The Intermediary – September 2025 - Flipbook - Page 40
BUY-TO-LET
In focus
Preparing for
change means
working together
T
he proposed Renters’
Rights Bill, which
returned to the House
of Commons on 8th
September for its final
stage before Royal
Assent turns it into law, marks the
biggest change to the private rental
sector (PRS) in a generation. It’s an
opportunity to level up the sector, but
such sweeping change means we all
need to work together to get the best
from the new normal that the Bill
will introduce.
more than 3.4 million households who
don’t know what impact the Renters’
Rights Bill will have on them.
The proposed Bill’s impact will be
widespread. Among the headline
changes are the abolition of Section
21 – so-called ‘no fault’ – evictions, and
the replacement of fixed-term assured
tenancies with periodic or ‘rolling’
tenancies.
This seeks to give tenants greater
stability, which it will do, but it also
impacts how and when they must give
notice when they wish to move. The
GRAHAM HAYWARD
is managing director
at Housing Hand
Again, Housing Hand’s research
sheds light on the issue. We asked
private renters about how they felt
when renting their first home. A first
rental home should be the exciting
start of a new life phase. However, the
renters we surveyed reported feeling
overwhelmed (25%), uncertain (22%),
anxious (21%) and scared (9%) when
first looking for a home to rent. Just
5% reported feeling confident and 2%
felt knowledgeable.
Working together
Only a collaborative effort will ensure that the Renters’ Rights Bill is implemented successfully
First and foremost, we must ensure
a common understanding among
renters and accommodation providers
of what will change once the Renters’
Rights Bill becomes law. Our research
here at Housing Hand – summarised
in the ‘Understanding Renters in 2025’
report published earlier this year –
has highlighted how much work is
needed here.
We surveyed more than 1,700
private renters and discovered that a
shocking 69% were unaware of the
proposed Renters’ Rights Bill, while
75% had no idea how the proposed
Bill will impact them. If we apply
these findings to England’s 4.6 million
households who rent privately, that’s
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The Intermediary | September 2025
current proposals in the Bill also limit
rent increases to once per year, give
tenants new power to challenge rent
rises at tribunal and ban rent-bidding
– clearly all maers that both tenants
and landlords need to be clear on,
moving forward.
The UK’s housing shortage is
well documented. The Centre for
Policy Studies reports a UK shortage
of 6.5 million homes when the
country is compared to its European
counterparts. The lack of housing,
coupled with an exodus of landlords
from the private rented sector in
recent years, has led to spiralling
rents and significantly increased
competition for homes.
The figures throw stark light on how
far we need to go to beer support
a thriving, positive rental sector
here in the UK. The Renters’ Rights
Bill provides us with a chance to do
so, but it will require a robust and
coordinated approach to spreading
the word on what the Bill means and
what will change. The sector needs
to work together on this, hand in
hand, to ensure that accommodation
providers and tenants develop a shared
understanding of how renting in the
UK will change when the Bill passes
into law.
Only with a concerted effort to
gain this shared understanding will
we truly be able to make the most of
the Bill’s potential. And we should be
clear: that potential is huge. With the
right approach to implementation,
the Bill could deliver a rental sector
that offers greater clarity and
security, supporting a fair balance
between renters and accommodation
providers, to the benefit of all. That’s
why the coming weeks and months
are so crucial to embracing all that this
once in a generation opportunity for
change presents. ●
