The subscription contract rules sit in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The detail is in the draft Consumer Subscription Contracts (Cancellation and Information) Regulations 2026, which the government laid before Parliament on 19 October 2026 together with draft guidance for businesses.
The draft regulations say they come into force on 1 January 2027 and apply to business-to-consumer subscription contracts entered into on or after that date. Both Houses of Parliament need to approve them first, and Parliament is expected to rise for Christmas in mid-December 2026.
The date has moved before. The government originally expected spring 2026, then autumn 2026, then spring 2027, before the Prime Minister announced in August 2026 that it would be brought forward to January 2027. Treat 1 January 2027 as the planned date, not a certainty, until the regulations are approved.