through
The intended sale does not proceed. The landlord retains the property. The restricted period continues to run from the original notice service date. The landlord cannot re-let until the restricted period expires, even though the reason for serving Ground 1A no longer applies.
Scenario 4
Move-in plans change
The landlord served Ground 1, intending to move in. Circumstances change and the landlord no longer wishes to occupy. The restricted period continues to apply. The landlord cannot convert the recovered property into a re-let without waiting out the remainder.
The painful case
When the sale falls through.
This is the case that makes the restricted period commercially expensive. Ground 1A is served on the basis of a genuine intention to sell. The notice runs its course. Possession is recovered. The sale then collapses — the buyer drops out, finance fails, the survey reveals issues, the market shifts.
The landlord is now in a position where the original tenant is no longer in occupation, the intended sale has not completed, the property is generating no rent, and the restricted period prevents re-letting for the balance of twelve months from the earliest proceedings date in the original notice.
The financial exposure is real: twelve months of council tax, insurance, mortgage interest, and maintenance, with no income. The Act does not provide a route to apply for early release. The restricted period runs to its statutory end date regardless of whether the commercial intention behind serving the notice has changed.
The practical responses are limited. Leave the property vacant and continue marketing for sale until the restricted period expires. Move into the property as the landlord's only or principal home (an own-use, not a letting, and therefore not a breach). Carry out works that prepare the property for a fresh sale or letting cycle once the restricted period ends.
Practical note
A landlord who is not confident the sale will proceed should think carefully before serving Ground 1A. The Act gives no relief if the commercial intention changes after service, and the restricted period attaches the moment the notice is served — regardless of how the proceedings ultimately play out.
Consequences of breach
A criminal offence under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Breach of the restricted period is a criminal offence. The consequences are layered.
Civil penalty up to £40,000
A local authority may impose a civil penalty as an alternative to prosecution. This is the higher tier of civil penalty under the Act, reserved for serious or persistent breaches.
Rent repayment order up to 24 months
The tenant of the new (breach) tenancy, or a local authority where rent has been paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, may apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order covering up to twenty-four months of rent. This is doubled from the previous twelve-month maximum.
24-month application window
A tenant or local authority has up to twenty-four months from the offence to apply for a rent repayment order. This too is doubled from the previous limit.
Automatic maximum for repeat offenders
A landlord who has previously received enforcement action for a possession-ground offence and commits the offence again must pay the maximum rent repayment order amount. The Tribunal has no discretion to reduce the amount.
Expanded investigatory powers
Local authorities can require information from third parties such as banks, accountants, and client money protection schemes, and can enter both business and (in limited circumstances) residential premises to gather evidence. The practical risk of a breach being detected is materially higher than under the pre-RRA framework.
The cumulative worst-case exposure for a landlord who serves Ground 1A in marginal circumstances, sees the sale fall through, and then re-lets to manage the cash-flow gap is a £40,000 civil penalty, twenty-four months of rent repaid to the tenant, the costs of the proceedings, and a criminal conviction.
Common mistakes
Five errors landlords make.
1. Treating the restricted period as 12 months from service
The restricted period ends twelve months after the earliest proceedings date specified in the notice, not twelve months from service. With a four-month notice period, the practical exposure is around sixteen months from service.
2. Assuming the restriction only bites if a possession order is obtained
The restricted period is triggered by service of the notice, not by the outcome of proceedings. A landlord who serves Ground 1A and then withdraws before proceedings begin is still subject to the restricted period for its full statutory term.
3. Assuming a private arrangement falls outside the restriction
A licence to occupy is captured by the restriction. So is a tenancy granted to a connected person, or to the same tenant on different terms. The restriction is on the property being made available for occupation by another, not on the legal form of any agreement.
4. Treating marketing and letting as the same prohibition
They are not. A landlord who lists the property on Rightmove during the restricted period has breached the marketing prohibition independently of whether any letting follows. Listing alone is the offence.
5. Serving Ground 1A as a tactical move when the intention to sell is conditional
Because the restricted period attaches from service, a landlord who serves Ground 1A to see how the sale process goes is committed regardless of the outcome. This is also the highest-risk scenario for a misuse-of-ground offence under the new section 16J.
How Bracton handles this
Flag the restriction before service, escalate when it matters.
The Bracton Section 8 Ground 1A and Ground 1 notice templates flag the restricted period at the point of service. The form asks the landlord to confirm awareness of the restriction and surfaces the calculated end date based on the relevant date entered. Where a landlord's circumstances are non-standard — a conditional sale, a partial transfer, a tenancy with unusual features — the Blackwell Advisory escalation pathway is available for fixed-fee solicitor advice from a regulated UK practice.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
No. The Act does not provide a route to apply for early release from the restricted period. The period runs to its statutory end date regardless of whether the commercial intention behind serving the notice has changed.
Related
Related explainers and documents.
The 12-Month Protected Period
When Ground 1A and Ground 1 can actually be served. The one-year condition, where the clock starts, and the calculation landlords are getting wrong.
Renters' Rights Act 2025 — full guide
Every change in the Act, structured for landlords.
Section 21 has been abolished
What landlords need to know about the route that disappeared on 1 May 2026.
Ground 1A notice template — Intent to Sell
The mandatory ground for landlords selling. Four months' notice, calculated for you.
Next step
Before you serve, know what you're committing to.
The restricted period is the rule landlords most often underestimate at the point of service. Exposure begins the day the notice is served, runs for around sixteen months in practice, and continues to apply regardless of what happens to the underlying intention to sell or move in. If your circumstances are non-standard, the right step before service is professional advice.
Reviewed by Blackwell Advisory, a regulated UK solicitors' practice authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Positions on this page match those in the Bracton April 2026 Renters' Rights Act landlord guide.