I Have Rights

Finally! After more than a decade of protests and wrangling and activists shining a light on the more pernicious activities of landlords, the Renters’ Rights Bill became law on the first of May 2026.

Landlords can no longer charge several month’s rent as a security deposit, or raise the rent whenever they feel like it, or continue to charge you rent on a flat you moved out of until they find another tenant. These were the legal things landlords could (and did) do, but they pale in comparison to the unlawful conduct they could get away with due to Section 21 Evictions.

This was the law that allowed a landlord to evict you without giving a reason, and removed your right to challenge. If you received a Section 21 Eviction, your only recourse was to leave. This, of course, led to tenants choosing to live with slime mould growing in their daughter’s bedroom and water leaking through the bathroom ceiling because asking the landlord to put it right might lead to them living on the street.

The reason such grotesquely unfair laws could remain unchallenged for so long, despite rabid opposition to them, is due to the high percentage of MPs who are slumlords. Allowing tenants to have rights is not in their best interest so they continued to block it.

Pressure eventually prevailed, however, so the Right’s Bill passed.

Now, I have been watching this carefully over the years, but I cannot pretend to have read the Renters’ Rights Act. I expect most others in my position didn’t either and, if we had, we’d be flummoxed by the legalese and dry government prose. We, therefore, relied on the capsulised version the activists presented, which mostly dealt with the Section 21 Evictions which, to be fair, was the most important bit.

I have often mooted the notion that, having completely renovated his flat at our expense, the landlord could chuck us out on a Section 21 Eviction and rent to new tenants at a much higher price. We existed for years on the hope that our landlord valued stable, responsible tenants over an unknown entity at a higher rate. And he couldn’t put the rent up that much on us because, even with those draconian laws, hiking the monthly asking price by several hundred quid simply wasn’t done. And if it was, it would lead to a swift and successful challenge.

And so, enter the Renters’ Rights Act, and several weeks later we receive a communication from our letting agent to this effect:

Under the Renters’ Right Act, they were required to assess our rent level to ensure it was commensurate to the current market rate. Ours was, sadly, found lacking (due to the fact that the place was a wreck when we moved in), meaning they were raising our rent by £210 per month ($282.50 or $3,390 per year). Furthermore, thanks to the Renters’ Rights Act, we were not allowed to challenge a rent rise unless it went above the current market rate.

Fortunately, as it turns out, our landlord does value stable, responsible tenants over an unknown entity at a higher rate, and instructed the letting agent to charge only an extra £110 per month.

It was a cunning ploy, aimed at making us feel grateful that the rent went up only by £110. And I suppose we should be, as the letting agent was clearly lobbying for the higher rate. I think they saw it as their due, which apparently it was, as their email stated, “Please note that, legally, the official notice has to reflect the full market rent even though the landlord is accepting the lower level as stated above.”

Accordingly, I received a legal document in the mail noting that our rent is now at the higher level, but through the goodness of their hearts they are accepting the lower rate the landlord specified.

I’m touched. (Don’t worry, they’ll get the other £100 per month next year.)

The takeaway from this is:

• You genuinely cannot beat them; you will always, always have to pay.
• While we can afford it, many may not be so lucky; look for homelessness to rise.
• Our landlord truly does love us, which is a comfort.
• In the past, as my wife scrolled through property porn, the sentiment was most often, “This is a nice flat, but look how expensive it is!” This will no longer be the case.

Even so, moving from here is not in the cards. To tempt us away, the prospective flat would need to be amazing. Therefore, our landlord and letting agent can, for now, rest easy.