Letting agents urged to fix outdated website content under Renters’ Rights Act

An industry body has urged letting agents to review outdated online content to remain compliant with the Renters’ Rights Act.

Propertymark says that with the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act now in force, agents should audit all published consumer information, legal statements, terms and conditions, and guidance hosted on their websites.

The industry body warns that outdated documents can remain indexed by search engines even after they have been removed from live webpages.

Agencies perform a full set of ‘safety check’

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said: “The preparation on the lead up to phase one of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force across England has been incredible.

“It has required immense dedication and planning to ensure the new legislation has been smoothly implemented, and that agents can fully support landlords and tenants across the transformation.

“It now remains essential that agencies perform a full set of ‘safety net’ checks on all available information across all communication channels to ensure compliance.

“A key area of concern is the complexities of how many website content management systems work, and the fact that outdated information remains live and accessible in search engine results.

“To ensure compliance, it is important to fully audit website content and remove not only redundant information on potential physical webpages, but also previous linked PDF files, for example, which now contain either wrong or misleading information, inaccurate terms and conditions and outdated consumer advice.”

Propertymark explains that some agencies may still have outdated references to issues such as Section 21 notices and fixed-term tenancies appearing online as if the rules are still current.

The organisation said leaving old content accessible could cause confusion for landlords and tenants and increase the risk of complaints or compliance breaches.

Fines for landlord

The news comes as landlords could also face a £7,000 fine if they fail to provide the Renters’ Rights Act information sheet to tenants by 31 May 2026.

Mr Emerson says letting agents must ensure all tenants receive the information sheet.

He said: “With the publication of the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, letting agents across England will be required to ensure that all tenants named on a tenancy agreement receive this information, regardless of whether the landlord has provided it. Failure to provide each tenant with the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 could result in fines of up to £7,000.

“The Information Sheet must be provided either as a physical hard copy or electronically, such as via email. It is important to note that simply sharing a web link to the information sheet will not meet the required communication standards.

“Letting agents should also maintain comprehensive records of all communications to support any potential complaints or future audit requirements.”