The Landlord Law Blog

Landlord Law Newsround #430

2026-04-01T09:00:31Z

First Newsround for April, let’s see what has been in the news.

Council fail to collect civil penalty fines

Shocking figures out this week confirm that in the North West of the country only 16% of fines issued by councils were collected and in the North East it was only 13%.

This equates to between 2023/24 and 2024/25 £2.8m worth of civil penalties were issued but less than £290,000 was actually collected. The bottom line is that this lack of action and funds is what is needed by these councils to help fund their legal duties to ensure enforcement happens for rogue landlords. And, additional it stains the reputation of good landlords who work within the legal guidelines and provide good quality housing.

The NRLA is calling for a Chief Environmental Health Officer role to be created along with more transparency for each council to publish their enforcement rates and activity.

One of my Blog articles this week covers how enforcement is about to change, which all landlords should read, you can see it here.

Decrease in rentals allowing pets

As the Renters’ Rights Act imminently approaches, we are surprised to read that rental properties allowing pets has dropped significantly by -39% since January this year. Inventory Base have revealed this week that out of 98,964 properties up for rent on the open market only 5.9% say they are ‘pet friendly’.

Sian Hemming-Metcalfe of Inventory Base said

What the data suggests is that some landlords are responding by quietly reducing pet-friendly listings In reality, that is more likely to delay the issue than avoid it.

She adds that a good inventory report, thorough check-ins and regular documented inspections are critical when they agree to a pet.

Court possession delays increase to shocking level

Delays in court possession hearings have been in the news now for a few years, but this week we read that landlords are now having to wait for over a year to gain back their rental properties, and the system is failing in almost every stage of the legal process. Average claims are now over 68 weeks (in 2019 it was 20 weeks).

This is impacting landlords who are losing out on rent and their properties are being impacted with high damage. Tenants are left facing uncertainty. Delays are now seen at every stage of the process, from administrative delays, adjournments, and lack of bailiff enforcement. This is underpinned by a severe lack of investment in the courts.

Propertymark said ‘a functioning, efficient court system underpins the entire private rented sector’ it is asking for ‘increased court resourcing’ and for claims to become digital. It is calling on the House of Lords to prioritise reform of the court system.

Snippets

Northern Ireland politician calls for rent controls to stop spiralling rents
Wales to introduce single council tax band for HMOs
London Boroughs’ EPC rankings revealed
Scam locksmiths exploit panicking landlords – claim
Want to boost the UK’s birthrate? Fix the housing crisis, research suggests
Energy-efficient homes face rising flood and subsidence risk

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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Local Authority Fines: Easier to Issue – But Now Much Harder to Avoid

2026-03-31T08:15:39Z

One of the scandals in the private rented sector is the lack of enforcement action by Local Authorities against rogue landlords and letting agents.

This is not entirely the Local Authorities’ fault.

Many are extremely short of funds, partly due to reductions in their funding under Austerity and the increased costs they are having to bear, such as housing the homeless in priority need.

Although there are some honourable exceptions!

However, there is no doubt that this has been a real problem, and it is probably one reason why we have so many rogue and criminal landlords.

In many areas, there is no enforcement action at all, and the rogues are allowed to continue their criminal behaviour with impunity.

However, this is all about to change.

Why Local Authority enforcement is now likely to increase

The Renters Rights Act 2025 makes it a statutory duty for Local Authorities to enforce the landlord legislation in their area.
Fines have been increased massively, as have rent repayment awards,
New rules will make superior landlords and company officials personally liable, thus making it difficult for the real culprits to evade punishment, and
Local Authorities will be able to keep the additional fine income to fund their enforcement action.

But what about collecting the fines and awards?

The other problem, of course, is that many landlords and agents, particularly the criminal ones, just ignore the fines and refuse to pay them.

Local Authorities have not been very good at enforcing payment.

It’s hard to find reliable figures. But research cited by the National Residential Landlords Association indicates that between 2021 and 2023 of £13 million in civil penalties were issued. However, only £6 million was collected.

That’s some 54% unpaid!

All bearing out the fact that getting the fine or award is the easy part. The hard part for Local Authorities is getting paid!

However, this is about to change

Enter JFT Legal Limited.

JFT Legal Limited is a new law firm set up by Justice for Tenants to resolve this massive problem.

Most people will know about Justice for Tenants from the work they do, assisting tenants obtain Rent Repayment Orders.

However, they also do a huge amount of work for Local Authorities (discussed here). One of their initiatives is a new law firm dedicated to enforcing judgment debts, fines and awards for Local Authorities.

The firm now has SRA approval and is already starting work. Although the website will not be ready until June.

The firm has £500,000 of 3rd sector funding, so Local Authorities will not have to pay up front. The fees are also being kept low and can be paid from funds received from enforcement action.

Local Authorities using Justice for Tenants’ existing civil penalty notice generator software can refer cases to JFT easily from within the same software. So I suspect it will be a much-used service.

