- Three in 10 tenants have had rent increased since November, figures show
Landlords are rushing to evict tenants and raise rents before the arrival of new rules bolstering renters’ rights.
The Renters’ Rights Act will come into force in England on May 1 and will give tenants the greatest increase to their rights in a generation.
Landlords will be banned from evicting tenants without a good reason, such as wanting to sell the property. They also won’t be able to lock them into fixed-term contracts, with tenants being free to leave at any time with two months’ notice.
The Act will also give renters better rights to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction.
Since the Act received Royal Assent almost six months ago, 11 per cent of tenants in England have been evicted or received notice of an eviction, according to a survey of 4,500 tenants by the house-share website SpareRoom. This rose to 12 per cent among tenants in London.
Three in ten tenants in England who have stayed in the same rental property since November have had their rent increased, according to the survey.
Of the evicted tenants questioned, 43 per cent said their landlord had told them they planned to sell the property, but 23 per cent did not give a reason. Nine per cent admitted it was because of the Renters’ Rights Act or other regulatory changes.
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, says that while the Renters’ Rights Act will help renters, the run up to it coming into force is having the opposite impact.
Landlords have seized what time they have left to either get rid of tenants before it becomes more difficult to do so, or increase the rent.
‘Given the rental market is supposed to be made fairer by these reforms, it isn’t fair tenants have been at the receiving end of all the upheaval since the May 1 hard deadline was announced,’ said Hutchinson.
‘The Renters’ Rights Act will give tenants much greater security. The end of Section 21 “no fault” evictions and fixed-term tenancies, and stopping landlords asking for several months’ rent in advance are truly game changing for tenants.
‘What it’s unlikely to do, in the short term at least, is significantly reduce rents – but it is a huge step forward in correcting the power imbalance.’
Bidding wars will also be ended under the Act, with landlords unable to accept more than the asking rent. It will also ban landlords from demanding more than one month’s rent upfront.
There are concerns about the potential loss of rental properties and flatshares due to the Act, which could prompt some landlords to quit the market.
One study by mortgage lender Pepper Money has suggested as many as 220,000 rental homes could disappear this year.
‘There’s still the risk of a delayed reaction after May 1. Not all landlords will be as prepared as they should be, and they may be a flight risk,’ Hutchinson said.
‘However, there are some signs that flat share supply may now be under threat. Although supply has grown for the past three consecutive years, supply growth in the year to January 2026 slowed considerably.’
