Steve Reed announced as new Housing Secretary

thanks for your comprehensive reply Ian.

but I am now totally bewildered on how I (or Agents or anyone) IS supposed to even advertise a property to let once this comes into effect, without ‘breaking the rules’. ?????

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 10/09/2025 – 07:00
It’s not a problem, provide you (a) state a specific rent in £ in your advert, (b) do not encourage higher offers, and (c) do not accept a higher offer, even if the tenant volunteers it.

Be on your guard. A truly devious tenant might offer a higher rent, enter into the tenancy and then turn around and report you. You will then be fined and the rent reduced anyway.

Solution: always increase your asking rent to just above what you think you can achieve and accept that or the highest offer below that figure. If all landlords do this, market rents will rise.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 10/09/2025 – 10:45
Difficult one to navigate, particularly if we are all but obliged to accept pets – and the Govt. has refused the Lords’ suggested amends re pet insurance or extra rent, citing that the current 5 week deposit is enough. They are clueless.

It is a huge ask to provide a property worth hundreds of £000s and be required to accept such enormous risks re pets and the plethora of other changes without support from Govt or Courts. Seems as though a tenancy agreement is fast becoming a worthless document that tenants can ignore (but LLs can’t). Little wonder then that LLs are becoming so pi**ed off that they are selling (to the denial of our dear leader Mr Pennycook).

Reply to the comment left by Freda Blogs at 12:58

Regarding pets, you will be able to refuse to let to someone with pets. If the tenant requests a pet after the tenancy has started you cannot unreasonably refuse consent.
I would ask prospective tenants: “Do you have a pet or pets or do you intend to acquire one in the next 12 months.” If the answer is “No” but the tenant turns round very soon after moving in and makes a request I can say: “What has changed? Were you being straight with me when I asked about pets?” I will also then be able to say: “How can I trust you if you say it will only be one animal? How can I trust you if you promise to keep it under control?”
You can also see how much pet insurance will cost and indeed whether it is available. We will have to review the final form of the Bill (which I haven’t had time to) but it may be reasonable to say: “I am not willing to allow a pet unless there is insurance in place. I cannot obtain such insurance or I can obtain it but at a substantial cost. I am not allowed to pass that cost on to you and do not wish to make a loss. If the animal is one that causes increased wear and tear such as a dog or a cat you might be able to refuse in a furnished property but not an unfurnished one on the basis that you will have to replace damaged furniture and curtains.
Now, the above might not work in court but we haven’t had any cases yet. That said, some properties, such as HMOs, are inherently unsuitable and I see no difficulty in refusing consent in most cases. For others, it may be the price to get long-term tenants and the absence of voids compensates for the additional costs at the end of the tenancy.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 10/09/2025 – 10:45
I didn’t see anything in the legislation saying that you actually had to advertise a property with a specific rent. So unless this creeps into the legislation it seems to me that you could advertise a property to let with contact details, e.g. of your agent, and wait to see what people offer you, without breaching the proposed legislation. However, you’d probably need to keep a copy of your advert. But of course, as Ian suggests, if you did include a specific price it would need to be at the top end of what is possible. And yes, this is yet another part of the proposals in the RRB that will drive rents up if the RRB is implemented.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 10/09/2025 – 16:45
Beaver, see my post 11:14 AM, 9th September 2025. You “must not advertise in writing, or otherwise offer in writing, the proposed letting unless— (a) the rent that is to be payable under the letting is a specific amount (the “proposed rent”)”.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 10/09/2025 – 16:54
And so you are saying that putting up a sign saying

“TO LET….contact number”

…would breach these proposed regulations?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 11/09/2025 – 11:19
Or perhaps if your agent were to put up a sign saying

“TO LET [NAME OF AGENT]….url…..phone number.”

Then your agent would be breaching these proposed regulations?

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 11/09/2025 – 11:19
Please read my post carefully. I have quoted the text of the Bill. The prohibition “does not apply to a sign displayed at the dwelling, or at premises in which the dwelling is situated, which merely advertises that the dwelling is to let.”

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 11/09/2025 – 13:36
And so you are saying that an advert from an agent with a picture of the property and a sign saying ‘to let’ posted on an online website with details such as ‘2 bedroom house, postcode’ with no price and no other details would breach the proposed regulations?