David Smith | Partner, Landlord & Tenant, Bishop & Sewell
Many flat owners will want to rent their property out from time to time. Either as a temporary expedient while they live elsewhere for work or other reasons, or as a more permanent arrangement because they do not anticipate needing their flat further but do not wish to sell it or are using it as an investment property.
It is common for flat leases to have restrictions on sub-letting. These exist to try to maintain the character of a building and ensure a mix of different tenure types. Often these restrictions require consent to be sought for sub-letting. There are usually restrictions on use for a business purpose, to restrict routine short letting and other types of commercial use. There are also other common restrictions such as requiring that the property is let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), often with a limit on how long that tenancy can last.
This last restriction has become a problem since the passing of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. This is because the RRA changed all Assured Shorthold Tenancies into fully Assured Tenancies when it came into force on 1 May 2026. It also prevents the granting of any further ASTs. Therefore, any restriction that requires a flat to be let on an AST would be impossible for a flat owner to comply with going forward and would mean that they were in breach automatically on 1 May.
However, the RRA anticipated this problem. It specifically voids any restriction in a flat lease that prevents the granting of a fully Assured tenancy in the manner that the RRA allows. That would include any restriction requiring tenancies to be ASTs, which sought to limit the overall length of a tenancy, or which require tenancies to be for a minimum period. These are all things which the RRA allows tenants to select themselves freely and so a flat owner has no ability to dictate them.
Some restrictions will still be allowed. So, a requirement to obtain freeholder consent will continue to be effective, as will a requirement to pay a fee for that consent. However, any restriction that would have the effect of preventing or limiting the grant of an Assured tenancy will be deleted to the extent it does this, while preserving any part of the restriction which does not impact on the granting of an Assured tenancy.
This will be confusing for many flat owners. Not only will they have to look for the restrictions in their leases on sub-letting but they will then have to re-interpret any restriction in the light of the changes made by the RRA and decide to what extent that restriction will survive the RRA.
David Smith is a Partner in the Bishop & Sewell Landlord & Tenant team.
Email [email protected] or call 020 7631 4141.
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The above is accurate as of 29 June 2026.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
