Renters’ Rights Act sees one in four landlords more likely to reject tenants

The Renters’ Rights Act has made it harder for tenants to secure tenancies, claims a software company.

Goodlord’s State of the Industry report reveals the Act has created unintended consequences, with one in four landlords saying they are now more likely to reject applicants they would previously have accepted.

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords and agents can no longer require large amounts of rent in advance before a tenancy starts for agreements covered by the new rules.

This was previously common among students and international students. However, tenants can still choose to pay rent early once their tenancy has begun.

Unintended consequences of Act

According to the data, more than half (51%) of letting agents are now more cautious when recommending applicants compared to the same time last year.

A third of landlords would also rather leave a property vacant while waiting for a lower-risk applicant.

Goodlord CEO William Reeve explains: “As these initial findings show, unintended consequences of the Act are starting to make themselves known.

“The deep irony here is that certain tenants will now be far more likely to struggle to secure tenancies, creating a gulf between those settled in their properties and those seeking a new place to call home.

“Students, foreign nationals and those with non-traditional incomes are likely to fare the worst, becoming ‘outsiders’ in an increasingly cautious market.”

Landlord pessimism has eased

The data also reveals that landlord pessimism has eased compared with last year, although the vast majority remain far from optimistic about the future of lettings. Some 69% of landlords remain pessimistic, down from 78% in 2025.

Smaller letting agents are feeling the brunt, with optimism reaching 42% among agencies with larger staff teams (11 or more employees), compared with just 28% among smaller businesses with five or fewer staff.

Unlike letting agents, larger landlords are the most downbeat, with 81% of those owning six or more properties feeling pessimistic, compared with 63% of landlords with just one property.

Mr Reeve added: “This time last year, the industry was bracing itself for a seismic shift. There was so much uncertainty and a huge amount of preparation to be done. Now that the initial dust is settled, you can almost hear the market exhaling. We finally know where we stand and there is significantly less pessimism – if not quite hope – as a result.

“However, a gulf in sentiment is starting to emerge. Bigger agencies are feeling far more chipper compared to their smaller counterparts. This is likely due to having the resources and bandwidth needed to cope with some many changes. And tenants and landlords are at opposite ends of the sentiment spectrum, which doesn’t bode well when it comes to persuading landlords to stay in the market.”