What this means for landlords

For good landlords, this is excellent news. Rogue and criminal landlords are bad news all round and taint the entire sector.

It’s unfair to all the good landlords who follow the rules to see rogues and criminals ‘getting away with it’.

It also means that it is riskier to challenge civil penalty notices and/or appeal to put things off.

This will just run up your costs, and in the end, if the Local Authority uses JFT, the final bill to pay will be higher.

Many Local Authorities, when issuing a Civil Penalty Notice, will offer landlords a discount for prompt payment.

Unless there is something obviously wrong with the notice served on you, you will normally be better off ‘biting the bullet’ and taking advantage of the discount.

It will get the problem off your desk, and you will also end up paying less than you would have done had you pursued an appeal.

Note – Landlord Law members will find extensive details of and guidance on Local Authority enforcement action in our Dealing with Local Authority Enforcement Kit.

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Dogs, Fences and Liability: What Landlords Need to Know Now

2026-03-29T12:34:00Z

I recently held a training webinar for Landlord Law members, which was mainly an opportunity for them to ask questions.

Quite a few of these were about pets, in particular about garden fencing and escaping dogs!

They provide an interesting example of the sort of problems courts and (in due course) the Ombudsman are going to have to deal with, once the Renters Rights Act 2025 has come into force.

The first question was:

Regarding new requirements to consider requests for a pet. If the garden does not have adequate fencing to keep a dog in the curtilage of the property, is that a justifiable reason for saying no to a dog?

My comment was that landlords should try to ‘pet-proof’ properties before renting them out, as it was going to be harder to prevent tenants from keeping pets in the post Renters Rights Act world.

This should, in my view, include the garden and garden fence, as you and your tenants will not want pet dogs escaping and neighbour complaints about this.

Incidentally, I note that one of the most popular breeds of dog in the UK at the moment is the miniature dachshund. Which, being small and low, would no doubt find it quite easy to escape through small holes in fencing.

The second question:

Tessa, regarding new requirements to consider requests for a pet. The council has told us that enforcement doesn’t extend to garden fences.

Refusals to allow a pet can, after 1 May 2026, be challenged in the Court (under the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act (see s11 and s16B(5)). When the new Ombudsman scheme comes on board, tenants will also be able to complain to the Ombudsman.

My answer to this question was, what is going to be the likely response of a Judge or an Ombudsman (in the event of a challenge by the tenant) if you say to them:

“I am refusing permission for this dog as the garden fence is defective and the animal could escape. I have not repaired the fence as I am not obligated to do this under my statutory repairing obligations in section 11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985.”

My feeling is that the Judge/Ombudsman would not be impressed with this response!

I suspect that they would either expect the landlord to put the fence in repair themselves, or make it a condition of granting permission that the tenants carry out improvements to the fence before the pet is brought into the property to live.

We then had a comment on this:

I think that the landlord should put the fence into a pet-proof condition, but charge the tenant for the costs.

My response at the time was that this could be a breach of the Tenant Fees Act. On reflection, this might be allowable as it would be a condition of allowing the pet.

The third question:

What if it isn’t your fence (the badly maintained fence question earlier)? Or if it is a shared fence with next door?

This was a bit of a poser, as the landlord does not have the right to repair or replace a fence which does not belong to him, or require tenants to do so.

I think what landlords would probably be expected to do, is speak to the neighbour about it. The neighbour might be willing to do the repair work, particularly if they could otherwise be faced with escaping dogs (for example) digging up their prized Daliahs.

Alternatively, they may be willing to allow the landlord or the tenant to carry out work to make the fence escape-proof.

For example, I can’t see how the neighbour could object to either the landlord or his tenant nailing a bit of wood over a hole in a fence which is otherwise in good condition.

However, this is the sort of situation that judges and the Ombudsman are going to face after 1 May.

What about liability for damage done by the escaping dog?

We didn’t discuss this on the training session, but it is a question that needs to be asked.

There is a very old case called Rylands v. Fletcher, which is about property owners being liable if something ‘escapes’ from their land onto someone else’s land and causes damage. I suspect it could apply to damage done by escaping pet dogs.

I discussed Rylands v. Fletcher in the context of neighbours from hell in an old post from 2011.

I don’t know for sure what the answer is, but my feeling is that it could be that

If the landlord deliberately allowed tenants to have a dog, knowing that the garden was not secure against the dog escaping, they might well be liable under Rylands v. Fletcher.
However, if the landlord ensured that the garden was escape-proof at the time of letting and it was the tenants who had failed to maintain it properly during their tenancy, it would probably be the tenants who were liable.

Which, if that is correct, would mean that my instinctive response to the initial question, that the landlords should make sure the fences are in good condition before letting the property, would be in the landlord’s best interests.

And finally

At the moment, we have only been told of four acceptable reasons for refusing a pet:

That the landlord’s lease prohibits pets
That the property is genuinely unsuitable for the specific pet concerned
That other tenants are allergic, and
That the pet is illegal, for example, under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

There are many, many other situations where we simply do not know what ‘the answer’ is.

