Renters rights bill - 1 May 2026 good or disaster?

Rosie8880 · 2025-11-14T15:49:36+00:00

So the renters rights bill has now been confirmed. From May 1 next year all tenancies will become rolling/ periodic and section 21 no fault evictions will end. Reading some blogs some landlords feel this is the end of private landlords. I don’t feel it is. Housing is a serious thing obvs and for many decades it’s been seen as a financial wealth building instrument, first, and a home second. I think tenants will stay in properties for longer now which will onto benefit local communities, and minimise people having to move around all the time. Will there be a shortage of housing now - I don’t feel there will be. As less people hopefully will need to move all the time. There will be less need. Plus the homes that do get out on market will help lower asking price as more homes are made available. But let me know your thoughts

FoodieFoodFood · 19/05/2026 21:50

I think it’s impacting us. We live on the second floor of the building - the complex was built in 2018 and the estate agents own it - all of them.

The stairs are too much for us especially with a toddler, and they get icy in winter. We had a viewing on a ground floor flat on the 30th of April, which has three tenants in atm (a couple and a third person).

We were ready to pay the holding deposit two days later, when we called to say so we were informed the third tenant is considering staying. To this day I’ve been chasing and chasing for any confirmed decision and it’s still not clear what they’re doing. The estate agent has said they’re at the mercy of the current tenant. We’re obviously quite disappointed with the situation but 🤷‍♀️🫩

ThisJollyDog · 19/05/2026 21:46

Inexpertjuggler · 15/11/2025 19:04

Please take advise on this urgently. The new section 24, in force now, means that tax is payable on the entire amount of rent, not just the profit after the mortgage has been paid. This was one of the major factors in BTL landlords selling, before this RR bill.

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Section 24 is not new. It came in in 2015. It applies to property held in personal names but not those held in a limited company. We incorporated in 2015 to avoid this stupid rule change. What other businesses ca

Iamvictorio · 19/05/2026 16:54

Hoppinggreen · 14/11/2025 16:30

I work in this area, my view (and the view of others in the industry)
Good for Tenants already in a property
Bad for Landlords
Bad for people looking for a Rental as there is low availability already in most areas and this will make things worse
Bad for anyone who does not have a perfect profile and who can't pass Referencing, although there are Insurance products to help with this albeit at a cost to the Tenant
Good for large corporate landlords as they will own most rental stock and have the necessary legal teams etc to evict if needed and will not suffer financially if they can't evict for some time

I have been in this property for 5 years and my landlord did not issue me a section 21 before first of May, but he is trying to make me leave without giving me a formal notice. Do you have any idea why he would avoid issuing me a proper notice?

Firethehorse · 18/11/2025 11:02

In some ways I agree with what you are saying @SilverPink . However, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to be a private landlord; surely it’s more important that you provide quality housing at or below market rate and respond quickly when/if any difficulties arise.
In my case, this is my one and only owned home and we do intend to return to it, maybe this makes us be even more careful to maintain it well. We have had to rent ourselves too all the years we have been abroad so I can see both sides. We are more concerned with who is in our house and don’t actually make a profit after management fees, gardener, maintenance etc but our house is older and more difficult to maintain so def not a typical renter.

Unpaidviewer · 17/11/2025 09:57

SilverPink · 17/11/2025 09:49

Those people you mentioned are still making a choice to actually become a landlord though. I can understand in your situation, if you’re posted abroad but there’s a chance you’ll be coming back, the most sensible thing is to rent out your house for the foreseeable future. But someone who inherits a house, or marries someone and ends up with two properties? You sell the house. If you choose to rent it then you’ve chosen to become a landlord - therefore not ‘accidental’

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Well of course. But as the poster has pointed out, they didn't intentionally buy a property to rent out. That is what the term accidental landlord means.

SilverPink · 17/11/2025 09:49

Firethehorse · 17/11/2025 01:09

Of course there are circumstances where a property has to be let out. In my own case we own our own home and were posted abroad so it’s either leave it empty or rent it out. My best friend has inherited a house upon the death of a parent. Another friend has been posted to work at the other side of the Country, yet another has married a guy who also owns his own home as they are in 40s-50’s. It’s really not hard to see how these situations arise.

