Renters rights bill - 1 May 2026 good or disaster?

Having been through a section 21 a few years ago I NEVER want to experience it again. It nearly destroyed me and my husband. Our place we rent is by no means perfect but I'd love to feel safe and secure

One would hope the Government introduces laws to restrict how much corporations can raise rents above CPI by, so they can’t just dictate ‘market rates’ for themselves. Also there should be laws around minimum standards of homes with increased regulation to make sure no home is unsafe / not fit for purpose.

Overall, I think businesses running rentals will mean better quality homes than current system with private landlords. And I say this as a private landlord (with a lovely property!). I’ve just been on the other side as a very not-wealthy renter in my 20s.

Why would any LL evict someone 'for no reason' ? I'm sure in many cases there's some very good reasons why.

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.

Quite. You might not have planned it at the outset, but once you are in it you have to professionalise and be very intentional about it. If only because there is a lot of legislation now and if you don’t comply the repercussions can be severe.

Surely the only thing you can deduct is the fees and insurance then?

So there will be tax to is pay

When we were landlords 6 months all our tenants went on a rolling contract anyway. I thought this was the normal practice.

It’s a good deal for students and their parents.

Yes it is a residential mortgage.

We are aware that we cannot deduct the mortgage payment as an expense.

The house was not bought as a Buy to Let. It was a main home.

We were unable to sell it when buying another property so decided to let it.
The mortgage company know it is now rented out and have changed the mortgage accordingly.

A letting agency is managing the rental. We are aware it will be income tax which is due.

Registratiom with HMRC for self assessment has been done for the sole trader self employment and rental income.
The self employment is not a limited company.

This and MTD will result in private landlords who are in two minds, to sell up. It will be great for institutional and large-scale private landlords, they can hoover up all those properties. With little competition and no rent control, they can pick and choose who they want as tenants and charge what they want.

The tax you pay is income tax.
It's a tax on income
Not a tax on profit
You can't deduct your mortgage payment.
I'm assuming you're on a residential mortgage here by the way you worded your post. I'm assuming you're not a limited company in which case it would be corporation tax rather than income tax
Sorry if I've got it wrong but you might want to check

You have a point.

Tenants complaining about small landlords, do you want large institutions to be your landlord?

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"

It’s pot luck though.

You might get a fab landlord. You might get one who means well but is clueless and you have to tell them what they are supposed to be doing. You might get one who is intimidating and you are scared to speak to. You might get one who you never hear from until the day they tell you that you have to move out. You might get one who is an alcoholic who lets themself into your house while you are out at work and helps themself to your drinks cabinet.

All examples from personal experience.

@Another2356 this is not necessarily true. My family rented a farmhouse on private estate land owned a local Lord. No mortgage and pure profit. There were extensive grounds (around 2-3 acres) that had been left to overgrow for at least a decade. We hacked back brambles that had claimed large portions and used a stout John Deere lawn tractor to tame the overgrown garden/orchard. The agents then sought to increase our rent due to the improvement of our labour!

There was no rolling contract. We lived there for 8 years with 4 fixed term contacts. The landlord did no maintenance in this time but sought to increase rent by several hundred pounds per month each time the contract came up for renewal purely based on the fact that tenants had transformed the place from a dump into somewhere desirable to live. The house itself was still a rat infested dump with rotting window frames but on first view looked like a country idyll with cut lawns, pruned bushes and trees and multiple planters and hanging baskets and flower borders.

Because there was no rolling contract it was very difficult to time the end of contract with purchasing timetable when we left due to delays with vendors and land registry. The landlord issued a S21 notice despite no rent arrears to try and force us to leave before ongoing purchase had completed. Because he’d lined up new tenants at increased rent. We were told they would be showing up with removal vans and we had to vacate. Obviously this was all bluff and bluster and in the end we completed on the new sale within days of the end of the fixed term contract (not due to threats) but could have done without the stress.

If nothing else the bill that sanctions the move to rolling contracts for long term tenants is a long overdue good thing that only negatively impacts agents that earn fees (paid by the landlord) from fixed term contracts requiring constant renewal.