In my answers above, I was just guessing, based on my instincts for what a Judge or Ombudsman would be likely to find fair. I could be wrong.

For example, from the questions above, we have the following debatable legal issues

Is it reasonable for a landlord to refuse permission for a dog on the basis of his defective garden fence and the likelihood of the dog escaping?
Can the landlord use the fact that he is not obligated to keep fences in repair under his repairing obligations as a reason for refusing to repair the fence, and then refuse permission for the dog because of the likelihood of it escaping?
What if the fence is not owned by the landlord?
If the landlord requires the tenant to repair the fence as a condition of consent, does this breach the Tenant Fees Act 2019?
Will the case of Rylands v. Fletcher apply if damage is done to neighbouring properties by an escaping dog?

What are your views?

Click for more of my posts on the Renters Rights Act.

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Email Service of Notices: A New Risk for Landlords?

2026-03-30T15:24:13Z

There has been an interesting post from solicitor David Smith on LinkedIn where he warns that notices served by Local Authorities (for example, civil penalty notices) can be served by email.

Further, it will be valid service, even if the landlord has never seen it, and so the fact that the landlord has not seen it cannot be used as a reason for failing to respond.

This means that if landlords don’t spot the emailed notice, they may find that they are out of time for challenging notices or bringing an appeal

Which is a worrying prospect.

How can landlords protect their position?

Here are some suggestions:

Be careful to monitor your email so you don’t miss anything
‘Whitelist’ local authority emails so they won’t get sent to spam, and
Check your spam folder regularly, and/or
Maybe ask Local Authorities not to contact you by email at all (if you are given an option), so the problem does not arise

This last might sometimes be the safest option, as one of the people commenting on David’s post pointed out, email sometimes does not even reach the recipients’ spam folder.

For example, this can happen due to technical issues such as email authentication problems (e.g. DKIM errors). Although one would hope that Local Authorities have set up their email authentication correctly.

What about fraudulent notices?

However, thinking about this recently, it occurred to me that failing to receive valid notices from Local Authorities is not going to be the only problem. Receiving fraudulent notices could also become an issue.

Fraudulent notices, for example dupeing landlords into making payments or releasing private information, which can then be used for identity theft.

This could perhaps become a ‘thing’ if the forthcoming landlords database (due to come into force some time before 2029) publishes landlords’ contact details, including emails. So hopefully, landlords’ contact details will be kept private.

How do you spot a fraudulent email?

There are various ways to do this:

Check that the sender’s email is correct. A Gmail address of random characters is not going to be a real Local Authority email address!
Be suspicious of requests for payment or bank details, and
Poor spelling or unusual wording, or
Messages that differ (for example, in layout or design) from previous emails from the organisation.
You should also be very wary of clicking links or opening attachments from suspicious senders, as they could infect your computer.

And finally

I’m concerned, as are most people who have read David’s post, about emails from Local Authorities serving notices going astray or just not reaching landlords who are then treated as if they have ignored them.

I’m also concerned about the increased opportunity this will offer to fraudsters to dupe landlords into making payments or releasing private information.

Finally, let us hope that the forthcoming landlords database keeps landlords’ contact details securely and does not offer spammers and criminals additional scope for their work.

Addendum – a new case

We may all have been worrying a bit too much about this as in a new case, Manchester City Council v Tabbasam (reported here), a Local Authority served an improvement notice, and subsequently a penalty notice to a landlord was sent to the wrong address.

When the landlord found out about it (after the Local Authority finally contacted her at the correct address), the landlord appealed against the notice to the First Tier Tribunal.

Her appeal to the First Tier Tribunal was rejected, but in a subsequent appeal to the Upper Tribunal, she was successful. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against this by the Local Authority.

This case involved service at the wrong physical address, rather than email service. However, it does show that where service is defective, landlords may still have grounds to challenge enforcement action.

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Landlord Law Newsround #429

2026-03-27T08:59:04Z

Our last Newsround for March, let’s see what has been in the news this week.

Tenants rent increase appeal fee announced

A new fees framework in the Property Chamber has been announced by the government which includes a £47 fee that tenants will have to pay in order to challenge any rent increases at the first tier property tribunal. The Ministry of justice has stated that it keeps ‘all fees under continuous review’, and this is subject to Parliamentary consent.

Ms Sackman, Justice Minister said

The purpose of the new framework is to deliver a fair and sustainable Property Chamber that is accessible to all. The framework includes a fee of £47 for applications to appeal a rent increase, with no hearing fee, this is one of the lowest fees across HMCTS.

There is a Help with Fees scheme to provide financial support for those unable to pay the fee.

The government has published draft forms and more guidance

The main forms that will interest landlords are form 3A (which is the new section 8 notice) and form 4A (which is the new notice for statutory rent increases). These along with the other new guidance, can be found via the new Housing Hub which can be found here.

