The Renters’ Rights Act, now in effect, eliminates no-fault evictions and shields tenants from discrimination based on having children or receiving benefits. However, experts caution that these reforms could shrink the rental housing supply, drive out small landlords, and push rents higher amid Britain’s ongoing housing crisis.
Expert Warnings on Rental Market Impact
Tim Briggs, a solicitor specializing in landlord-tenant law, former Conservative councillor in Lambeth, and ex-Parachute Regiment member, describes the legislation as one of the most counterproductive laws in recent centuries. He highlights a surge in large corporate investors snapping up properties in bulk, while individual landlords—targeted by new regulations—exit the market.
“When you make providing a service more expensive and riskier, fewer people provide it,” Briggs states. “Fewer landlords mean fewer rental homes. And fewer rental homes mean higher rents.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation notes that tenants will escape the anxiety of sudden evictions. Yet Briggs predicts a “regulatory avalanche” signaling to small landlords that their investments are unwelcome, potentially worsening the housing shortage.
Briggs ranks the Act among the “pantheon of rubbish and counterproductive laws.” He argues it promises tenant protection but delivers the opposite: reduced supply and elevated costs in a strained market.
Calls for Aggressive Housing Solutions
To tackle the crisis, Briggs urges councils to approve or reject planning applications within six weeks. He advocates restoring mortgage interest relief and capital gains incentives for housing investments, alongside rapid development of new towns.
“Every beautiful and expensive house that is built helps satisfy a demand that ultimately makes other houses less expensive,” he explains.
Briggs proposes a UK adaptation of a Peruvian model, where non-profits acquire land, install infrastructure like roads and utilities, then sell plots to first-time buyers. “Profits could then fund further development,” he suggests, shifting focus from legal battles to practical homeownership aid for low-income groups.
Landlord Perspectives and Government View
Jared Cusack, a landlord and lettings agent in Lincolnshire, echoes these concerns. “The Renters’ Rights Act harms the very people it claims to save,” he says. “This Act will lead to more corporate and business landlords who have no interest in their tenants, eventually driving people to black market rentals, which I can also see are on the rise.”
A government spokesperson counters: “Our landmark Renters’ Rights Act will bring the biggest upgrade to renters’ rights in a generation, while ensuring landlords have the stability and clarity they need. There’s no evidence of a landlord exodus, and good landlords who provide quality homes have nothing to fear from our reforms.”
