New Year, New Powers: What Councils Can Do from 27th December
New investigatory powers for local councils quietly arrive on 27th December well before the headline Renters’ Rights Act changes in May 2026. Nestled between Christmas leftovers and New Year parties, these early enforcement tools have slipped under the radar. For landlords on the 'nice list, it's not a problem. For 'naughty listers' it's a worry...
From 27 December 2025, local councils quietly get some of the most powerful tools we’ve ever seen for policing the private rented sector, and most of the headlines have completely missed it.
While everyone is talking about 1st May 2026, when Section 21 goes and the main tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act kick in, Phase 0 of the Act actually starts earlier: a whole suite of new investigatory powers for local housing authorities comes into force between Christmas and New Year.
For compliant landlords and professional agents like ourselves, this isn’t something to panic about - but it is something to understand and prepare for.
Apologies in advance, but there is a lot of detail here and the only way to understand the impact, is to put it all in this blog...
What actually starts on 27th December 2025?
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 introduces a new Chapter 3 on “Investigatory Powers”, backed up by detailed statutory guidance for local housing authorities in England. These powers go live on 27 December 2025, ahead of the main tenancy changes.
From that date, councils will be able to investigate suspected breaches of a wide range of housing laws more aggressively, including:
◆ Protection from Eviction Act 1977
◆ Housing Act 1988 (including tenancy and eviction rules)
◆ Housing Act 2004 (HMO rules, licensing, hazards)
◆ Housing and Planning Act 2016 (banning orders, rogue landlord measures)
◆ Parts of the Renters’ Rights Act itself as they come into force
This early start is very deliberate. Government’s own implementation roadmap puts “strengthened local authority investigatory powers” on 27th December 2025, with Phase 1 tenancy reforms, including abolition of Section 21, beginning on 1 May 2026.
Because everyone is focused on that 1st May 2026 date, the December powers have largely slipped under the radar, but they’re the tools councils will use to enforce everything that follows.
The new powers – in plain English
1. Councils can demand information from landlords and agents (Section 114)
Local housing authorities can now serve a written notice on a “relevant person” – broadly, anyone who has acted in the last 12 months as:
🔑 a landlord
🔑 a letting or managing agent
🔑 a licensor
🔑 someone marketing or acting for the owner/licensor of a rented property
They can require:
🗂️ specific information or documents
🗂️ in a chosen format (originals, digital files, newly created summaries, etc.)
🗂️ by a set deadline
Failure to respond without a reasonable excuse - or providing knowingly false or misleading information - is a criminal offence, with fines available on conviction.
2. Councils can demand information from “any person” (Section 115)
On top of that, where a council reasonably suspects a breach of housing law, it can require information from any person or organisation – not just landlords and agents. That could include:
🔹 utility suppliers
🔹 deposit schemes
🔹 contractors
🔹 online platforms
🔹 employers or professional firms holding relevant records
If someone refuses, the council can apply to court for an order compelling them to comply. There are safeguards: information obtained this way can’t generally be used to prosecute the person who gave it, but giving false information can still be an offence.
3. Stronger rights of entry to business premises (Sections 118–121)
Councils will be able to enter business premises used for rental sector activity, for example:
📍 letting agency offices
📍 landlord offices
📍 property management hubs
They can do this:
without a warrant for routine inspections, with at least 24 hours’ written notice, or
with a warrant, using reasonable force where necessary, if they suspect evidence might be destroyed, access has been refused, or no one is present and waiting would defeat the purpose. Once inside, officers can:
🔸 request documents
🔸 take copies or images
🔸 require explanations
🔸 bring equipment and take photographs or recordings
🔸 seize and detain documents they reasonably believe may be evidence
Legally privileged material (e.g. confidential advice from your solicitor) remains protected.
4. Powers of entry to residential premises (Sections 126–129)
For suspected residential tenancies, councils will also have powers to enter residential premises - again with and without a warrant - where they reasonably believe there has been a breach of the “rented accommodation legislation”. There are extra duties around notice, identification and how officers behave where occupiers are present.
These powers are designed for serious situations – for example, suspected unlawful eviction or dangerous conditions that tenants are afraid to report.
5. Greater use of data and digital records (Section 134)
Councils will be able to make greater use of:
◆ Council Tax records
◆ Housing Benefit data
◆ Tenancy deposit information
◆ Other housing-related datasets
to identify unlicensed properties, illegal evictions and repeated non-compliance.
Where they seek communications data (e.g. phone or emails), they must do so under the existing Investigatory Powers Act 2016 framework, with its oversight and safeguards.
