The Renters' Rights Act is one of the biggest changes we will see to the lettings market. Below is a helpful toolkit for how you can reduce your risk as a landlord and how Hello Neighbour can support you.
You can find more information on our Renters Rights Hub here or feel free to get in touch.
In short: six things keep landlords safe under the Renters' Rights Act: clear communication, a compliant APT agreement, the right rent, thorough referencing, an independent inventory, and considered rent protection.
Updated 1 September 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act changes how landlords find tenants, set rents and manage risk. Since 1 May 2026, the cost of getting things wrong at the start of a tenancy is higher and the ability to fix mistakes later is much lower.
The key facts
- Six elements keep landlords safe: clear communication, a compliant APT agreement, the right rent, thorough referencing, an independent inventory and considered rent protection. Hello Neighbour toolkit.
- Every new let is an Assured Periodic Tenancy. New ASTs ended when the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026.
- Tenants can challenge the starting rent within the first six months if they believe it sits above market level. Renters' Rights Act 2025.
In this article:
- How Hello Neighbour supports landlords under the Renters' Rights Act
- The six-element Renters' Rights toolkit
- Why clear landlord-tenant communication matters
- What is an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT)?
- How to set the right rent under the Renters' Rights Act
- Why thorough tenant referencing matters more now
- Why an independent inventory matters
- Do you need legal expenses and rent guarantee insurance?
That is why we have created a simple toolkit designed to help landlords stay compliant and in control, whether we manage the process or you do it yourself.
Now the tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act are in force, whether you use our DIY tools or our managed service, we will continue to keep you compliant. The difference is simply how hands on you want to be.
How Hello Neighbour supports landlords under the Renters' Rights Act
If you use our DIY product, Get Listed, you stay in control but with guardrails built in. We help you pre-screen tenants before they can book viewings. You can see their answers to key questions, message them through the platform and decide who is right with all the evidence in one place. Offers are made and accepted on the platform, so there is no confusion and full transparency.
If you use Get Rented, the platform takes you all the way to a fully compliant move in.
If you use our managed service, we do all of this for you, and because we are confident in how we find and assess tenants, we will find you another one free if the first leaves within six months.
Whether you use our DIY tools or our managed service, we focus on the same core building blocks that protect landlords and keep tenancies running smoothly. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, these steps have become even more important.
The six-element Renters' Rights toolkit
There are six key elements that sit at the heart of our toolkit:
- Clear landlord tenant communication
- Compliant new assured periodic tenancy
- Getting the right rent
- Thorough tenant referencing
- An independent inventory
- Legal expenses and rent guarantee insurance
Why clear landlord-tenant communication matters
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, evidence matters, and the ability to show what happened, when and why can make a real difference if issues arise later.
Our platform keeps a full record of rent payments, messages and reported issues, so landlords have a clear paper trail from the initial offer process, through to the end of the tenancy, with the right information to hand if needed.
What is an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT)?
On 1 May 2026, existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies automatically and are treated as a continuing tenancy. All fixed term tenancies became periodic, rolling tenancies, with no end date. Rent review clauses are now invalid, and landlords can only increase rent using the statutory procedure under Section 13, using the new Form 4A.
These changes along with others need to be incorporated into tenancy agreements so we have produced a compliant assured periodic tenancy for landlords who want to use it.
How to set the right rent under the Renters' Rights Act
Under the new system, rent is no longer something you can quietly correct later if it feels a touch too low. Rental bidding is banned, along with payment of rent in advance, and landlords have to propose a rent when they advertise and stick to it.
Tenants can also challenge the starting rent within the first six months if they believe it is above market level, and since May 2026 the only legal route to a rent increase is a formal Section 13 notice, which tenants can challenge too.
In practice, that means pricing needs to be right on day one, which is why we use local comparables, live market data and our own letting experience to help landlords set rents that are fair, defensible and far more likely to stand up if they are ever tested. With over a million datapoints for each valuation you will be well prepared.
Why thorough tenant referencing matters more now
We use detailed referencing on every property we let because it is the first and best line of defence, and because it is one of the simplest ways to reduce risk before a tenancy begins. Our checks combine Open Banking, employer and landlord references, credit checks and document fraud scanning, so landlords are not relying on a single data point or a box ticking exercise.
At £24 per tenant, it is also one of the lowest cost steps you can take to avoid some of the most expensive problems a landlord can face.
Why an independent inventory matters
An inventory is not just something you keep for the end of a tenancy, it is the baseline you rely on throughout the relationship. Independent clerks record the condition of the property and its contents at the start and again at the end, and the same record can be used for interim tenancy inspections, which makes it easier to track changes over time and deal with issues early.
It also means disputes are far easier to resolve, helping landlords stay in control even as tenants gain more flexibility to leave. With Renters’ Rights, deterioration of the property and deterioration of the furniture due to “acts of waste by or the neglect or default of the tenant” are discretionary grounds for possession so being on top of both will be even more important.
Do you need legal expenses and rent guarantee insurance?
It is possible, that the Renters’ Rights implementation will add to the already long court delays. This will mean that even straightforward possession cases could become more costly in the future, so for landlords who want extra protection we have partnered with Alan Boswell, backed by Aviva, to make sure legal expenses and rent guarantee cover does what it says it will.
It is not essential for everyone, but it can provide real peace of mind when the likely cost matters and the timeline is uncertain.
Taken together, these measures are designed to reduce risk and give landlords the strongest possible position in a world that is becoming more structured and more demanding. Whether we manage your property or you do it yourself, we are here to help you navigate it, so if you have questions, please get in touch.
You can find some FAQ and other information on our Renters Rights Hub here.
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