When the Renters’ Rights Act officially came into force on 1 May 2026, there was no shortage of headlines predicting how dramatically the rental market would change.
Depending on what you read, it was either the beginning of a crisis for landlords or a complete transformation of renting in England.
Now that we’ve had two months of working under the new legislation, I thought it would be a good opportunity to step away from the headlines and simply share what we’ve actually experienced at M A S O N S.
Every market is different, but these are the conversations we’re having every day with landlords and tenants across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
Tenant movement has naturally slowed
Without question, the biggest change we’ve noticed is that the lettings market has become slower.
The reason is relatively straightforward. Under the new legislation, tenants are now required to give a minimum of two months’ notice, and that notice must expire in line with a rent payment date. This means tenants are making decisions further in advance and, because they remain committed to their existing tenancy for longer, there are simply fewer people actively looking to move at any one time.
It’s important to stress that this doesn’t mean demand has disappeared. In fact, when a property is priced correctly and marketed well, we haven’t experienced any void periods across our managed portfolio. Good properties are still letting well, but landlords should expect the overall pace of the market to be a little slower than it was previously.
On top of that, the wider economic picture hasn’t really improved. The cost of living remains high, interest rates continue to affect household budgets and there is still political and economic uncertainty.
As a result, we’re finding that most tenants are only moving when they genuinely need to. Whether that’s relocating for work, needing more space, downsizing or buying their own home, we’re seeing far fewer discretionary moves than we did a couple of years ago.
One interesting trend we’ve noticed is the reason tenants are deciding to move. Increasingly, we’re speaking to tenants who are leaving because maintenance issues have remained unresolved. One of the intended outcomes of the new legislation was to give tenants greater flexibility where a property wasn’t being managed properly, and from what we’re seeing, that’s beginning to happen. It’s a good reminder that proactive maintenance and good communication have never been more important.
Sensible rents are more important than ever
One topic that came up time and time again before the legislation changed was rent increases.
There was understandable concern from landlords about the additional responsibilities and risks associated with the new legislation, and some felt this justified increasing rents more aggressively.
From what we’re seeing on the ground, I don’t believe that’s the right strategy.
The rental market today is incredibly price sensitive. Whilst rents remain strong, tenants are much more conscious of affordability than they have been in recent years.
Setting an ambitious rent might sound attractive, but if it significantly reduces the number of enquiries, you’re often left with longer void periods and fewer applicants to choose from.
Our job is to position a property at the right level to generate strong interest, attract multiple quality applicants and ultimately place landlords in the strongest possible position. More often than not, that approach produces the best long term outcome.
Pets haven’t become the issue many expected
One of the biggest concerns raised before the Act came into force was the change surrounding pets.
Interestingly, despite all the discussion beforehand, we haven’t received a single request from a tenant to keep a pet since the legislation changed.
It’s still very early days and that may change over time, but based on our experience so far, it simply hasn’t become the issue many landlords feared.
Early tenancy endings haven’t really changed
We’ve also had a handful of tenants leave earlier than originally anticipated because they’ve gone on to buy their own homes.
In reality, these are tenancies we would almost certainly have agreed to end early anyway, provided a suitable replacement tenant could be found.
The new legislation now requires tenants to give two months’ notice ending on a rent payment date. In practical terms, that’s generally more than enough time to market a property properly, carry out viewings and secure a suitable replacement tenant, provided the property is presented well and priced sensibly.
A surprising trend we’ve seen
Perhaps the biggest surprise over the last couple of months has been the number of landlords asking us to take over the management of their properties.
Our managed portfolio has grown by around 30%, with the majority of those instructions coming from landlords who previously managed their properties themselves.
Every landlord has their own reasons for making that decision, but one thing has stood out consistently when we’ve taken these properties on.
Many have been missing relatively basic compliance requirements.
We’ve found expired or missing safety certificates, properties without the required smoke alarms, missing Right to Rent documentation and paperwork that simply hadn’t kept pace with the changing legislation.
Just as striking has been the rental values.
Many of these properties were being let for significantly below current market levels because the rent hadn’t been reviewed for several years. Sometimes that’s because landlords have simply forgotten to review it. Sometimes they’re unaware of where the market has moved to. Others deliberately keep rents low because they believe it delivers the best long term outcome.
In reality, what we’ve consistently found is that landlords who review rents regularly and make smaller, gradual increases tend to retain good tenants for longer and avoid the large rent jumps that often encourage tenants to move elsewhere.
Ironically, had many of these properties been charging an appropriate market rent, the additional income would often have covered the cost of professional management whilst ensuring the property remained fully compliant.
One of our biggest focuses at the moment is helping landlords gradually bring rents back to sensible market levels in a way that’s fair for both landlord and tenant.
My biggest takeaway
If I had to sum up the first two months in one sentence, it would be this.
Pricing correctly has never been more important.
The days of simply asking the highest possible rent and expecting a queue of applicants are behind us.
Today’s tenants have choices, and affordability matters more than ever.
It’s worth remembering that even a short void period can often outweigh the additional annual income that higher rent would have generated. At the same time, you’re reducing your choice of applicants and potentially delaying the point at which the next annual rent review can take place.
Good tenants are still out there. The key is making sure your property appeals to them.
Behind the scenes at M A S O N S
Whilst the legislation has understandably kept us busy, we’ve also been investing heavily in improving the business behind the scenes.
For the past eight months we’ve been developing our own software entirely in house, designed specifically around the way we work rather than trying to adapt to off the shelf systems.
Our property video tours continue to go from strength to strength, with some of our recent videos now reaching more than 40,000 views, giving our clients’ properties fantastic exposure. If you don’t already follow us on Instagram, we’d really appreciate your support at @masonsproperty.
We’re also continuing to invest in our photography and videography because we understand just how important first impressions are. Whether we’re marketing a property for sale or to let, our aim is always to produce content that stands out for the right reasons and generates as much interest as possible.
Finally, I’m delighted to say that we’ll soon be welcoming a fourth member of the M A S O N S team, who joins us in September to support the management of our growing portfolio. It’s another exciting milestone for what is still a relatively young independent business.
Thank you
If you’ve trusted M A S O N S with your property, whether that’s for sales, lettings or full management, thank you. Your support genuinely means a great deal.
The Renters’ Rights Act will no doubt continue to evolve, and as it does, I’ll continue sharing honest updates based on what we’re actually seeing day to day, rather than simply repeating the latest headlines.
If you’d like to discuss your property, review your current rent, or simply have a chat about the market, w’d be more than happy to help.