Enforcement starts with awareness: Why informed tenants are key to raising standards

At TDS, one of our core strategic aims is to improve standards in the private rented sector. But as new research from the TDS Charitable Foundation shows, stronger enforcement alone isn’t enough. To uphold standards, tenants need to understand their rights – and know where to go when things go wrong.

An earlier Foundation-funded survey of over 550 landlords asked what, if anything, about the law they would most like to see change. The most common answer was clear: improve enforcement. Many landlords expressed frustration that the current regulatory system fails to tackle criminal operators who damage the reputation of the sector and undermine those who follow the rules.

Why enforcement relies on tenants speaking up

The reality is that enforcement today largely depends on tenants reporting problems to their local council or another regulator. Local authorities don’t have the resources to proactively inspect properties – and as our research confirms, tenants are often unwilling and unlikely to report criminal behaviour to councils. Understanding why is key to fixing the system.

Our latest qualitative study sheds light on this problem. While our national survey data shows that most tenants do report repair and maintenance issues to their landlord or agent in the first instance – and that these are usually resolved – the situation is very different when issues are not addressed.

In many cases, tenants simply don’t know where to turn. The research found widespread confusion and a lack of awareness among renters about their basic legal rights. Faced with serious problems, tenants felt unable to challenge unsafe or unfair treatment.

And the confusion doesn’t stop there. Worryingly, tenants who did seek help were often misdirected. The study found that advice agencies, MPs’ offices, councils, and even solicitors often gave incorrect or overly generic advice – usually defaulting to the local authority, even when a more appropriate route was available. This not only wasted tenants’ time but also eroded their trust in the system.

Reform is coming – but awareness must come with it

This matters more than ever as the sector prepares for significant reform. The Renters’ Rights Bill is set to introduce the biggest changes in a generation, including the launch of a new Landlord Ombudsman to strengthen redress for tenants. But without better awareness and support, these reforms risk falling flat.

Ultimately, rules only work if people know they exist. If tenants don’t know their rights or where to go for help, then even the strongest protections will be meaningless. Good landlords deserve a regulatory system that can act effectively against the worst in the sector – and that starts by making sure tenants can raise issues in the first place.

About the study

·      This research project explores the experiences of private sector tenants who have sought dispute resolution for issues within their tenancy.

·      In-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted online with 46 tenants between December 2024 and January 2025.

·      All participants had experienced problems with their tenancy and had been unable to secure a satisfactory resolution through direct engagement with their landlord or letting agent. Each participant had sought help from an external source to try to resolve their issue. This report summarises the findings from these interviews. It addresses both mechanisms that operate as part of formal structures (e.g., courts and councils) and those that operate outside them (e.g., ombudsman schemes).

Read the report here.

More information

The TDS Charitable Foundation is a charity that aims to raise standards in the private rented sector in England through research and funded projects. To find out more, visit https://www.tdsfoundation.org.uk/