Greenwich Council HMO crackdown

Greenwich council meant business when it joined up with environmental health, licensing waste services, parking enforcement, anti social behaviour and integrated enforcement departments and also with the police, to call on 120 HMO’s in just one day all within their borough to crackdown on unlicensed hmo’s and anti social behaviour.

The council assured its residents that they were ‘listening’ to their complaints. Councillor Rachel Taggart-Ryan said

We will continue to organise these intervention days in different areas to help reduce anti-social behaviour and environmental offences across the borough, helping residents feel safer.

All incidents were noted and will be dealt according to the council, with what is seen as the first of more crackdowns.

Tenancy fraud is getting more complex & sophisticated

Tenancy fraud is getting more prolific and complex, according to LegalforLandlords CEO Sim Sekhon. 70% of landlords are unable to recover fraud losses, and 275,000 landlords have been victims of tenant fraud. 20% of landlords have now also been victims of illegal subletting, 8% to fake financial paperwork and ID.

Fraud is costing landlords approximately £38million a month and according to LegalforLandlords, £266 million is lost forever. Non-payment of rent is the highest fraudulent activity, other red flags are references that don’t quite add up and background checks. Sim Sekhon said

Tenancy fraud is a growing and increasingly complex issue across the private rental sector, and these figures highlight just how significant the financial impact has become for landlords.

He also advised that landlords need to be ‘fastidious’ when checking documents at the start of a tenancy.

Rogue landlords’ threats to tenant ‘brash & overbearing’

A First Tier Tribunal has fined a ‘brash and overbearing’ rogue landlord with 60% of the overall rent that had been paid of £16,500. He never protected his tenants’ deposit and refused to return it, putting it against cleaning and repairs without any evidence of receipts. He also accused his tenants of keeping an ‘untidy flat’ whilst prospective viewings were ongoing.

He threatened ‘If you disrespect me again, we will just go the legal route, and I have no liquid assets in the UK (the business runs at a loss) and subsequently nothing to lose, which means you have nothing to win’.

He also blamed the council for not advising him that he needed a licence for the property. The judge said the landlord was ‘brash and overbearing’ and fined Mr Howe with a rent repayment order of £9000 and to pay additional fees.

Snippets

Government tells landlords to ‘discuss’ rent rises with tenants
Tenants’ rights campaigner quits top role
First landlords begin to trial PRS Database

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

The post Landlord Law Newsround #429 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Rent Days or Tenancy Periods? The Notice to Quit Dilemma

2026-03-23T09:38:41Z

When stage 1 of the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into force on 1 May 2026, fixed terms will be abolished, and tenants will be able to serve a tenant’s Notice to Quit at any time.

Including from day 1 of the tenancy.

So what is a tenant’s Notice to Quit? (A quick refresher)

A Notice to Quit is a special form of notice used to end a tenancy. It can only be served during a periodic tenancy.

It is different from a section 8 notice (for example) as this is used by landlords to seek possession but does not in itself end the tenancy.

Notices to quit cannot be used by landlords for assured tenancies because section 5 of the Housing Act 1988 (which regulates assured tenancies) says so. But tenants can.

So if a tenant serves a valid Notice to Quit on a landlord, their tenancy will end automatically at the end of the notice period. Meaning if the tenant fails to move out, the landlord can evict them through the courts.

So what is a valid Notice to Quit?

It needs to be in writing and give the correct notice period. But there is one issue which is not entirely clear. When must the notice expire?

There is a real risk that if the expiry date is wrong, the notice is invalid. This could be a problem if tenants stayed on and the landlord wanted to evict them on the basis that their tenancy had ended.

There are several possible solutions. Let’s take a look at them.

In legislation

The main legislation dealing with notices to quit is the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. The Renters Rights Act will add a new section 1ZA, which says (in normal language)

It can be for any notice period agreed between the landlord and tenants, so long as this is not more than two months, otherwise
If there is no such agreement, it must be given “not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect”

Which begs the question, what does ‘the date on which the notice is to take effect’ mean?

Does it mean that it can end on any day in the month, so long as the notice period is two months? Or is this referring to existing law relating to the expiry dates of notices to quit?

The common law rule

There is a longstanding common law rule that notices to quit must end at the end of a period of the tenancy.

So if the period of the tenancy runs from the first day of the month to the last day, the notice must end on the next last day of the month after the required notice period (in this case, two months)
If the period runs from the 15th day of the month to the 14th, the notice must end on the next 14th day of the month after two months
If the period runs from Saturday to Friday, the notice must end on the next Friday after two months.

This is clear, but the problem is that most tenants don’t know about it. And anyway, does this longstanding common law rule still apply (to assured tenancies) in the post Renters Rights Act world?

The government guidance

The government, in their guidance, refer to ‘rent days’.

So, in the information sheet which must be given to existing tenants before 31 May, they say the notice should end “on a day when the rent is due or the day before the rent is due “

I assume that this is on the basis that most landlords will require their tenants to pay rent on the first day of the period. So in our examples above, on the 1st day or the 15th day of the month.

