Labour’s controversial Renters’ Rights Act has ignited a fierce debate among Independent readers – with landlords warning the reforms will drive responsible property owners out of the market, while others argued stronger protections for tenants are long overdue.
Reacting to landlord Rebecca Tidy’s defence of scrapping no-fault evictions, many readers who own rental properties said the changes unfairly punish “good landlords” while making it far harder to remove destructive, antisocial or non-paying tenants.
Several insisted they had strong relationships with long-term tenants, kept rents reasonable and handled repairs quickly – but now felt increasingly pushed out of the sector by tighter rules, rising costs and financial risk.
Many predicted smaller landlords would sell up altogether, shrinking rental supply and pushing rents even higher for the very people Labour says it wants to help.
But other readers, including parents whose children rent in London, argued the current system has left tenants vulnerable to poor conditions, unresolved maintenance issues and sudden evictions.
Here’s what you had to say:
No-fault evictions are not the main issue
Pick on “no-fault evictions”, and forget all about the difficulty of getting rid of tenants who are at fault, and complying with the myriad new or relatively new regulations that landlords have to follow. Those are the main reasons landlords are getting out of the business, not “no-fault evictions” at all.
Increasing risk for landlords
The loss of no-fault evictions increases the risk to landlords. It was the nuclear weapon – though potentially taking a long time – that allowed resolution of a significant problem. With its loss, many are no longer willing to take the risk and so are leaving the market. The result will be higher rents for tenants, the collateral damage in a class-war tactic that is based on the idea there are few bad tenants. Really?
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater
The proposed changes under the Renters’ Rights Bill were intended to tackle a small minority of genuinely poor landlords – arguably no more than 2–5 per cent of the sector – but the unintended consequence has been to penalise the vast majority who were already operating professionally and responsibly.
Yesterday, while at a clinic in Parsons Green, I spoke with a technician who said she and her boyfriend have spent more than four months trying to secure a rental flat, only to find dramatically reduced supply, poor-quality options, and little price variation. When I explained how the reforms were designed to address bad landlords, she summed it up perfectly: “They’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” That increasingly feels true.
Many landlords are selling up because the sector has become financially and emotionally unrewarding, with responsible landlords feeling unfairly treated as though they are part of the problem.
I feel genuinely sorry for tenants. I own two flats with long-term tenants, and we have strong relationships built on trust – rents rise modestly and infrequently, repairs are handled quickly, and tenants care for the homes as if they were their own. This is not unusual; it reflects how most landlord-tenant relationships work in reality. Unfortunately, the rental sector has been broadly demonised, despite the fact that most landlords and tenants coexist successfully.
Labour was warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill risked reducing supply and worsening conditions for renters, and that appears to be exactly what is now unfolding. The people most likely to suffer are not landlords, but tenants themselves.
Bad tenants are driving landlords out
Things have become so one-sided in favour of the tenant that this is why small private landlords are selling up. When it takes months or years to evict non-paying or destructive tenants, there is no point renting – especially when so many additional burdens have been placed on landlords, like reduced deposits, safety certificates, insurance, and pets. It might not be so bad if those on benefits had their housing allowances paid directly to landlords to reduce non-payment of rent, but the government even screwed that up!
The whole issue is about bad tenants, and small landlords are now unable to afford the lengthy and complex saga of getting them removed, making good the damage, and hoping they don’t get any more. Enough has clearly become more than enough!
A start against bad landlords
There will always be bad landlords, and there will always be slum landlords, but this bill is a start. Having seen how my children had to struggle in London with far less reasonable landlords – such as a Section 21 eviction because the landlord’s princessy daughter had finished her post-university travels and needed somewhere to live – far worse accommodation than when I rented in London, and the inability of landlords to fix anything, I would add one more sanction: if you fail to fix things within a reasonable timeframe at your expense, the property is confiscated and becomes co-owned by the tenants and the local council. No ifs. No buts. You lose it, and you can’t treat it as a capital gains tax write-off. Yes, Tory MPs will scream and whinge, but that shows who has been benefiting.
Fewer rentals will push up rents
If a private landlord finds it hard to evict troublesome tenants or is forced to allow tenants’ pets in their properties, there’s even more chance that they’ll sell up and quit the market. That means there will be even fewer affordable rental properties available, thus increasing demand and raising rents.
Most private landlords are not pantomime villains but individuals investing their pensions or an inheritance to provide an income in their old age. It’s therefore in their interest to maintain their properties to protect their investment, plus the fact that they are bound by law to ensure they’re safe. The shortage of affordable housing will only be solved by huge government investment, but that still seems slow in coming...
A good rental market is important for the economy
Having a good rental market for housing is important for the economy. Why not have local authorities guarantee the income to the property owner while paying for wear-and-tear repairs in exchange for 15 per cent of the rent payment? Thus removing the risk to the property owner from a bad tenant. The 15 per cent is not set in stone but needs to be at the level that gets 50 per cent of owners to sign up for it. Or is this just a one-sided set of rules?
Too risky to stay in the market
I was a landlord until November. I have never evicted any tenants. All my tenants were entirely happy with their arrangements. I always resolved any maintenance issues and I never had any complaints.
But the Renters’ Rights Bill makes letting property too risky for me. I am currently getting 25 per cent more by simply putting the proceeds into a high-interest offshore savings account. No hassle, no risk.
Good luck, though. I hope it works out for both tenants and landlords. Just not for me anymore.
Tax changes are pushing landlords out
Landlords are mainly selling up due to the increase in income tax set directly on landlords and the inability to claim mortgage interest as a cost.
If a tenant stops paying rent, you now have to pay to take them to court to get them out – another set of bills at a time when you have less income. Of course, this is terrible for the tenant too, as they will have a CCJ issued against them. Good luck finding somewhere nice to live with that!
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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