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Those people you mentioned are still making a choice to actually become a landlord though. I can understand in your situation, if you’re posted abroad but there’s a chance you’ll be coming back, the most sensible thing is to rent out your house for the foreseeable future. But someone who inherits a house, or marries someone and ends up with two properties? You sell the house. If you choose to rent it then you’ve chosen to become a landlord - therefore not ‘accidental’

Firethehorse · 17/11/2025 01:09

Ginmonkeyagain · 15/11/2025 09:39

Loving all these "accidental" landllords,.there is no such thing. No one wakes up one day and siddently finds a tenant in their property. Own your decisions.

Of course there are circumstances where a property has to be let out. In my own case we own our own home and were posted abroad so it’s either leave it empty or rent it out. My best friend has inherited a house upon the death of a parent. Another friend has been posted to work at the other side of the Country, yet another has married a guy who also owns his own home as they are in 40s-50’s. It’s really not hard to see how these situations arise.

JoyousTern · 16/11/2025 22:46

Rosie8880 · 14/11/2025 18:04

Rent will be effectively controlled as all rent increases will need to comply with section 13, and I believe max rent increase 10% and will need to match no more then av market rent increase area. But as always legal can help clarify

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It can be increased to whatever the landlord decides between tenants. Most landlords have increased rents in the last 6-12 months to compensate for this anyway. I increased all mine to current market rent in the summer. Some went up by 15+% because I’d not bothered increasing them for quite some time. I’ve had no tenants leave as a result.

Hungryyet · 16/11/2025 20:50

Fuck it, we will sell off and move on.

Hoppinggreen · 16/11/2025 20:46

NewAgeNewMe · 16/11/2025 18:00

It’s also things that have the knock on effect, the small estate agent managing the property, the mortgage broker acting for a small time LL where they spend a bit of their wages boosting the economy. The bigger corporations won’t need the small person, so the small person loses out as well…

The Large Corporate landlords don't use small local lettings Agents so they will be badly affected. I know quite a lot who already have been as they don't have enough Rental stock

angela1952 · 16/11/2025 19:58

Rosie8880 · 16/11/2025 19:47

But won’t tenants now be able to give all 2 months notice ? How would a LL know they only wanted to stay a short time…?

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A lot of these investment properties are actually investments in student accommodation I think.

angela1952 · 16/11/2025 19:55

Notanevillandlord · 16/11/2025 19:38

Are you for real? Do you own a home @SunnySideDeepDown?

A LL needs a huge pot of money for repairs

eg if the boiler goes kaput circa £4k

Repairs to roof/ guttering/leaks

Keeping the house in a good state of repair ie regular replacement of carpets, a new kitchen and bathroom every 10 years, full decoration every time a tenant moves house. £20-30K

Replacement of kitchen appliances when they stop working - they have to be replaced immediately you can’t leave a tenant without cooking facilities.

Other repairs that nay occur - eg a leak in an underground pipe which means having to dig up the hallway and front garden cost£1k +

It’s not like owning your own home where you can put off fixing some jobs in a rentals things have to be fixed/replaced immediately. No waiting until you’ve saved up the money to do it.

And tax - it has to be paid

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If a private landlord's flat is managed by an agent and is in a block there will be a service charge, this is used to build up a pot of money to pay for future work. Typically this includes repairs and decorating in communal areas, lift maintenance, heating of common areas, gardening, inspection and maintenance of fire alarms and fire doors, entry system etc. etc. etc. If you have gas there has to be a regular gas inspection and an electrical inspection (though less often).

Original poster

Rosie8880 · 16/11/2025 19:47

ShamedBySiri · 15/11/2025 10:31

I recently received an email notifying me of new investment properties. New homes reserved for investors only. No opportunity for first time buyers.

I suppose it’s part of government plan to reduce state provision of homes and pass it on to the private sector.

