Renters’ Rights Act: 20 Questions We Are Asked All The Time

Section 21 has gone, fixed-term tenancies have been abolished and the rules on rent increases have completely changed. So what does that actually mean for your rental property?

Since the Renters’ Rights Act went live, the same questions keep landing with us. In this episode Simon Bacon and Ian Sadler answer the 20 questions landlords are asking most, in plain English: what happened to existing tenancies, how Section 13 rent increases work, which possession grounds you will actually use, whether you can still refuse pets or take a guarantor, and the one habit that protects you more than anything else under the new regime.

Simon Bacon is the owner of Preferential Properties, a lettings and sales agency serving Sutton Coldfield and North Birmingham. If any of these questions apply to your property, get in touch at prefprop.com for a no-obligation conversation.

Chapters

0:22 Welcome: the 20 Questions mini-series

1:11 Can I still ask for a 12-month fixed term?

1:40 What happened to my existing AST?

3:06 Do I need a new tenancy agreement?

3:17 How do I increase the rent now?

5:32 Challenging a rent increase: the tribunal and the fee

7:14 Selling up: ground 1A and notice periods

8:20 Moving back in: ground 1

8:52 Has Section 21 definitely gone?

9:27 Rent arrears and persistent late payment

11:33 Guarantors and pets

12:28 The National Landlord Register: has it started?

14:40 The biggest risk for landlords under the Act

15:16 The biggest misconception about the Act

16:41 Other grounds and their timescales 20:50 The 5 grounds that will matter most