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By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail – Benjamin Franklin
The Renters Rights Act may have received Royal Assent in October 2025 but it is the coming year when each item in this Act will actually begin to be enacted and will change the way we let and manage properties in England forever.
In 53 years as a landlord I have learned that complaining about changes doesn’t solve anything, even when that complaining takes the form of discussions at the highest level, when an Act becomes law we have two options – get out or get on with it. I have always chosen to get on with it and to do everything in my power to plan for success. I am not distracted by calls to arms to fight because its too late for protests – a good example of that in recent years would be the campaign to reverse the Section 24 tax change which now prevents private landlords from claiming the interest on our finance from our tax as all other UK businesses can. This was introduced in the Finance Act 2015 and was phased in from 2017-2020. Landlords continue to complain and some took action which is constantly brought into question but 10 years on and nothing has changed.
My point is that we all have the opportunity to go into the new regime prepared to make sure that it has the minimum impact on our businesses. I want to share my plan with you so that you can use it, tweak it or ignore it but at least its one option to not be blindsided by the changes
The starting point is THE INVENTORY Not just an inventory that we all understand for each property, although that is an important part of this process, but a complete inventory for the state of our business.
This can be done on anything from a note book to an app it’s the content and the thought process which is important. It can be done property by property or over a spreadsheet of the portfolio or by using Property Management Software Pricing | Landlord Vision
This is the information that we need to record and there is no doubt that a lot of this will be needed when we have to join the National Landlord Register which will be phased in throughout next year.
ADDRESS OF THE PROPERTY
DATE PURCHASED
PURCHASE PRICE
CURRENT BORROWING
DETAILS OF BORROWING – INITIAL DATE, CURRENT INTEREST RATE, CURRENT MONTHLY PAYMENT, NAME OF LENDER, DATE OF FIXED RATE END
CURRENT MONTHLY RENT
DATE AND AMOUNT OF LAST RENT INCREASE*
MAJOR EXPENDITURE* – ITEM, DATE AND AMOUNT
REQUESTS FOR REPAIRS/REPLACEMENT* – ITEM, DATE REPORTED AND DATE EXPIDITED
PLANNED MAINTENANCE* – ISSUE, PLANNED DATE, TENANT INFORMED AND AGREED ACCESS
ACCESS ISSUES WITH TENANT
MAINTENANCE COMPLETED*
GAS SAFETY INSPECTION* – DATE OF ALL INSPECTIONS FROM THE ONE WHICH COVERED THE MOVE IN DATE, DATE TENANTS GIVEN CERTIFICATES, DETAILS ANY ISSUES DEALT WITH
ELECTRIC INSTALLATION CONDITION REPORT *– DATE OF LAST INSPECTION, DATE CERTIFICATE GIVEN TO TENANT, DETAILS OF ANY ISSUES DEALT WITH
ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE* -THE ONLY ITEM WHICH IS ALREADY IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND ACCESSIBLE TO TENANTS.
INVENTORY OF THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY AND SUPPLIED CONTENTS* – STATING DATE AND COST WHEN ITEMS WERE BOUGHT
HOW TO RENT GUIDE DATE GIVEN
CURRENT TENANCY AGREEMENT – NAMES OF TENANTS, RESULT OF REFERENCING AND CREDIT, START DATE, RENT, DEPOSIT, DATE SIGNED
DEPOSIT* – HOLDING DEPOSIT AMOUNT AND DATE, REASON IF IT WAS RETURNED
DAMAGES DEPOSIT* AMOUNT AND DATE, PROTECTION SCHEME NAME, DATE AND DATE TENANT GIVEN DOCUMENTS
The reason for the asterisks is that these items are going to be of particular importance going forward and I will explain when I cover that item.
Renters Rights Act Changes
I am going to talk about the particular changes which relate to why we need this inventory
I will take the last one first.
DEPOSIT PROTECTION
Deposit protection ( or the lack of it) causes more problems for tenants than any other single item apart from damp and mould – this is a fact as can be seen on my facebook group where each new post is given a heading. Government are very aware of these problems and because of that they are making this the only compliance carried forward from section 21 to Section 8 – they will amend the relevant legislation so that section 8, which will be our only option for a legal eviction from 1st May, will not be available to landlords who have not protected the tenants deposit unless the ground is serious anti social behaviour. That is huge. The situation could be saved by returning the deposit or protecting it before serving the section 8 but the tenant can then apply for up to three times the amount of the full deposit in compensation which could in effect wipe out rent arrears if this is the ground being used for the eviction and may mean that the mandatory ground no longer applies. NB Protect any unprotected deposits now or return them to the tenant
When we take a holding deposit it is ONLY to hold the property for that applicant during the referencing process IT IS NOT to be taken before the applicant views the property so that if they decide not to rent it the deposit can be withheld -this is the latest in my learning from tenants in my group. My advice was to report the agent to their redress scheme and to Trading Standards and I would remind you that soon landlords will also need to be members of a redress scheme where tenants can report us for such flagrant abuse of legislation and we can expect to pay penalties. Holding deposits were granted so that landlords would not have applicants putting in offers for multiple properties and all those landlords would spend money and time on referencing only to find that the applicant doesn’t want the property. This was an important concession in The Tenants Fees Act and I would hate to see it withdrawn because some landlords and agents are abusing the law. We need to know when we took the fee and unless we agree, in writing, with the applicant to have more time we must return it or use it towards the damages deposit when the tenancy agreement is signed – we have 15 days. The fee must not be more than one weeks rent and if we add it to the damages deposit the total must be no more than 5 weeks rent. This is why it’s important to have a record of the date it was paid, especially if its paid in cash. From that date we must cancel any other viewings and hold the property off the market until the referencing process is completed. If the fee is returned we need to record the reason that the refencing failed and any amount which fitted the criteria to withhold it.