In some ways I think having large corporations plugging the gap may be a good thing - it’s more or less how it’s done in other countries. They will have the money to maintain the properties to a certain standard presumably and rent prices may stabilise over time.

However it’s a huge shame to exclude private/first time buyers making home ownership so much more difficult.

It’s also the case that there is a need for more flexible arrangements - people like a PP wanting to rent their property whilst working abroad and feel safe that they have a home to return to and lots of other reasons for so called “accidental” landlords. Equally private renters have reasons for wanting to rent for a relatively short time 6-12 months say, when relocating jobs or in order to sell their home and be chain free when buying their next home for instance.
These sorts of scenarios won’t really be catered for by the corporate land lords. It will be much more difficult for people in these situations.

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But won’t tenants now be able to give all 2 months notice ? How would a LL know they only wanted to stay a short time…?

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Araminta1003 · 16/11/2025 19:41

A “government spokesperson said: “We are building the 1.5m homes this country needs to restore the dream of homeownership, and have introduced a new, permanent mortgage guarantee scheme helping buyers with a deposit as small as 5% to own a home.””

We know they are lying and behind on targets due to skills shortages and increased employment costs! And where is all the advertising making people aware of the new mortgage guarantee schemes? If interest rates are coming down, they need to be proactively pointing people in that direction - it is all a catch 22, if people have zero confidence they do not buy and housebuilders do not build? You cannot get finance into a falling market etc I just do not understand which planet any of these politicians live on!
You cannot just have some “ideas” and not think any of it through and have a complete disconnect between various government departments. It is all so frustrating.

Notanevillandlord · 16/11/2025 19:38

SunnySideDeepDown · 16/11/2025 16:28

Can I ask what you have to do every month that costs £300?

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Are you for real? Do you own a home @SunnySideDeepDown?

A LL needs a huge pot of money for repairs

eg if the boiler goes kaput circa £4k

Repairs to roof/ guttering/leaks

Keeping the house in a good state of repair ie regular replacement of carpets, a new kitchen and bathroom every 10 years, full decoration every time a tenant moves house. £20-30K

Replacement of kitchen appliances when they stop working - they have to be replaced immediately you can’t leave a tenant without cooking facilities.

Other repairs that nay occur - eg a leak in an underground pipe which means having to dig up the hallway and front garden cost£1k +

It’s not like owning your own home where you can put off fixing some jobs in a rentals things have to be fixed/replaced immediately. No waiting until you’ve saved up the money to do it.

And tax - it has to be paid

Araminta1003 · 16/11/2025 19:30

Renters rights are fine in principle, but it would need to be against a backdrop of an increase in supply of housing and helping people onto the housing ladder - the latter two are not offered. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/16/britains-biggest-housebuilder-urges-government-to-support-first-time-buyers
What Labour are doing is not going to work. They are literally selling off to foreign investors and squeezing what is an essential service (housing) even more. I just do not agree with this approach at all, and all the experts are telling them it is madness.
You cannot just try and plan for a next election with 16 year old plus votes and a coalition with the Green Party and hope for the best. They actually need to realise that this is quite dangerous territory.

The principle of a stable housing market and rights is all fine and good, but if the financial side is not at all worked out and neither the supply side, it is very dangerous.

Original poster

Rosie8880 · 16/11/2025 18:51

Araminta1003 · 16/11/2025 15:38

“If there is a glut of landlords selling up which reaches a tipping point - aka severe lack of affordable rents properties - I believe government will step in and seek to buy up those properties or if vacant for over a year and it’s that servere, introduce CPO laws. Think there will be a period of adjustment but it’s a step bright direction.”

@Rosie8880 - but why do you have so much faith in “government”? You know right that they promised to build loads and have not delivered on any of that and are massively behind?
We all want to believe “the Government” is in control - they are not, they are at the whim of international financial markets and in big debt as is. Hating on your local small landlord who is actually paying tax here is completely bonkers when most of them did a fair job bar a few very shoddy ones. That should have been handled with giving local authorities licensing and more power much earlier to crack down on the few that were shoddy. Decimating it all with no back up plan is completely bonkers.

