Major private rental sector reforms may be unworkable unless the Government urgently addresses fundamental questions, according to a coalition of industry organisations representing landlords, build-to-rent providers, and letting agents.
Ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill returning to the House of Lords on 1 July, the British Property Federation, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), and The Lettings Industry Council have written to Baroness Taylor of Stevenage warning of critical gaps in Government planning and transparency.
Despite repeated ministerial assurances that “good landlords” should have nothing to fear from the reforms, the groups say outstanding issues continue to generate concern and uncertainty across the sector.
Key among these is the unresolved question of court readiness. Although ministers promised last year to ensure courts could manage the Bill’s impact—particularly regarding possession claims—no detail has been given on what this preparation entails or how long landlords can expect to wait for hearings. With delays already widespread in the system, many landlords fear a breakdown in enforcement processes.
The industry bodies also argue that proposals to allow tenants to challenge rent increases through tribunals are unworkable, citing the absence of a consistent, reliable national dataset for market rents. Without a transparent benchmark, assessing whether a proposed rent rise exceeds local market rates will be inherently flawed.
Additional confusion surrounds the government's plans to make it harder for landlords to evict tenants in arrears caused by delayed benefit payments. Currently, landlords are not notified when a tenant begins claiming benefits, making it impossible to verify if missed payments are due to bureaucratic delays unless a court case is already underway.
Finally, the organisations note that ministers have yet to provide a clear implementation timeline for the new tenancy rules once the Bill passes. They warn that without clarity, a smooth transition to the new legal framework will be impossible for both landlords and letting agents.
In a joint statement, Ben Beadle (CEO of the NRLA), Melanie Leech (CEO of the British Property Federation), and Theresa Wallace (Chair of The Lettings Industry Council), said:
“We remain extremely disappointed by the lack of substantive responses to the concerns we have consistently raised with ministers.
"We want the Bill to work in practice and enjoy the confidence of good landlords. However, unless clear answers to the issues we have raised are forthcoming from the Government, those very landlords have every reason to be concerned.”
