The Renters’ Rights Bill achieves Royal Assent: What will successful implementation look like?

The Renters’ Rights Bill has officially achieved Royal Assent, marking a historic milestone for those who live and work in the private rented sector (PRS) in England.

The Bill promises to strengthen tenant protections, raise housing standards, and create a fairer, more professionalised rental market. But while passing into law is a crucial step, its success will ultimately depend on how effectively it is implemented.

Key factors for a successful implementation

At the TDS Charitable Foundation, we are committed to ensuring the Bill achieves its intended outcomes. Our research, including the Voice of the Tenant and Voice of the Landlord surveys, offers vital insights into the realities of the PRS and highlights what is needed to make these reforms work in practice.

This includes:

1.        Effective enforcement and adequate resources for local authorities

The Bill gives local authorities enhanced powers to investigate and act on breaches by landlords and letting agents. But these powers are only effective if councils have adequate funding and staffing.

Our deep-dive study on Barriers to Dispute Resolution for Private Tenants highlights delays and communication gaps when tenants seek help. In more serious cases, councils failed to carry out inspections despite ongoing hazardous conditions in the property.

This erodes trust and confidence in the system and issues can go unresolved. The new enforcement regime must therefore be properly funded and resourced to ensure it works as intended.

There must also be political buy-in and support from senior leadership within local authorities to regulate the sector and ensure that it is meaningfully enforced.

2.        Clear guidance and education for landlords

Our research shows that a fifth of landlords struggle to keep up with changes to the law and 41% of landlords feel that the changes are not clearly communicated.

This is especially challenging since most landlords (60%) rent out properties alongside other forms of employment.

To ensure compliance, it is crucial that these new obligations are clearly communicated to landlords through a coordinated, multi-channel education campaign.

Proper education helps prevent inadvertent non-compliance and ensures the sector meets higher standards.

While the sector awaits the introduction of the new Private Rented Sector Database and the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, information provided by councils can be complemented by communications from organisations already providing information to landlords.

Letting agents, tenancy deposit schemes, landlord membership bodies, and other voluntary organisations will all have a key role to play.

3.        Better tenant awareness and access to redress

The removal of Section 21 alone will not be enough to ensure tenants feel empowered to assert their rights. Our research highlights a significant lack of awareness among tenants about the redress mechanisms available when issues arise. Over 40% of tenants reported they would not know where to turn if their landlord or letting agent failed to address a housing problem.

A multi-faceted public education campaign is therefore essential to ensure tenants understand their new rights and know how to exercise them. This could include resources such as the TDS Charitable Foundation’s My Housing Issue Gateway, which is a signposting and diagnostic tools to help tenants navigate and resolve housing problems effectively.

4.        Maintaining landlord confidence during regulatory change

There are concerns that some landlords may sell their properties due to fears about the perceived burden of increased regulation or convert properties to short-term lets . This could negatively impact local communities.

A thriving PRS is essential to meeting housing needs, so it is important to address landlord concerns around delays in possession claims and Tribunal decisions about rent increases.

Overall, our landlord survey found that slightly more landlords are buying properties than selling them over the past twelve months. However, an increasing number of landlords operating in the housing benefits market are selling their properties (rising from 20% in 2024 to 37% in 2025). If this trend continues, lower-income tenants will face increased difficulty accessing the rental market.

The Government should carefully consider this finding and assess how to maintain landlord confidence during regulatory change.

Looking ahead

Royal Assent is a major achievement, but it is only the beginning. The real measure of success will be how the Bill is applied in everyday practice and whether tenants feel safer and more secure in their homes.

The Renters’ Rights Bill has the potential to transform the PRS, but only if it is enforced effectively, landlords are properly informed and supported, and tenants are empowered to exercise their rights.

At the TDS Charitable Foundation, we will continue to monitor implementation closely and support tenants, landlords and the wider sector in navigating these changes.