I am a landlord so no hate for LLs. I am no fan of Starmers Labour but they have done a couple of things quickly - for first time in 40 + years they have enabled local gov to reinvest monies from sales of properties back into capital build. Plus this renters rights bill which had to come.

in 2029 those born in 2013 will be able to vote. People born in 2000 will be 29, peop
borm in 1990 will be 39. The majority of voters may end up being under 50. Governments tend to direct policy to the bigger voter base. It is a total $$$$ show atm and am hoping the country votes in hope not the looney reform party at next election

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Original poster

Rosie8880 · 16/11/2025 18:43

Notanevillandlord · 16/11/2025 18:37

Finally someone who makes sense.

Yup this is the reality. As a LL I’ve been saying this for years. Shelter did/do renters a huge disservice.

LLs selling up - yeaay uh nope. The corporates are snapping them all up and LLs are selling directly to them with tenants in situ. John Lewis is also snapping them up too.

Remember a few years ago you had all those small time vets in towns and villages? Where are they now? Yup - mostly all bought out by the huge conglomerates and now veterinary fees are sky high.

Be careful what you wish for. Well you got your wish…

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If this doomsday scenario does manifest and the situation for renters becomes worse - aka, and even smaller supply of affordable homes, genuinely think government will not have a choice but to do more - aka CPOs. Housing is crashing the public sector now (temporary housing & lack of affordable housing), there will be anarchy if it gets worse. Unless the country vote in reform then it’s well chaos full stop.

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Notanevillandlord · 16/11/2025 18:37

Chiseltip · 15/11/2025 17:02

It's a fucking disaster.

Rentals will become harder to find as LL's leave the market. This will result in increased competition and higher rents.

"Ah, but that's what the bill is designed to address"

Bollocks!

The legislation mentions "market rate". While all you idiots were frothing at the mouth and demanding your renters rights. You weren't watching what was really going on. Your market rate will be set by the only LL in town. And from now on that LL is likely to be a huge fuck off, faceless conglomerate like Lloyd's Bank, who have been busy buying up FIFTY THOUSAND houses to rent back to you.

Dave, with his four buy to lets, was the scum of the earth wasn't he?

He was stopping you buying your first home wasn't he?

Good luck finding somewhere to live now that the only LL's left in the market are the banks.

You think there will be fair rents when the market is literally owned buy one single company?

You fucked yourselves over!

If you thought rents were high now, wait a few years. And who do you think you will call when your shower leaks or your boiler breaks down?

You think the Lloyd's gives a fuck?

"Your call is important to us, please hold, you're currently number 168 in the queue"

Finally someone who makes sense.

Yup this is the reality. As a LL I’ve been saying this for years. Shelter did/do renters a huge disservice.

LLs selling up - yeaay uh nope. The corporates are snapping them all up and LLs are selling directly to them with tenants in situ. John Lewis is also snapping them up too.

Remember a few years ago you had all those small time vets in towns and villages? Where are they now? Yup - mostly all bought out by the huge conglomerates and now veterinary fees are sky high.

Be careful what you wish for. Well you got your wish…

Original poster

Rosie8880 · 16/11/2025 18:14

christmascalypso · 16/11/2025 17:19

We are private landlords (invested in property instead of pensions). Long term tenants who are very happy with us as landlords but we’ve had enough now. Will be giving notice to tenants that we will be selling houses in the new year. No benefit to being a landlord now. Too much hassle. Will invest proceeds instead and income from investments will go towards our retirement income.

And this is really at the heart of the issue. As a landlord you sound like you have been great. But fundamentally the purpose for you renting out a property is your wealth creation, and why not - it’s been entirely legal and encouraged socially, politically, etc to use properties to create wealth. I am a landlord too.