However, sometimes landlords agree that tenants can pay rent on a different day in the month – for example, to help them if their salary is paid on a different day.

If this day is used in the Notice to Quit – will it be a valid notice?

If there was a dispute about the validity of the notice to quit, would the court accept the government’s guidance as binding on it? I can’t see any indication that this is statutory guidance (which would be binding on the court), but I could have missed something.

Notice ending by agreement

The Renters Rights Act says that the notice period can be agreed, but then goes on (in s21 or 5A(4) of the PEA1977) to say that an agreement is not valid unless it is made between the landlord and all the tenants.

So if a joint tenant served a Notice to Quit when his co-tenants wanted to stay, they would be unlikely to agree.

Agreement in the tenancy agreement

Probably the best way to decide this is to refer to it in the tenancy agreement. Assuming all tenants will have signed this, then this will decide matters.

But what would be the best way to do this? Bearing in mind that tenants tend not to read tenancy agreements?

Should it take the traditional view and say the notice must end on the last day of a period of the tenancy after two months?
Should it follow the government’s guidance and require the notice period to end on the next rent day after two months? Or
Should it just say that they must give not less than two months’ written notice, from the date the notice is served on the landlord and that if this does not end on a rent day, the rent will be apportioned?

Or do you have another suggestion?

I would love to have your views. How are you dealing with this issue? Please use the comments box below.

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Tenant Information Sheet 2026: What You Must Do and How to Prove Service

2026-03-20T11:07:45Z

We have known for a while that the government will publish an information sheet which must be served on existing tenants as at 1 May 2026.

The form has finally been published!

All landlords should now download it from this page and serve it to their tenants.

The government say that the information sheet is only valid if downloaded from the page – so make sure you do!

Tips on service

Be aware that failure to serve this information sheet on your tenants before 31 May 2026 will make you vulnerable to a Local Authority civil penalty notice fine of up to £7,000.

The government have published guidance to local authorities on the starting point for fines to be issued, which for this is £4,000.

So it is very important that you can prove you served the information sheet.

It must be served on all tenants – so if you have several tenants in one property on a joint and several tenancy, you must serve it on all of them.

Otherwise, if your tenants don’t like you, there is nothing to stop them from telling the Local Authority (after 31 May) that they never got the form from you.

If this happens, you need to be able to prove them wrong!

How to be able to prove service

The best way is to go round to the property (maybe for an inspection visit), hand them the information sheet along with a copy for them to sign and date it as received. You need to get all the joint tenants to sign.

If some of the tenants can’t be there, then serve it on the missing tenants separately, for example, via email as an attachment. Asking one of joint tenants to give the information sheet to the others is not enough.

Other methods of service include

Sending it as an email attachment, asking them to confirm receipt. If they don’t, then serve it again another way.
Posting the form in an envelope addressed to the tenant (one for each tenant if more than one) through the letterbox of the property with an independent witness. Maybe take a photograph with a camera that gives the date
Sending it by recorded delivery to each of the tenants – but watch out for tenants refusing to accept delivery. If this happens then serve it again another way.
Sending two copies to each tenant by normal post where you can prove posting. The tenant can claim that one got lost in the post, but it is unlikely that two would be lost in the post!
If you are signing up new tenants before 1 May, then give them the form with the tenancy agreement and get them to sign it as received.

What you need to be able to do

If the Local Authority contact you after 1 June, sending you a ‘notice to intent’ to issue a Civil Penalty Notice on the basis that you failed to serve the information sheet – how can you prove them wrong?

The best way to prove this is by sending the Local Authority Officer a scanned copy of the information form, signed and dated by all tenants as received.

But however you serve it, make sure you do this on time and have proof that it was done.

Download the Information Sheet here

Find my other posts on the Renters Rights Act here.

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Landlord Law Newsround #428

2026-03-20T08:56:54Z

Landlord Law Newsround brings you all the latest housing news, this week is no exception.

Tenant-landlord relationship ranks highest reason tenants remain

A good landlord-tenant relationship goes a long way in many aspects of renting, but 68% of tenants rated this as the main factor for staying in a property. It ranked above speedy maintenance and repair issues at 44% and being settled in an area at 50%.

72% of landlords prefer tenants to stay in their properties for longer, according to LRG. 28% of landlords prefer fixed term tenancies as they allow for rent reviews. However, 24% of tenants are expected to remain in their rental property for longer once the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force with periodic tenancies.

The LRG survey also mentions that there is less choice of properties than in previous years, so tenants are staying long-term in properties. Allison Thompson of LRG states that tenants are looking for ‘somewhere to settle, not just live’.

Council enforcement fine data is an unknown

The government does not know how many civil penalties have been issued to landlords or how many have actually been paid. These figures are somewhat key to knowing how much councils will need to enforce the Renters Right Act. They have up until now, relied upon ad hoc reporting and the Freedom of Information requests.

Previous figures from the Freedom of Information for 285 councils between 2023-2025 that was sourced by the NRLA, found that 3,695 civil penalties to the value of £30 million were issued, but only £7.5 million was actually paid.

