A poll of nearly 250 UK landlords found that 25% reported concerns around regaining possession, while 39% said they had adopted more cautious tenant vetting procedures.
A further 9% said they were investing more in tenant retention to reduce turnover.
The findings follow the abolition of Section 21 "no fault" evictions under the Renters' Rights Act, which came into force on 1st May.
Landlords seeking possession must now use Section 8 and provide one of the specified grounds for possession.
Goodlord said the process can also involve longer notice periods in some circumstances. For rent arrears, for example, landlords must wait four weeks after serving a Section 8 notice before proceedings can begin, compared with two weeks previously.
Separate Goodlord research into tenancy fraud estimated that fraudulent applications cost the private rental sector £4.1bn a year. It found that 41 applications per 1,000 were flagged for suspected fraud between July 2025 and June 2026.
Nishma Parekh, director of referencing at Goodlord, said: "These findings point to a market where getting tenant selection right the first time is more critical than ever, given how much harder it has become to reverse a bad match once a tenancy begins.
"Our fraud report made it clear that landlords were already facing a costly problem before the Renters’ Rights Act came in. Now that possession is harder to secure when things go awry, the cost of signing the wrong tenants has only gone up. It's little wonder thorough vetting has become the priority for landlords.
"Against this backdrop, landlords and agents need better referencing tools and clearer guidance to manage risk at the point of application, not just at the point of dispute. If landlords lose confidence in the system, it will have knock-on effects for agents and the tenants they serve."
The poll also found that 50% of landlords had experienced an increased compliance burden following the legislation, while 29% reported higher compliance and insurance costs.
Almost a quarter, 23%, said they had seen higher letting agent fees since 1 May, while 10% reported longer void periods between tenancies.
Goodlord separately surveyed 2,001 UK tenants about their experiences following the changes.
Of those surveyed, 5% said they had been served with or threatened with what Goodlord described as "Section 21-style" evictions since the ban.
