Government claim landlords still have a choice over who they rent to

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Government claim landlords still have a choice over who they rent to

The government has claimed there is “no one-size-fits-all” approach for landlords when determining whether a tenancy is suitable, despite measures being introduced to tackle discrimination in the PRS.

In a written parliamentary answer, Labour peer Baroness Taylor of Stevenage claimed the government have taken action to stop rental discrimination.

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, it is illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against prospective tenants who receive benefits or have children, with fines of up to £7,000 for those who break the rules.

No one-size-fits-all approach

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said: “Landlords have tools to assess applicants looking to rent or occupy a property, such as through referencing checks. The government encourages landlords to make sure that these checks are proportionate.

“However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to determining whether any given tenancy or a licence to occupy a property will be suitable or sustainable.

“Through the Renters’ Rights Act, we have taken direct action to make clear that private landlords must stop discriminatory practices against households with children or receiving benefits in the private rented sector.

“While these measures do not apply to licenses to occupy, the Department continues to monitor trends across the private rented sector and is conducting a robust evaluation of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act.

Landlords more cautious

As previously reported by Property118, landlords have become more cautious following the act coming into force in May and have tightened referencing checks.

Ben Grech, CEO of Reposit, said: “We know that landlords are becoming increasingly risk-averse, placing greater emphasis on financial security and tenant reliability.

“While there are early signs that arrears are beginning to stabilise, they remain slightly elevated as both landlords and tenants continue to feel the impact of sustained cost pressures.

“With the Renters’ Rights Act now in place and the abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions, landlords are understandably becoming more cautious, given the reduced flexibility in how they manage tenancies.”

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As private landlords disappear, who will replace us?

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As private landlords disappear, who will replace us?

Two stories this week caught my landlord eye, and they deserve to sit side by side for a closer analysis, because nobody in the housing debate seems willing to put them there.

For years, landlords (especially me) have warned that punishing the private rented sector (PRS) would backfire on the very people policymakers claim to protect.

Now, the data is trickling in, and the damage appears to be done, leaving the hypocrisy for everyone to see.

The first, from consultancy TwentyEA, is that almost 850,000 properties have left the private rented sector across the UK in the last decade.

That is roughly one in six rented homes gone, with 181,000 lost in 2025 alone.

BtR listings rise

The data shows that listings are at a seven-year high, but the composition of the sector is changing, with Build to Rent listings up 22% year on year in the second quarter of 2026.

Now put these two facts together and we have a problem that tenants’ rights campaigners have shown little interest in discussing.

It’s this: the individual landlord, the one absorbing Section 24’s mortgage interest restriction, hefty selective licensing fees, and a proposed ombudsman regime with penalties reaching £40,000, has been squeezed out.

That’s good right? All landlords are bad, the campaigners’ narrative claims.

But the institutional landlords replacing them have a very different structure. They are not individual higher-rate taxpayers watching their finance costs treated as profit.

BtR premium for rents

Also, these corporates charge tenants more and industry figures put the Build to Rent premium at around 12.3% above the wider market.

Nobody has launched a campaign against that.

This is worth sitting with, because it cuts against the story that has been told for years.

Landlords were framed as the obstacle to affordable, well managed housing.

Remove enough of them, went the logic, and something better would take our place.

What has actually taken our place is a corporate product that charges a premium the departing landlord rarely charged, answers to shareholders rather than a local tenant relationship, and is less likely to offer the level of informal flexibility that individual landlords quietly extended.

That includes keeping the rent low for a tenant between jobs or temporarily relaxing payment arrangements for someone experiencing serious illness.

That kind of kindness or consideration does not appear in a spreadsheet and is unlikely to survive the transition to a growing institutional market share.

Landlords worry too

Meanwhile, the second story is of Shelter and HSBC UK releasing research showing 40% of working people report sleepless nights over housing costs.

Apparently, 53% say housing bills have made them anxious in the past six months, and one in three are cutting back on food to cover their rent.

Don’t get me wrong, that distress is real, and it deserves to be taken seriously.

But landlords reading it will notice the framing gap.

A tenant facing rising costs may be able to seek additional work, financial support or cheaper accommodation, although none of those routes is easy or available to everyone.

A landlord facing higher mortgage payments, insurance and compliance costs must eventually increase the rent where permitted, reduce investment, absorb the loss or sell.

That asymmetry rarely features in the campaigning material aimed at this sector.

Was PRS reform needed?

The uncomfortable question raised by this week’s numbers is not whether the PRS needed reform.

It is whether the reform has delivered what was promised, or whether it has simply moved the same rents, and the same pressure on tenants, onto a different type of landlord altogether, one with considerably less reason to compromise.

We cannot disguise the fact that almost 850,000 homes have left the private rented sector.

The buildings have not vanished, but many are no longer available to tenants.

Meanwhile, the new supply entering the market is increasingly being provided by corporate operators charging institutional prices.

Tenants and their campaign groups wanted a fairer private rented sector; instead, they are getting a corporate invoice.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader

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Councils collect just a quarter of landlord fines – NRLA

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Councils collect just a quarter of landlord fines – NRLA

England’s councils are collecting only a fraction of fines issued for landlord offences, even as local authority inspection numbers grow.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says councils are carrying out more checks under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System.

However, the collection of financial penalties continues to lag.

Responsible landlords ‘clobbered’

The NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: “Whilst an increase in property inspections suggests more proactive enforcement, councils are failing to collect the money they should from those flouting their obligations.

“Under a system in which the polluter should be paying, it is those responsible landlords being clobbered with licensing and other fees who are having to cover the costs of rooting out the rogue and criminal minority.”

He added: “This is not sustainable and undermines the confidence of those landlords who we want to keep in the market.”

£7.5m collected

The NRLA’s figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show inspections rising from 85,326 across 2021/22 and 2022/23 to 91,620 in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

While that’s a modest 7% increase, previously published data indicates councils are collecting only around a quarter of fines issued to landlords for housing offences.

Responses from 285 English councils show almost £30m in fines issued to private landlords between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

About £7.5m of that total has been collected.

Councils must publish reports

Meanwhile, the cross-party Housing Select Committee has raised concerns about how effectively councils are tackling non-compliance.

Its recent report calls for stronger oversight and clearer accountability around enforcement activity.

The committee also supported calls for councils to publish annual enforcement reports, setting out income from licensing and similar schemes and how that funding is used.

Mr Beadle said: “Councils must publish annual reports ensuring transparency about the money they receive from licensing and other such schemes, and how that it translates to better enforcement.

“By not taking this step, both tenants and good faith landlords seeking to do the right thing will continue to be let down by a failing system.”

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