Furthermore, some activists claim that penalty amounts vary for the same offence. The government does not know how many council staff work in enforcement for the PRS. Despite funding £68 million to support councils with their new responsibilities, there is uncertainty if even this amount will be enough. Pretty grim reading!

Although we understand that Justice for Tenants is looking to set up a debt enforcement legal service to support Councils.

Promises that the PRS Database will not be onerous to landlords

There is still no exact timeline for landlords to sign up to the new Private Rented Sector Database save for it being ‘later this year’. However, there have been concerns raised in parliament that it could be an onerous task for large portfolio landlords. MP Gareth Bacon asked if it would allow for ‘block registrations’. Matthew Pennycock said they are looking to ‘minimise administrative requirements on private landlords’.

He added

Fees to register on the PRS Database will be set out in secondary legislation and will take account a range of factors, including burden on landlords.

Once the Renters Right Act is in force, fines for landlords can be up to £7000 if they advertise a property without being on the new database and £40,000 if landlords enter fraudulent information onto the new database. Fees are yet to be announced.

Eviction rates grow over 5 year period

A report carried out by county court bailiffs claims that repossessions have gradually increased over the past five years by 562%. This is higher than pre covid in 2020. This means that 93,000 tenants have been evicted. In 2024 there were 27,117 evictions.

Tenants aged between 25 to 34 years were the highest group to be served with a repossession order, whilst in London, 8 in 10 renters were evicted. Newham had on record 737 repossessions.

You can read more here.

Snippets

Renters Right Act will stop tenants being evicted for holiday lets – Government
Alarm bells ring over London housing crisis
Landmark gas safety eviction case goes to Court of Appeal
EPC rent refunds demanded by activists
What happens to rental properties when landlords sell up?

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

The post Landlord Law Newsround #428 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Why Every Landlord Should Include Procedures in Their Tenancy Agreement

2026-03-16T11:01:06Z

Stage 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which comes into force on 1 May 2026, will bring many changes to the Private Rented Sector.

As discussed in my post here it will also alter the balance of power between the landlord and the tenant, in particular while the tenancy is ongoing.

So landlords need to do as much as they can to protect their position.

One way to do this is via clauses in your tenancy agreement. So it is really important that you choose a good tenancy agreement.

Another thing you can do, to make things easier both for yourself and also for your tenants during the tenancy, is to include clear ‘procedures’ in your tenancy agreement for tenants to follow in specific circumstances.

Procedures

So what sort of procedures am I talking about? Consider the following:

A procedure for tenants to follow if they want to keep a pet

To start with, the very fact that you have such a procedure will make tenants aware that they need to ask your permission first before bringing a pet into the property. Some tenants may not realise this.

The Renters Rights Act is very clear that tenants should apply in writing, and provide a description of the proposed pet. The act also anticipates that you may want to ask them to provide further information and allows extra time for you to do this.

However, if you have a procedure for them to follow, along with a form for them to complete with all the information you need to know about the pet, then this makes things a lot clearer and easier for both you and your tenants.

Your procedure can also set out the time limits under the Act, so everyone knows what these are.

A repairs procedure

This can set out a procedure for tenants to follow if they wish to report a repairs issue. Together with a form for tenants to complete with information about the issue they are reporting.

This will prompt tenants to provide information you need that they may not otherwise think to provide. Such as whether this has happened before and, if so, when. It will also prompt them to provide photographs and perhaps a video of the problem.

This will make it much easier for you to assess the problem from the start to allow you to deal with it more effectively.

A rent arrears procedure

Tenants failing to pay rent is one of the biggest problems that landlords experience.

Having a procedure for tenants to follow if they find they are unable to afford to pay will encourage them to keep you informed.

Particularly if you make the procedure tenant-friendly by making it clear that you will want to help them in this situation.

If you and the tenant can work together to make things easier for them, perhaps by changing the date the rent is paid or applying for a Local Authority or other grant, then this may enable them to remain in the property long term.

Which is generally better for everyone.

A tenant Notice to Quit procedure

Once stage 1 of the Renters Rights Act comes into force on 1 May 2026, all tenants will be able to serve a two-month Notice to Quit to end their tenancy if they want to leave.

As discussed in our post here this may not necessarily be a bad thing. Particularly if you are unhappy with the tenants and would like them to leave anyway!

Setting out a procedure for them to follow if they want to end their tenancy will at least mean that they let you know. Rather than just disappearing.

You can also provide a draft Notice to Quit form for them to use.

The Act prohibits landlords from requiring tenants to use a prescribed form of Notice to Quit. However, there is nothing to prevent you from providing a form they can use if they want to. So long as the fact that its use is optional is made clear in your guidance.

The effect of incorporating procedures into your tenancy agreement

If procedures are incorporated into your tenancy agreement, then by signing the tenancy agreement (particularly if it is signed as a deed), your tenants will be contractually bound by them.

