HousingNational 21h 10m left
Will the Renters' Rights Act end up hurting the tenants it was meant to help?
The Renters' Rights Act took effect on 1 May 2026, converting tenancies to periodic assured ones, ending section 21 no-fault evictions, limiting rent increases to once yearly with tenant challenge rights, banning rental bidding and excessive upfront rent, and adding pet request rights. It aims to give 11 million private renters greater security. By August 2026, reports show average new rents rising over 8% year-on-year in places, more tribunal challenges to increases, a pre-implementation spike in evictions, and warnings of landlords selling up, shrinking supply in the private rented sector.
6 Opinions
I know how landlords can make life difficult for the renters, and in some cases it's not pleasant. Renters rights gives more security to the tenant, a good landlord will, all being well, treat the tenant with fairness.
Landlords leaving puts more homes in the market so which could/should result in lower house purchase prices and create a worry/panic amongst landlords 😳… ( I don’t have anything against landlords 😉❤️) xx
Yes, absolutely. Look at the pricing of rent. Labour have managed to reduce the number of landlords, thus giving the surviving landlords more control and power. The more government gets involved with stuff, the worse it gets.
The Act could create some unintended problems, especially if lots of landlords leave and the supply of homes falls. But that doesn’t mean the rights themselves are wrong. Tenants shouldn’t be able to lose their home without a reason, and protections against unfair rent increases and bidding wars are reasonable. If supply is the problem, the answer is building more homes, not leaving renters with fewer rights.