Research reveals a striking gap between landlord awareness and confidence as the Renters' Rights Act beds in
Most UK landlords say they understand the Renters' Rights Act, but almost all of them are still worried about getting it wrong.
That is the central finding of new research from Aviva, which surveyed more than 500 UK landlords and property-sector decision-makers between 21 May and 1 June. It found that 95% of landlords are confident they understand the new rules, yet 96% remain concerned about non-compliance, and 94% say they have already changed how they run their property business in response.
For Louis Mason (pictured top), director at Oportfolio Mortgages in London, the gap between those two figures tells an important story.
"I think there's an important distinction between understanding the rules and feeling confident applying them," Mason told Mortgage Introducer. "Landlords might understand what has changed on paper, but the concern comes when they have to put those rules into practice."
The anxiety behind the awareness
The Renters' Rights Act represents what the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has called the most significant overhaul of private rented sector legislation in more than 30 years. It abolished Section 21 no-fault evictions, replaced fixed-term tenancies with rolling periodic contracts, restricted rent increases to once yearly, capped advance rent requests at one month, and gave tenants a contractual right to request a pet.
The scale of those changes helps explain why awareness alone has not translated into confidence. In terms of the impact of the Renters' Rights Act on buy-to-let lender guidance, many landlords are still working through the practical implications for their portfolios long after the legislation took effect, and lenders themselves have been slow to update their documentation to reflect the new tenancy landscape.
Mason put it plainly. "The anxiety isn't 'I don't know the rules', it's 'what happens if I make an innocent mistake?' When you're dealing with potential penalties, possession rules and changing responsibilities, knowing 95% of the rulebook doesn't necessarily feel good enough."
Awareness is not the same as preparedness
The distinction Mason draws between knowing the rules and feeling equipped to apply them cuts to the heart of what the Aviva data reveals. Landlords report specific struggles despite their stated awareness, with 40% saying identifying which regulations apply to their business is a top difficulty, 38% cite keeping up with changes, and 35% point to mitigating penalty or enforcement risk. Asked what support would help most, 42% want regular regulatory updates, 41% want insurance products bundled with legal and regulatory support, and 41% want simpler regulatory guidance.
Mason said the message about the scale of legislative change has landed, but preparedness is a different matter entirely. "Most landlords are well aware that the rulebook has changed significantly, but knowing a major piece of legislation is coming and understanding exactly what it means for your own properties are two very different things."
He pointed to the volume of simultaneous change as a key pressure point, particularly for smaller landlords. "The challenge is the sheer amount of change happening at once. For professional landlords, adapting is increasingly becoming part of running a property business. But for someone with one or two properties, keeping on top of new tenancy rules, compliance requirements and future reforms can feel like taking on a second job."
That dynamic is consistent with what brokers across the market have been observing. When the Renters' Rights Act came into force and brokers began bracing for its full effect on buy-to-let lending, the professional landlord cohort showed greater resilience and adaptability than those with smaller portfolios, while single-property landlords have emerged as the group most exposed to compliance risk and most likely to consider exiting the market altogether.
The compliance picture is set to become more complex still. A private rented sector database is due to roll out regionally from autumn 2026, requiring landlords to register themselves, their properties and compliance information. A mandatory landlord ombudsman scheme follows in 2028. Both measures will add further administrative layers to a sector already stretched by the demands of the Act itself.
Mason said the result is a market caught between clarity and anxiety. "I don't think there's an awareness problem, but there seems to be a confidence problem. Landlords know change is here, but many are still working out how to navigate it without making an expensive mistake."
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