It’s official, the Renters’ Rights Act is law, and being rolled out over the coming months. The changes have sparked widespread conversations among landlords, agents, and tenants. But, what can agents do to get ahead?
Alto contacted a number of agents to understand their key concerns and the actions they’ve taken to prepare. Here’s what we found…
Key challenges from the Renters’ Rights Act
We surveyed hundreds of agents across the UK on their thoughts around rental reform. The results:
Which rental reform issues are your landlords most worried about?
- Loss of Section 21/no-fault evictions (29.3%): A major challenge for landlords seeking flexibility.
- Mid-tenancy exits or void periods (27%): Increased turnover disrupts rental income flow.
- Tightened energy efficiency standards (15.3%): Upgrades to meet new EPC requirements are costly and time-consuming.
- Portfolio profitability (9%): Landlords reevaluating ROI in light of reforms.
- Enhanced property condition and inspection rules (7.2%): Increased scrutiny adds operational complexity.
It’s clear that landlords and agents alike are feeling the pressure when it comes to rental reform. So, how can agents navigate a rental market that’s becoming more regulated, more demanding, and more uncertain?
How agents can prepare for the Renters’ Rights Act
We hosted a webinar on Exploring the Renters’ Rights Bill. The panel of leading agents and lettings professionals shared their views on the upcoming legislation as well as some insight into the steps they’ve taken already.
Alan Bevan, Managing Director at City Residential:
1. Compliance integration
“From a compliance perspective, personally we’ve moved to Goodlord – which we’re very happy is integrated with Alto.”
Goodlord helps agents keep on top of compliance at every step of the letting process. It provides handy reminders and warnings when essential documents aren’t attached as well as various compliance automation options.
City Residential reviewed what compliance tools could help to keep them compliant, without adding extra manual work.
2. Terms of engagement restructure
“We’ve totally just restructured our whole terms of engagement and fee structure with the landlords. We took this as an opportunity, before the bill came in, to ensure that we’re charging what we should be charging.”
City Residential has chosen to consolidate their individual charges to the landlord, into one monthly compliance fee. This streamlines the process and helps them to have better visibility over finances.
3. Reviewing periodic tenancies
“We’re going through our periodic tenancies, with a fine-tooth comb and have been trying to bring those rents up to a live open market rent before the bill comes.”
The Renters’ Rights Act puts limitations on rent increases. City Residential have reviewed their listings against market values to ensure they are on the right track before restrictions are put in place.
Christina Harris, Director at Cheffins:
1. Educating landlords on preparing for the future
“We use the Alto emails function to make our own newsletter where we’ve been keeping landlords up to date. We’re not trying to scare them, but we’re having conversations about how it’s gonna work in the future.
And most of our landlords are happy as long as we’re keeping them up to date with what could be around the corner. Conversation is key with a lot of our clients.”
Agents shouldn’t shy away from educating landlords. Address the upcoming changes head on and as soon as possible, to build trust and work collaboratively on a plan of action. Cheffins have chosen to be proactive with their communications and have received valuable feedback from landlords at each step of the way.
2. Stricter referencing processes
“It’s very important to make sure that you are using a good referencing agency, that is checking documents properly. Obviously, there’s still gonna be rent arrears in the future, but at least by having those checks done, you’re gonna be making sure that you’re choosing the correct tenants at the moment.”
Cheffins have found that a solid process for tenant referencing is a huge risk-mitigation tool. Robust checks upfront can reduce the risk of problematic tenancy exits or void periods.
Alto integrates with a tenant referencing software called HomeLet. From tenant referencing to rent protection, their high-quality products help to avoid risk to your management fees, loss of income, and negative experiences for your landlords.
3. Rental insurance and legal protection
“A lot of our landlords have got mortgages on the properties, so it’s a fear for them of not potentially having rent coming in for a period of time and having to rely on the new Section 8 for rent arrears. We’ve been recommending rent and legal protection that a lot of landlords should be looking into as well with the changes.”
When rent goes unpaid, it creates serious challenges for landlords. Connecting them with a trusted rent and legal protection provider can make all the difference when helping them feel secure and confident in the market.
Alto delivered insights into leveraging technology for compliance and efficiency:
Agents should seek technological solutions that can alleviate administrative burdens and enhance compliance. CRMs like Alto, that prioritise automating processes and reducing manual effort, will keep you on track for success.
“Agents using Alto save up to 40 hours per user per month. Imagine what you could do with an extra week’s worth of time.” – Sara Arthrell, CMO at Alto
There’s still time to update your tech stack to ensure you have the right integrations to support a smooth transition. Be proactive in choosing technology that supports your long-term needs.
“Don’t let the fear of making a big change in switching technology providers scare you…Most agents, after switching, say they wish they’d done it sooner.”
Ultimately, your CRM platform should help you to navigate the upcoming reform with confidence. You should be seeing continuous improvements from your provider to reduce risks and to automate lengthy processes.
Find out more about the Alto product roadmap here.
Key takeaways for lettings agencies
While the Renters’ Rights Act presents challenges, it also delivers a chance to elevate your practices. If there’s three pieces of advice you take from this, let it be these:
1. Educate landlords: Proactive communication about changes will solidify trust and retain landlord relationships.
2. Adopt technology: Use integrated platforms to streamline operations, ensure compliance, and save time.
3. Refine processes: Review current terms of engagements, revisit existing compliance workflows, and position your agency for long-term success.
By embracing change instead of fearing it, agents and landlords can navigate reforms and emerge resilient in a transformed rental sector.
