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Renter's rights bill

Journalist: Tom Dunstan, FTAdviser

ended 23. October 2025

The Renters’ Rights Bill has officially been voted through by MPs, marking one of the most significant overhauls of the private rented sector in decades. 

The legislation - which will now move to Royal Assent - will ban section 21 no-fault evictions, replace fixed-term tenancies with open-ended agreements, cap rent increases, and introduce stricter property standards under the new Decent Homes Standard.

What is your reaction to this? Is this positive? What will this mean for renters, landlords, and mortgage brokers alike?

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Eamonn Prendergast
Chartered Financial Adviser at Palantir Financial Planning Ltd
The passage of the Renters’ Rights Bill marks a landmark shift in the UK private rental sector. For renters, the ban on no-fault evictions, open-ended tenancies and rent-increase caps offer greater security and predictability. But for landlords especially small or accidental ones these changes could raise costs, complicate exit strategies and reduce flexibility. Mortgage brokers and lenders will need to rethink assumptions around rental yields, valuation risk and loan-to-value on buy-to-lets. The new Decent Homes Standard also places higher maintenance and compliance burdens on landlords. Overall this is positive for tenancies, but the sector must now navigate a more regulated terrain — balancing tenant protection with viability for landlords and supply. Retaining housing supply should remain a priority alongside these reforms.
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Harps Garcha
Director at Brooklyns Financial
The rental market is heading for its biggest shake-up in more than 30 years. The new legislation will ban Section 21 evictions, limit rent increases, restrict rent in advance and introduce open-ended tenancies that will change how landlords operate. Smaller landlords are likely to feel the pressure first. They will need to be more selective with tenants and think carefully about long-term cashflow and maintenance costs when agreeing rents each year. Larger landlords will be better placed to absorb the impact, as any shortfall in one property can be spread across the wider portfolio. This is a genuine turning point for the sector, which now needs to be accepted by the industry. Mortgage brokers should already be speaking with landlord clients about how these changes could affect their finances and future plans.
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Bob Singh
Founder at Chess Mortgages
This piece of legislation is by far the most significant we have ever seen. Whilst universally hated by landlords, it may root out those who were operating on the fringes of the law. From the Government's perspective, the wider ramifications are that every landlord will be on the register making it easier for HMRC to track undeclared rents, bring stability to the rental market and pave the way for every rental property to have an EPC rating of C. The bill has the unintended consequences of putting power in the hands of the tenants who can challenge pretty much anything and frustrate landlords. Ultimately, it may lead to a more professional market and force out unscrupulous landlords.
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Patricia McGirr
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
This is a policy for punishment, not progress. Yes, tenants deserve security, and bad landlords should be rooted out, but this Bill goes about it in the wrong way. Replacing fixed terms with open-ended tenancies and setting a Decent Homes Standard sounds fair in principle, yet the practical reality is brutal. When Government can cap rent rises while taxing sole-trader landlords on debt not profit, it’s economic self-harm. The courts aren’t ready, the transition is unclear and confidence among landlords has hit record lows. Those who provide decent homes are already carrying arrears, compliance costs and rising mortgage rates and this piles on more misery in an industry already under fire. We need a rental system that rewards good practice and ensures fair access for tenants, not one that grinds down the very people still keeping the market alive. Keep punishing landlords, and soon there won’t be many left to house anyone.