This means that if they fail to follow the procedures you have provided for them, this will work in your favour should the matter be in issue. Such as during mediation or in court proceedings.

For example, if they completely ignore your procedure and just bring unsuitable animals into the property, the fact that they ignored a contractual procedure in your tenancy agreement will help you if you decide to evict them on this basis.

Having procedures is just one way landlords can exercise a bit more control over things during the life of a tenancy. However, if you want to include them, they must be part of your tenancy agreement from the start.

Note that we have a set of procedures for landlords to use on Landlord Law. Find out more about them here.

The post Why Every Landlord Should Include Procedures in Their Tenancy Agreement appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Landlord Law Newsround #427

2026-03-13T09:37:59Z

Another weekly Newsround from Landlord Law, the team have been busy this week but let’s see what has caught their eye in the housing news this week.

Affordability affects choice & location of property for tenants

Some new stats out this week from CIA landlords has found that four in ten tenants that are considering a move this year are doing so because of rent prices. This will impact both location and affordability for tenants.

47% of tenants think that renting will become less affordable and 55% would leave a tenancy if they had a large rent increase. CEO Jackie Compton said

Better communication, transparent rent-setting, and proactive maintenance aren’t ‘nice to haves’; they’re essential if we want long-term tenancies that work for everyone.

81% of tenants prefer to stay in a property more than five years if it suits them and 35% said that speedy repairs and response times is what matters most to them, with 30% of tenants saying that transparency on rent increases is one of their main non-negotiables alongside 28% of tenant wanting clearer communication.

Would tribunal fees encourage ‘backdoor’ evictions?

With news that the government are planning to charge tenants to access rent tribunals there is concern that this would enable rogue landlords to use it as a ‘backdoor’ eviction method, especially where tenants are on low incomes and would least be able to afford an rent increase.

Clara Collingwood of The Renters’ Reform Coalition group said

These fees risk undermining security for millions of renters, and the most vulnerable of renters in particular, by opening a loophole in the Renters’ Rights Act.

A new survey states that nine in ten renters would challenge a £200pm rent increase if the tribunal was free to access, but only half would do so if they had to pay a fee of £200. The government has said that it keeps fees under review but are ‘assessing the introduction of fees in line with practice across the courts and tribunals’.

Extreme weather is leaving thousands of homes uninhabitable and uninsurable

The Guardian has reported that climate change is making insurance unaffordable for many people as the threat of flooding and wildfires increase.

Landlords should check what the risk is for their properties and either improve protection or if the risk is high, sell while they still can. Properties in the south and south west are particularly at risk.

We have guidance on our post here – it is a few years old but the advice is still sound. You can find out the risk for your properties via this government long-term flood risk service.

Renters’ Rights Act inspections warning for landlords

Property118 has a warning for landlords that property inspections are going to be more, not less, important after the Renters Rights Act comes into force. Worryingly, it looks as if some 46% of landlords only inspect once or less than once a year. If this is you – check your insurance as many landlord insurance products will now require regular inspections.

If you are worried about the best way to do inspections, our Landlord Law Inspection Kit can help.

Snippets

Gen Z renters lack knowledge of credit scores and rent rules
HMO with ‘serious disrepair’ lands landlord firm with £17k penalty
Two more councils bring in new HMO planning rules
Good relationship between renter and landlord is key to longer tenancies

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

The post Landlord Law Newsround #427 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Before, During and After a Tenancy – The New Power Balance

2026-03-13T09:39:05Z

The Renters Rights Act is a massive act and will change the Private Rented Sector in many ways.

One important way it will change the sector is in the balance of power between landlords and tenants at different stages of a tenancy.

Let’s take a look.

1. Before the tenancy starts

Here, the power is with the landlord. The tenant wants to live in the property but can only do so with permission of the landlord.

So if the landlord requires the tenant to sign a particular tenancy agreement or obtain a guarantee as a condition of being granted a tenancy, the tenant will have to do this.

Unless the landlord is finding it hard to source good tenants, in which case the applicant may have more leverage to negotiate different terms.

2. During the tenancy

Here, the power, for the most part, is with the tenant.

If the landlord is unhappy with the tenant, they will only be able to evict on the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act using the section 8 procedure. With section 21 gone, no longer will landlords be able to evict tenants without giving a reason.

So long as there is no ground which the landlord can use, the tenant will be secure in their accommodation. Meaning that they will be able to:

Enforce their legal rights

For example, regarding the condition of the property.

For many years, some landlords have intimidated tenants by the threat of ‘retaliatory eviction’ if they dared to complain. However, with the abolition of section 21, landlords no longer have this power.

Tenants will also be able to complain to their Local Authority. After 1 May 2026, councils will be required by law to enforce landlord legislation in their area. So will be more likely to take action against bad or rogue landlords.

Refuse to sign new documentation,

For example, new tenancy agreements and guarantee deeds. Formerly, these were routinely signed at ‘renewal’, i.e., when the fixed term ended. However, with all tenancies being periodic, there is no renewal.