But I do question it really we private landlords have been guided and supported enough to take on the enormity of providing homes not products. All these changes are right and just for tenants. Private landlords have since 80s baloooned as social housing has shrunk. The cost of housing rented or to own in most places where the economy is healthiest has soared too high. So how do we rebalance housing to make it affordable for all? There is only one way and that’s for either wages to massively increase or housing prices to fall. That’s the only way. And wages won’t increase. So housing prices to fall which is political suicide (atm), which is economically dangerous and will mean home owners wealth they were banking on, is slashed. It’s really a generational thing - politics is now looking to support those under 40 more who will be if election is 2029, the majority share of voters.

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NewAgeNewMe · 16/11/2025 18:00

It’s also things that have the knock on effect, the small estate agent managing the property, the mortgage broker acting for a small time LL where they spend a bit of their wages boosting the economy. The bigger corporations won’t need the small person, so the small person loses out as well…

Cosyblankets · 16/11/2025 17:52

SunnySideDeepDown · 16/11/2025 16:28

Can I ask what you have to do every month that costs £300?

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Magic a new boiler out of thin air if it breaks?
Pay for a plumber if there's a leak?
Pay for an electrician if there's a fault?
You do know these aren't free don't you?

JenniferBooth · 16/11/2025 17:35

Wakinguptowinter · 15/11/2025 19:28

There are no consequences for them, as social housing will have to rehouse them especially if it’s a family.

Isn't that the problem. Private renting tenants pay (and pay more) and are accountable and social housing tenants are given an easy ride. This needs to change.

Yes Social housing tenants need a home but if they behave badly why do they deserve a tax payer funded home?

Here is a book that was published last month by someone who works as a contractor in social housing. Easy ride my arse.
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781919197203/Middle-Ground-Frontline-Journey-Social-1919197206/plp

it does mention ppl in the housing sector whose attitudes are similar to yours.

Middle Ground: A Frontline Journey In Social Housing - Carpenter, Joe: 9781919197203 - AbeBooks

A powerful, eye-opening account of life on the frontlines of Britain?s broken social housing system. Over 13 years and more than 14,000 repairs, Joe Carpenter has seen it all - mould-covered walls, leaking ceilings, unsafe homes, and the human toll beh...

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781919197203/Middle-Ground-Frontline-Journey-Social-1919197206/plp

ItsNotYou852 · 16/11/2025 17:35

Yes, here in Wales all the regulations have done is make life harder for LLs and tenants both! Less rentals available, higher prices, ever more people vying for each possible tenancy.

My landlord has sold one their 3 properties already and will be selling the other 2 next year.
I'm 64, work part-time, have a fairly poor credit history, and dare to have a dog and a cat!
How many landlords would be willing to take me on?
I'm left hoping the council will house me before I'm homeless.

Had so many discussions with people who all think regulation is a good thing, can nobody see further than the end of their nose?

JenniferBooth · 16/11/2025 17:27

Icecreamandcoffee · 15/11/2025 18:10

I can see it been a disaster for tennants. There are whole companies (offshore, investment banks or private equity based) who are buying up rentals. Once most of the rental market belongs to Blackrock/ people like Mike Ashley/ the investment banks it will be terrible for anyone who is renting.

These big corporate companies have whole teams dedicated to skirting the law and sailing as close to the wind as they can get away with, it will run by the word of the law not the spirit. There will be rent rises every single year keeping every property at market rent (no more below market rentals). There will likely be selling off of car parking in flats to people like europark and each tenant will have to pay to have a space and a permit to park. Those who have a space as part of their flats in cities will probably find they can't rent them out anymore. Just like when private equity get hold of anything, everything will be squeezed for money.

Anyone who is slightly risky as a tenant (benefits, ccjs, bad reference, children, pets, missed payments) will find it hard to rent. If you get behind on payments it will be straight to proceedings and enforcement of contracts (no understanding talk with the landlord), it will be like been behind on a loan payment with a bank. Maintenance will be done by a huge company and likely difficult to get hold of. Good luck trying to win in court against Blackrock/ the banks/ private equity companies.

And what happens when its the housing association thats lost the payment. We had this recently.