Renters Rights Bill Update

Our Lettings Director, Richard Heath, has provided an update on the Renters Rights Bill and other recent legislation changes.

Unless you have been living on the moon you will be aware of the impending Renters Rights bill that will come into law in the near future. The bill has been working its way through the Parliamentary process and at the time of writing, we are still awaiting for Royal Assent to be granted. It is my best guess that this won’t happen until after the Governments summer recess so we are looking at September 2025 with implementation of the new laws expected at the beginning of 2026.

There have been nearly 300 amendments to the bill  suggested during the process and a number have been taken on board, however we need to prepare ourselves for a different way of operating the management of tenancies. When the law changes Section 21 notices will be abolished immediately and all new and existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies will become periodic overnight. Arguably we as agents will be most affected by the changes as we will have to operate completely differently, this bill will drive a new level of professionalism within our industry, there will be more rules and complexity as well as more pressure to get things right, for you as a landlord it means there is more need for greater support from your agent. At Barbers we are well versed in the new regulations and are here to help and guide you through this new world of lettings and property management. We are updating our tenancy agreements and reviewing rent guarantee and legal cover. If you have policies in place yourself it will be important to check they reflect the new regulations when they come in. Housing always seems to be classed as a political football but it is important that the Government ensure this transition is effective and fair for all parties concerned.  We will keep all our clients informed over the next few months and will be running a series of events during the coming months.

At the end of May 2025 new regulations came into force requiring agents to conduct financial sanction checks on all landlords and tenants regardless of the rental value of the property being let. We are now required to verify the identity of all parties involved and report matches on the UK sanctions list to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. This simply means we will need to carry out further due diligence checks before we can let or re let a property and keep detailed records. Failure to comply can result in substantial fines so please bear with us if we are marketing your property to let.

The rental market is still going from strength to strength, with plenty of tenant demand pushing rental prices up further for most property types in the majority of the areas we cover.

Please contact your local Lettings Team for any advice or assistance with your rental property.