6. A new general duty to enforce
Alongside the tools, the Act introduces a new general duty on every local housing authority to enforce landlord legislation in its area, not just “where resources allow”.
Given the criticism that two-thirds of English councils brought no landlord prosecutions at all in recent years despite hundreds of thousands of complaints, this is a significant shift in expectation.
Why this can be good news for good landlords
If you’re a compliant landlord or a professional Derby letting agent, it’s easy to see “new powers” and worry it’s all stick and no carrot. But looked at through the right lens, there are positives:
Rogue operators finally face real scrutiny
Councils can more easily uncover landlords and agents who cut corners, illegally evict tenants, or ignore serious hazards. Over time, that should reduce unfair competition from those under-cutting you by ignoring the rules.
A clearer framework beats trial by social media
Formal investigatory powers with written notices, set timescales and defined powers of entry create a more structured, accountable process than ad-hoc “naming and shaming”.
Well-run portfolios are easier to defend
If your paperwork, systems and standards are in order, responding to an information notice becomes a straightforward admin task – not an existential threat.
And importantly, this December phase gives you a head start to tighten up compliance before the headline reforms on 1st May 2026 take effect.
How 27th December links to 1st May 2026 (and why it’s been missed)
The government’s roadmap for the Renters’ Rights Act is broadly:
27th December 2025 – strengthened investigatory powers for local authorities
1st May 2026 (Phase 1) – main tenancy reforms (abolition of Section 21, new grounds, rent rules, discrimination bans etc.)
Late 2026 onwards (Phase 2 & 3) – landlord/PRS database, ombudsman, Decent Homes Standard and other property standards reforms rolled out in stages
Because 1st May 2026 is when landlords “feel” the change in their day-to-day tenancy management, the media has understandably focused on that. The December enforcement powers are less visible to tenants and landlords, so they’ve gone under the radar.
But from an enforcement point of view, the logic is clear: give councils the tools in December so they can build cases, set expectations and bed in processes before the more contentious tenancy reforms start in May.
What landlords and agents should do now
Here’s how we’re thinking about this as a local Derby letting agent and the practical steps we’d recommend to landlords:
1. Assume you could receive an information notice
Treat it like HMRC: if you were asked tomorrow to produce:
◆ copies of tenancy agreements
◆ evidence of deposit protection and prescribed information
◆ gas and electrical safety certificates
◆ How to Rent guides, EPCs and licensing documents
◆ records of tenant communications and complaints
…could you do it, quickly and confidently? If not, now is the time to sort your filing systems (digital or physical) so that a council request is a manageable inconvenience, not a crisis.
2. Tighten your processes – not just your paperwork
These powers sit alongside a broader shift towards:
◆ bigger civil penalties
◆ longer rent repayment orders (up to 24 months’ rent in serious or repeat cases)
◆ an expectation that councils use these tools
So this isn’t just about having nice PDFs on file; it’s about genuinely following the rules:
◆ Serving the right notices, at the right time, in the right way
◆ Responding promptly to disrepair and safety issues
◆ Never “informally” asking tenants to leave without proper legal process
◆ Ensuring licensing, HMO rules and safety standards are actually met
3. Review your business premises and devices
Because councils can enter rental-sector business premises and seize documents, including digital records, think about:
◆ who has access to what (and whether it’s appropriate)
◆ how sensitive information is stored and backed up
◆ whether your staff know what to do if an officer attends the office with a notice or warrant
Again, this shouldn’t be scary for compliant agents; it’s about making sure your house is in order.
4. Factor enforcement risk into your strategy
For portfolio landlords and investors considering buy to let in Derby, enforcement risk is now a more tangible part of the picture, alongside interest rates, yields and refurbishment costs.
The safest position could be to own fewer, better-run properties, not a large number of marginal, non-compliant ones. Also consider working with a Derby letting agent who is on top of the Renters’ Rights Act changes and can act as a buffer between you and the regulatory noise
Our take at Cope & Co.
At Cope & Co., we always face these chages head on:
✅ to differentiate from less professional operators in the market
✅ to reassure our landlords that their properties and paperwork will stand up to scrutiny
✅ to collaborate with the Local Council where appropriate to raise standards across the sector
If you’re a landlord who’s unsure what these changes mean for your portfolio, or you’re worried about historic gaps in paperwork, we’re very happy to review your position, discreetly, and help you get “audit-ready” well before May 2026.
The message in short:
Rogue landlords should be nervous about 27th December. Good landlords should use it as a prompt to get organised, and then sleep better at night.
