Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – Impact on Agricultural Tenants

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“RRA”) introduces significant reform to residential lettings in England and has particular implications for accommodation provided to agricultural workers.

While the Act preserves the concept of the Assured Agricultural Occupancy (“AAO”), from 1^st May 2026 there will be new opt-out requirements and Assured Shorthold Tenancies (“AST”) and section 21 notices will be abolished and replaced with a revised possession regime.

This article summarises the updated position for agricultural landlords and tenants under the RRA.

AAO’s and opt-out notices

It remains common for agricultural workers to occupy residential accommodation as part of their employment. To qualify as an agricultural occupier, the worker must be employed in agriculture for at least 91 of the last 104 weeks, work 35 hours or more per week, and occupy accommodation owned or arranged by the landlord farmer.

Where these criteria are met, the occupier will ordinarily have an AAO, which confers enhanced statutory protection. An AAO continues to exist under the RRA. However, as under the previous regime, a landlord may prevent an AAO from arising by serving a valid opt-out notice before the tenancy is entered into.

Under the RRA, opt-out notices for agricultural occupiers must be served under section 24, replacing the existing Form 9 notice. The opt-out notice must be in a prescribed form, which has not yet been published. Importantly, valid Form 9 notices already served prior to 1 May 2026 will continue to protect existing tenancies, and landlords will not be required to serve further notices when the RRA is implemented.

Failure to serve a valid opt-out notice before the tenancy commences will result in the occupier benefiting from enhanced statutory protection.

Tenancy types under the RRA

The type of tenancy that arises under the RRA depends on whether a valid opt-out notice has been served:

• Where the landlord has not opted out, a statutory tenancy with enhanced occupier protection will arise (but not an AST); and
• Where the landlord has validly opted out, the tenancy will be an assured tenancy governed by the RRA.

ASTs are abolished by the RRA, and all references to section 21 “no-fault” notices fall away. As a result, landlords can only recover possession by relying on specific statutory grounds set out in the Act.

Grounds for possession affecting agricultural landlords

For opted-out agricultural tenancies only, the RRA provides a number of mandatory grounds for possession which will apply on or after 1 May 2026.

The relevant grounds and notice periods are as follows:

• Ground 2ZA – Where there is a Farm Business Tenancy, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy over the whole farm including the worker’s house which comes to an end (4 months’ notice required before a court application for possession can be made);
• Ground 2ZC – Where a superior landlord has become the direct landlord following the end of a superior agricultural tenancy (4 months’ notice required before a court application for possession can be made);
• Ground 5A – Where a landlord requires possession in order to house an agricultural worker, whether they are employed by the landlord or self-employed (2 months’ notice required before a court application for possession can be made); and
• Ground 5C – Where the dwelling was let because of the tenant’s employment, that employment has ended, or the dwelling is required for a new employee (2 months’ notice required before a court application for possession can be made).

These grounds are mandatory, meaning that if the landlord establishes the ground, the court must make an order for possession. Where properties are let to agricultural workers, these grounds are only available if the tenancy has been validly opted out.

For more information on a landlord’s grounds for possession, see the government’s published guidance here: Grounds for possession: guidance for landlords

Obtaining possession under the RRA

Where a valid section 24 opt-out notice has been served, the tenancy will fall within the RRA regime. As ASTs and section 21 notices are abolished, the tenancy will be open-ended and may only be brought to an end if:

1. the tenant serves notice to quit; or
2. the landlord serves a notice relying on one of the statutory grounds for possession.

Where no valid opt-out notice has been served, the occupier will hold a statutory tenancy under either the Housing Act 1988 (for occupations beginning on or after 15 January 1989) or the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 (for earlier occupations). In either case, the occupier will enjoy enhanced protection, and landlords will face greater difficulty in recovering possession.

What is unaffected by the RRA

Tenancies governed by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 or the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 are not affected by the changes introduced by the RRA as they only apply to residential lettings.

Conclusion

The RRA introduces a new statutory framework that makes the opt-out process more critical than ever. Landlords who wish to retain as much flexibility as possible to recover possession of agricultural dwellings must ensure that a valid section 24 opt-out notice is served in the awaited prescribed form before the tenancy begins. Where this is not done, occupiers will benefit from enhanced protection and possession options will be significantly restricted.

If you would like advice on how the RRA affects agricultural lettings, existing tenancies, or future arrangements, please contact us.