"When more than half of landlords expect to see higher-risk applications as a direct result of removing advance rent, and 17% are considering leaving the sector altogether, we have to ask whether the rules are working as intended"
- Allison Thompson - Leaders
Fewer than a third of landlords are fully aware that the Renters' Rights Act bans advance rent payments of more than one month, according to new research from LRG. A survey of 650 landlords and tenants across England and Wales found that 43% know the rules have changed but remain uncertain of the details, while 26% say the restriction is entirely new to them.
The findings come from LRG's Spring 2026 Lettings Report, which examines how the private rental sector is adapting to the most significant legislative overhaul in a generation. The Act abolishes fixed-term tenancies, introduces Assured Periodic Tenancies, and bans advance rent payments beyond one month.
These changes represent a fundamental shift in how the private rental market operates, yet most landlords are still working out what they mean in practice.
Unintended consequences are already emerging
The concern is not that landlords oppose reform. The issue is that provisions designed to protect tenants are already producing consequences that may work against the very people they were intended to help. With advance rent restricted, 58% of landlords expect to receive more borderline or higher-risk applications, including 18% who anticipate significantly more. Only 10% expect the quality of applicants to improve.
Rather than opening the market to a wider range of tenants, the restrictions risk making landlords more cautious.
The effect on landlord behaviour is already visible. Some 38% say they are either reconsidering whether to continue letting at all or have become significantly more selective about who they accept, a meaningful tightening of the market at precisely the moment more tenants need access to it. A further 6% say they are slightly more selective. The single most common response, cited by 42% of landlords, is to rely more heavily on their letting agent to screen applicants, underlining how central professional expertise has become to keeping the market functioning.
The risk of supply shrinking further is not theoretical. The proportion of landlords intending to reduce their portfolios has risen steadily in recent years, according to the English Private Landlord Survey. LRG's data adds another dimension: 70% of landlords say they would not consider letting to a local council or housing association, and fewer than 1% currently do so.
For tenants who cannot compete in the open market, this effectively closes off one of the few alternative housing routes available to them.
Tenants with fewest options face the greatest risk
Those tenants have very limited alternatives. LRG's survey found that 69% describe themselves as heavily or completely dependent on the private rental sector, with no other viable option. That dependency sits against a backdrop of sustained affordability pressure: ONS data shows that private rents have risen faster than average earnings across most English regions over the past three years, leaving many tenants with little capacity to absorb any further reduction in available homes or increase in landlord selectivity. Legislation intended to deliver security risks delivering scarcity instead.
The private rented sector houses around 4.6 million households in England alone, according to the English Housing Survey. Any significant contraction in supply, driven by landlords exiting, tightening criteria, or both, would place acute pressure on a sector that a large and growing proportion of the population depends on.
"The Renters' Rights Act has some genuinely important protections for tenants, and we support the direction of travel," said Allison Thompson, chief lettings officer at Leaders, part of LRG.
"But the data should give policymakers pause. When more than half of landlords expect to see higher-risk applications as a direct result of removing advance rent, and 17% are considering leaving the sector altogether, we have to ask whether the rules are working as intended. The tenants who most need stability are the same ones who will struggle most if supply contracts are further. Agents have a critical role to play right now – helping landlords navigate the changes, stay in the market, and keep letting to a wide range of tenants."
Now that the Renters' Rights Act has passed into law, careful implementation and clear guidance for landlords will be essential if it is not to accelerate the very housing pressures it was designed to ease.