This will be particularly problematic for landlords whose tenants have provided a guarantee. Under a very old case, Holme v Brunskill from 1878, there is a rule that if a contract is varied without the guarantor’s consent, the guarantee will be discharged.

I have tried to deal with this by drafting a new form of guarantee, which I hope would survive changes to the tenancy, including rent increases. You can read about this here.

So far as tenancy agreements are concerned, it is now super important that landlords take care with these before they are issued. If a mistake is made, your tenant may refuse to sign a revised version.

And generally,

During the tenancy, landlords will have less power than formerly. For example to

Impose high rent increases
Forbid pets, and
Dictate to tenants when they should vacate

They can still increase rent, forbid pets and require tenants to vacate, but the circumstances under which they can do this are considerably more circumscribed.

3. After service of a tenant’s notice to quit

Landlords are generally unhappy about the right for a tenant to serve a tenant’s notice to quit and end the tenancy. However, if the tenants change their mind, or if some of joint tenants want to remain, this will put landlords back in the driving seat.

This is because once a Notice to Quit has been served, the tenancy will end at the end of the notice period.

If the tenants then fail to vacate, the landlord can evict them easily on the basis that the tenancy has ended and they have not vacated. There is no defence to this claim (so long as the tenancy is actually ended).

So if the tenants want to remain and the landlord says he will only agree to this if the tenants sign a new tenancy agreement and provide new guarantees, they will have to do this.

For the landlord to retain his moment of power, however, it is essential that he does not accidentally create a new tenancy by accepting rent.

The way to do this is to say that any rent is accepted as ‘mesne profits’ and without any intention to create a new tenancy. Guidance on this tricky process is available to members of my Landlord Law service.

Landlords interested in the Landlord Law service will find more information here.

And finally

The key takeaway is that the balance of power between landlord and tenant will shift depending on the stage of the tenancy.

Understanding when you have leverage – and when you do not – will be increasingly important in the Renters’ Rights Act era.

The post Before, During and After a Tenancy – The New Power Balance appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Landlord Law Newsround #426

2026-03-06T10:03:58Z

Our first week into March and there is no shortage of housing news.

New landlord grant for EV chargers

Landlords can apply for a new government grant of up to £500 towards the installation of an Electric Vehicle (EV) charger. This equates roughly to half the cost, and the grant is available until March 2027.

Ben Beadle from the NRLA says nine out of ten landlords would install an EV charger if asked by the tenant.

You an apply on the OZEV portal until the end of March and from the 1st April direct on the governments website via Find a Grant service

Disabled Facilities Grant needs more exposure

The disabled facilities grant is not a well known or published grant. It is available from councils to help pay for adaptations in a home where a person is disabled. Landlords can apply for this grant if they have a disabled tenant living in their property and it needs adapting. Funding is up to £30,000.00 in England and £36,000 in Wales.

Propertymark is calling on the government to bring this payment in line with Wales and also to streamline it more for private sector landlords and raise more awareness of the funding.

Tim Thomas of Propertymark said

Given the changing demographics, with more persons with a disability and older people accessing the PRS, grant funding must support more landlords to improve accessibility.

They are asking the government to have a ‘collaboration between local authorities and private landlords through an accessible housing database’, and alongside this raise awareness and widen the access of getting the grant funding.

The government has stated that the Renters’ Rights Act will give tenants more confidence to ask for adaptations without threats of eviction.

Sharp rise in letting agent complaints

There has been an increase of 47% in complaints of letting agents to Property Redress, according to their annual report. 4,220 complaint enquiries were lodged in 2025 compared to 2,863 in 2024. Furthermore, by the end of last year accepted cases were up by 41% from the year before.

Complaints were mainly on poor management service, maintenance and the providing of relevant documentation.

Sean Hooker, Head of Redress said that communication is key and agents need to be ‘transparent, proactive and responsive in the very early stages’ in order to resolve issues quickly.

Property Redress has a membership of around 19,051 members and it expelled 85 firms for non compliance. The average time for claims to be fully processed has come down from 39 days to 34 days. In 2025, 53% of cases were resolved early.

Beware of AI images impacting claims

AI is now being used to edit photos adding ‘damage’ where there otherwise isn’t any. A new study by SAS data firm claims that images sent by tenants can be fabricated in seconds using AI. Landlords who rely on photos rather than in person visits can be forced to make an insurance claim and inadvertently deceive insurers.

SAS claim that 40% of people cannot tell that an image has been altered. They advise landlords should scrutinise photos and look for ‘subtle inconsistencies and damage that does not match the impact’.

Snippets

Landlords could face £3,000 eviction bills under Section 8 possession claims
Councils’ temporary housing costs to more than double by 2029-30, says LGA
When your agent appoints a contractor, who is actually responsible?
Landlords face massive bills to meet Miliband’s EPC targets
Landlords can expect £3,000 bill to evict problem tenants

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

The post Landlord Law Newsround #426 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.