The Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) is prompting greater caution among letting agents and landlords when assessing prospective tenants, according to early findings from Goodlord’s ninth annual State of the Lettings Industry report.
More than half (51%) of agents are now more cautious when recommending applicants than they were a year ago, while 26% of landlords say they are more likely to reject applicants they would previously have accepted. The findings point to unintended consequences of the legislation, with concerns that some tenants could find it harder to secure a rental property.
Goodlord has released initial findings from its annual survey, which brings together the views of more than 3,000 letting agents, landlords and tenants across the UK.
The full report will be published on 29 October and will examine how the private rented sector is responding six months after the Renters’ Rights Act became law. It will also explore the commercial and practical implications for landlords and agents, pressures facing tenants, the potential exodus of landlords and the growing influence of artificial intelligence.
Renters’ Rights Act prompts greater caution over applicants
The initial findings suggest the Renters’ Rights Act is beginning to produce unintended consequences across the private rented sector, with tenants potentially facing different prospects when trying to secure a tenancy.
The removal of Section 21, restrictions on rent in advance and the ban on rental bidding are contributing to more cautious behaviour among landlords and letting agents.
Goodlord found that 51% of agents are now more cautious when recommending applicants than at the same point last year. Meanwhile, 26% of landlords said they were more likely to reject applicants they would previously have accepted before the legislation became law.
A further 31% of landlords said they would prefer to leave a property vacant while waiting for a lower-risk applicant, highlighting concerns about the potentially more complicated and costly process of regaining possession.
William Reeve, chief executive of Goodlord, said, “As these initial findings show, unintended consequences of the Act are starting to make themselves known. The deep irony here is that certain tenants will now be far more likely to struggle to secure tenancies, creating a gulf between those settled in their properties and those seeking a new place to call home. Students, foreign nationals and those with non-traditional incomes are likely to fare the worst, becoming ‘outsiders’ in an increasingly cautious market.”
Industry pessimism falls as legislation beds in
The full report will also introduce the Sentiment Index, a tracker drawing on four years of data to assess how landlords, tenants and letting agents feel about the market.
Its initial findings suggest pessimism has eased across the industry six months after the legislation became law, compared with the period leading up to its introduction. However, the improvement is uneven, with significant differences between businesses of different sizes and between landlords and tenants.
Among letting agents, pessimism has fallen from 48% to 40% over the past year. Agency size appears to be an important factor, with 42% of businesses employing 11 or more staff describing themselves as optimistic, compared with just 28% of those with five or fewer staff.
Tenant sentiment has also improved. The proportion of tenants describing themselves as optimistic has risen from 20% to 37%, with younger renters reporting the most positive outlook. Half (50%) of those aged 25 to 34 said they were optimistic about the lettings market, alongside 48% of those aged 18 to 24.
Older tenants, however, reported higher levels of pessimism, suggesting that the improving overall picture does not reflect the experience of all renters.
Landlord sentiment remains considerably more negative. Although pessimism has fallen from 78% in 2025 to 69%, the majority of landlords remain downbeat about the future of the lettings market.
The findings also reveal a divide within the landlord community. Among those with six or more properties, 81% remain pessimistic, compared with 63% of landlords with a single property.
Reeve added: “This time last year, the industry was bracing itself for a seismic shift. There was so much uncertainty and a huge amount of preparation to be done. Now that the initial dust is settled, you can almost hear the market exhaling. We finally know where we stand and there is significantly less pessimism - if not quite hope - as a result.
“However, a gulf in sentiment is starting to emerge. Bigger agencies are feeling far more chipper compared to their smaller counterparts. This is likely due to having the resources and bandwidth needed to cope with some many changes. And tenants and landlords are at opposite ends of the sentiment spectrum, which doesn’t bode well when it comes to persuading landlords to stay in the market."