I am still getting my head around the accounting for this so was not aware of the restriction on interest deductability. In addition to rental income we now have new self employment accounts to deal with. So a steep learning curve. Thankfully I am retired so have time to research it and make sure I get it right.
I have done self assessment in the past so am aware of the basics of that at least. Currently I am looking at Making Tax Digital. As the total Taxable Income is going to be less than £50k there is no rush.

Not necessarily. Many pension portfolios consist of rental properties, some of the most ordinary houses I deal with are owned by such companies. They have an almost infinite capacity and can afford the most stringent checks

As a landlord I’m in it to make profit and build a pension. My choices are (1) invest in BTL or (2) invest in a ETF ( exchange traded fund) which pays dividend. With the mounting costs AND RISKs with BTL it’s either put rent up to counter balance profit and risk OR move out into ETF. The cost, risk, benefit of BTL are reducing…. So if the chancellor increases landlord tax (NI or CGT), the risk will not make sense. Of course if tenants caused less damage to properties they rent then landlords refurbishment costs will be less. I always give very good tenants a monthly discount on rent (good = reporting damage and repairs quickly, heating property, ventilating, not being rough with the kitchen or bathroom and taking off shoes when at home in the property).

I think they are more fussy on lending criteria. The rate is already high. Ours is 8.5%, and I don't want to fix it as I was waiting for this bill to decide if we should sell up. You needed something like 150% return, so if the mortgage is £1000 pm, you need to charge £1500 rent. So I guess it might stop some new applicants. But once you have one, the bank has no idea if your return still balances out. It just comes down to does the rent cover the mortgage and cover your expenses. We only make about £2000 a year profit in rent, but that's OK with us as we wanted capital returns when we sell.

I have read multiple threads in Mumsnet saying social housing tenants are not problematic and in fact make better neighbours than non social housing. If anyone disagrees everyone is up and arms and claims the person is not telling the truth.

Is antisocial behaviour the same in social housing as private? Is it that bad that most people are affected whatever their circumstances and wherever they live?

Well as a landlord I wouldn't have any issue knowing what to do with cash when I sell up. Pay the mortgage on that house and pay capital gains tax. Or as I still need a house ( as we also rent) I'd keep it in property a but not one id rent out. I'd move out from rental and live in it ( wasn't a possibility when we bought it).

I'm glad we bought the house. It's doubled in value since we bought it so there's no regrets. But it's not a market for small landlords with one property any more. I do think it will push rents up as I don't need to charity a high rent. My risk is small. But if you own multiple rentals run as business you need a wage level return and % on top to see you through 1-2 years of court process. I'd absolutely love to sell up and stop being a much hated landlord that charges under £1000 pm for a house you get a train to London in under a hour walking and train.

But to do hat I have to evict my tennants. They have no where to go. Otherwise I'd have sold up ten years ago.

What do the banks think about this who lend buy to let mortgages? If they think it is OK and price neutral, then fine. But if they do not, buy to let mortgages go up and costs passed to tenants.

“Clean between lets” I meant.

Students seem to lose out both ways. DD1 was in Edinburgh where rentals typically end around June/July so landlords cash in on Airbnb over the festival period. DD worked the festival and had a great time for three summers, managed to bunk in with friends but it’s not easy. Conversely DD2 had to pay rent on an empty property over summer holidays, I think it was about three or four months the year she graduated which was really painful. We seriously considered subletting Airbnb over the period as it was a good house in a central area of a city popular with tourists but there just seemed to be so many risks if it all went horribly wrong, plus a lot of work back and forth to clean between keys etc and obviously it was against the lease agreement.

I also object to the way letting agencies ramp up pressure on the students to secure somewhere months before they need to, often in their first term while they are still making friends, thinking who they might want to share with and grappling with adult responsibilities for the first time. DD2 secured her last house with six girls writing a letter about how they all like staying in and cooking together and studying….🤭😉 the groups of rugby playing party boys didn’t get a look in though I suppose they all found somewhere eventually.

Well yes. Unless you are naive like me. I’ve lost money and can’t sell the damn place. I’ve come to loath it. It will need fixing up again soon and I’ve no money to do it. I’ve remortgaged it but my rent income is still less than the mortgage- go figure. I’m stuck paying for something I wish I’d never touched. My one Hope is dcs change their mind and want to live there. It was meant to be inheritance investment till they were old enough to live there. Now off travelling and living abroad. Maybe in a couple of years 🙏