I have heard every version of why a deposit is not a deposit and doesn’t need to be protected and none of them work. Any money taken to cover damages, losses or unpaid rent IS A DEPOSIT and must be protected. On my facebook group a tenant recently reported that the landlord had told her that it was 2 months rent in advance. She had left after the end of the tenancy and the landlord had collected rent to cover up to the last day (no allowance for the 2 months advance rent), he then sent her a list of items that he was claiming from the “advanced rent”. I used to think that I was of average intelligence but these days I might join MENSA! This tenant has engaged a No win No Fee firm to sue for up to three times the deposit – 6 months rent WOW! While on that subject there is a thriving business, and about to become more lucrative, in suing us for noncompliance and with more compliance about to hit us we are sitting ducks if we don’t take action to correct our mistakes
RENT INCREASES
From May 2026 ALL rent increases must be notified to our tenants on the 13 Notice. Which is listed as form 4 on the government website. There is no other option, regardless of what the tenancy agreement says, and the reason for the asterisk in the list above is as follows:
“11 Unless the tenancy is a new one, or one of the exceptions mentioned in note 17 applies, you must insert in paragraph 3 of the notice the first date after 11th February 2003, on which rent is proposed to be, or was, increased under this statutory notice procedure. That date determines the date that you can specify in paragraph 4 of the notice. See also note 16.
16 The second requirement applies in most cases (but see note 17 for two exceptions):
(a) the starting date for the proposed new rent must not be earlier than 52 weeks after the date on which the rent was last increased using this statutory notice procedure or, if the tenancy is new, the date on which it started, unless
(b) that would result in an increase date falling one week or more before the anniversary of the date in paragraph 3 of the notice, in which case the starting date must not be earlier than 53 weeks from the date on which the rent was last increased.
This allows rent increases to take effect on a fixed day each year where the period of a tenancy is less than one month. For example, the rent for a weekly tenancy could be increased on, say, the first Monday in April. Where the period of a tenancy is monthly, quarterly, six monthly or yearly, rent increases can take effect on a fixed date, for example, 1st April.
17 The two exceptions to the second requirement, which apply where a statutory tenancy has followed on from an earlier tenancy, are:
– where the tenancy was originally for a fixed term (for instance, 6 months), but continues on a periodic basis (for instance, monthly) after the term ends; and
– where the tenancy came into existence on the death of the previous tenant who had a regulated tenancy under the Rent Act 1977”
When an increase is referred to rent tribunal, they will assess it against local average rents and check compliance as above. It’s important to avoid delays by making errors on the 13 Notice because proposed rent increases will not become due until AFTER the tribunal has assessed it whereas now the increase is back dated to the date notified to the tenant.
DECENT HOMES STANDARD & ENERGY PERFORMANCE CHANGES
This is too much to include in detail but the link below will tell you all you need to know about the standards we will be expected to meet. In my opinion the are fair and not onerous unless your properties are in very poor condition.
Consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes – GOV.UK
Private rented sector
“The private rented sector is already subject to a minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES), currently set at EPC E. This is set and enforced elsewhere in legislation and we do not propose introducing any new requirement for energy efficiency in the private rented sector within the DHS regulations. The 2025 PRS MEES consultation, led by Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), outlined proposed future requirements, that by 2030 all private landlords may be required to meet a higher EPC C standard. The proposal is for a dual metric approach to replace the current Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) system.
This will assess properties based on:
- fabric performance: This could include cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, loft insulation and double glazing for windows
In addition to the fabric performance standard, landlords must choose to improve one of the following:
- smart readiness: This could include solar panels, batteries and other load shifting appliances, and smart meters to enable tenants to access smart tariffs and services
- heating system: This would incentivise energy efficient low-carbon options, such as heat pumps, over direct electric heating and carbon-intensive fossil fuel systems.”
The consultation closed on 2 May 2025, and a response will be published in due course. More details on the proposals can be accessed via the consultation document at:Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: 2025 update
AWAABS LAW
I covered this in my last article, and it will be one of the biggest issues for us all, damp and mould. We will not be able to blame lifestyle of tenants until we have fully investigated and dealt with any other contributing issues.
Renters Rights Act 2025 Questions Landlords Are Asking – Landlord insider
All of the items on my list which relate to property conditions are in preparation for the changes to Decent Homes Standard and the new powers which have been given to local authorities, from 27th December 2025, for inspections of our properties and subsequent penalties which you can find here
Renters’ Rights Act: guidance for local authorities and councils – GOV.UK
It’s vital that we can show a record of responding to maintenance requests from tenants and having carried out repairs in a timely manner. Some landlords already use apps where the tenant will report the issue and the app will record the actions that follow. We don’t to be sophisticated, but we do need irrefutable records because the penalties are severe – chats on WhatsApp groups probably won’t cut it. Part of this is having a good inventory of the property condition inside and out – the last inventory for the current tenancy is the best starting point but if you haven’t got this or if its more than 3 years old you need to start from scratch with a new inspection roof to grounds, detailing any issues that you need to schedule for action, writing to your tenants about anything that they may or may not be doing which is having an impact on health and safety or which is going against the terms of the tenancy agreement. Keep careful notes about any access issues, tenants must by law agree access to inspect when we ask them in writing/email a minimum of 24 hours before the proposed visit but they also have the legal right to refuse entry for repairs unless we can agree a date and time which works for them and for the contractor. Safety inspections or emergencies are times when they must agree but we cannot force them and any issues must be recorded with the name of any contractor who is involved as a witness and ultimately only a court order can gain us access.
As I finished writing this it has been announced that interest rates have been cut from 4% to 3.75% it’s a small cut but going in the right direction for the many landlords who are under financial pressure..
Happy 2026
