The Debate: Is the Renters’ Rights Act good for London landlords?
The Renters Rights’ Act, which came into force on Friday, has completely rewritten the landlord-tenant relationship. But can it benefit both sides? We hear the case for and against in this week’s Debate
YES: Flexibility means tenants stay longer, which means lower void periods and costs
The leading narrative to date reads this legislation as a win for the tenant at the landlord’s expense. But, approached in the right way, the Act can prove its benefit to both sides.
For too long, the rental market has rewarded complacency. Rents have risen, at pace, since the pandemic, regardless of product quality or how the tenant has been looked after. This Act demands that landlords are proactive, not passive – working harder to provide a better product and offer a responsive service.
That is not a threat; it is a standard that serious investors should already be meeting. Grounds for possession, for instance, are now more closely aligned with the commercial leasing standard – structured, evidenced, proportionate.
Abolishing fixed-term contracts has been a major point of contention. But the reality is that renters do not want to move every six months. Most are actually seeking stability they simply haven’t been offered. At Noiascape, we’ve always had flexible contracts, and it’s clear that when tenants feel secure and well-served, they stay for years – not months. We have the numbers to prove it.
The result is lower void periods, re-letting costs and tenant turnover, with an ultimately greater net operating income. The maths of a four-year tenancy versus four successive one-year lets is not complicated.
The Act must still provide clarity to landlords on how rules on rent increases will actually play out. This needs addressing to prevent the erosion of existing supply – with landlords exiting the sector. If the supply side is not confronted, regardless of the new Act, rents will further rise as demand outstrips supply – an unintended consequence that will not benefit renters.
But, that said, this is an opportunity for an overdue reset. Landlords who treat their properties as investments, and their tenant as a counterparty that protects that investment, will find the Act works in their favour.
James Teatum is co-founder of Noiascape
NO: Landlords will be unable to swiftly resolve legitimate possession cases
The Renters’ Rights Act isn’t likely to be viewed as good news by many landlords in England. But for those in London it will be especially unwelcome.
London’s private rental sector is different from the rest of the country. It is by far the largest market. In fact, it makes up a significant proportion of the national picture on its own. And it is also often the most exposed to shocks. Consequently, it has been the source of much speculation about the impact of the Renters’ Right Act on landlords, stock availability and the overall market in the capital.
Truthfully, we may never be able to fully quantify the direct impact of the Act. There are so many challenges facing private landlords that to identify just the effects of this legislation may prove impossible. We can say with confidence that unless the government recognises the damage being done by its approach to the private rented sector and takes steps to mitigate the risk, the effects will be profound.
Whilst there is no single solution to a decade of erosion of landlords’ confidence, the starting point must be the courts service. Without urgent reform, landlords will be unable to resolve legitimate possession cases swiftly and efficiently. This is only likely to discourage landlords from staying in London’s market over the long term.
Their overriding motivation must be to ensure responsible landlords stay in the market to provide much-needed homes to encourage others to view property as a viable long-term investment. Without this, there is a clear and present risk many landlords will simply look elsewhere, further reducing the already chronic shortage of rental properties in London.
Chris Norris is chief policy officer at the National Residential Landlords Association
THE VERDICT
After years of discussion, Labour’s Renters’ Rights Act, their flagship manifesto policy promised in 2024, is finally here. As of Friday, all tenants in England, whether under existing agreements or new ones, have a host of new entitlements, from the abolition of no-fault evictions to the right to request to live with a pet. It’s undeniably a massive shift in power between landlords and tenants, though Mr Teatum argues there are benefits for landlords. While he is right that longer tenancies can be in the interest of landlords too, he leaves out a crucial caveat: only when there are good tenants.
The Act means all tenancies will now be rolling (even if agreed on fixed-terms pre-Act) and landlords will have limited powers to evict troublesome tenants, unless they are planning to sell or move back into the property, making letting considerably less flexible for landlords. Are landlords concerned? The surge in no-fault evictions served just last week, before the Act came into force, suggests so.