Renters’ Rights Act: Why Landlords and Tenants Can’t Afford to Ignore It
SHARE OUR STORY
Despite months of headlines, many landlords and tenants are still unclear on how the Renters’ Rights Act affects them, and the risks of getting it wrong are growing.
Given that it was in the pipeline for years and was much trumpeted in the media when it came into effect at the start of this month, you could be forgiven for thinking that everyone involved in the residential letting market would be up to speed with the Renters’ Right Act. But worryingly, both recently published research and our own experience suggests that this is not the case.
Despite the deluge of coverage, a study by industry supplier Housing Hand has found that a massive 78% of tenants don’t know how the Act impacts their rights. The research found that 42% of renters find the UK lettings market ‘confusing’.
Given that the Act was intended to provide greater security and clarity for tenants, these are concerning figures.
And it’s not just tenants who are failing to get to grips with the biggest upheaval in the rental market for a generation. Freedom of Information data suggests that fewer than 7% of landlords have downloaded the government issued information sheet which has to be legally provided to tenants by 31st May.
Is this a simple case of landlords putting their collective heads in the sand and hoping that reality doesn’t happen, or are they really not grasping their new responsibilities?
Or perhaps it’s a case of there being too much information, with more than 20 different pieces of guidance on the Act having been issued by government.
One early effect of the Act coming into force has been an increase in focus on void periods. With tenants now having to give landlords two months’ notice to quit, if properties are marketed a month before they will be vacant, the chances are that there will be up to a months’ void while the new tenants sees out their notice period in their existing home.
We are already seeing landlords starting to market properties earlier – six or seven weeks in advance – to try and mitigate this problem but juggling longer notice periods will make it more difficult to dovetail tenancies, with the resulting loss of rental income during the inevitable void period.
It is clear that easy-to-understand, concise and accurate information is needed to help both landlords and tenants understand the new lettings landscape. But it is also incumbent on everyone involved to acquaint themselves with the Act, what rights and responsibilities it confers on landlords and tenants, and the deadlines for action, many of which are imminent.
Arnolds Keys has produced a free Renters’ Rights Act FAQs sheet, which can be downloaded at arnoldskeys.com/lettings/landlords.
Phil Cooper is lettings partner at Arnolds Keys.
WHAT CAN WE HELP YOU WITH?
INSIGHTS
