Four months after the Renters’ Rights Act came into force, more than six in 10 letting agents say their teams spend more time on compliance and administration.
Research by The Letting Partnership, based on a survey of 163 letting agents in England, found that 62.5% had seen their compliance and administrative workload rise since the reforms were implemented on 1 May.
Almost three in 10 agents (29.2%) described the increase as significant, while a further 33.3% reported a slight rise.
Increased administration was identified as the biggest impact of the Renters’ Rights Act by 45.5% of agents surveyed.
A further 18.2% said the main impact had been a greater compliance workload, while 22.7% pointed to increased disputes or uncertainty.
Just 9.1% said the reforms had had little or no operational impact on their business.
The findings indicate that, while the industry has largely adapted to the new framework, the additional requirements are creating a significant increase in the amount of work involved in managing tenancies and maintaining compliance.
Overall, 79.1% of agents described themselves as either completely or mostly prepared for operating under the new rules. However, 20.8% said they were only somewhat prepared or less prepared, including 12.5% who said they were not very or not at all prepared.
The research also points to concerns about the impact of the reforms on landlords.
Almost two-thirds of agents (62.5%) said the Renters’ Rights Act had had a negative impact on landlord sentiment. This included 45.8% who reported a somewhat negative impact and 16.7% who described the impact as very negative.
By comparison, just 16.7% reported a positive impact on landlord sentiment, while 20.8% said they had seen no noticeable change.
Agents were also cautious about the outlook for the private rented sector over the next 12 months.
Half of those surveyed expect the sector to be in a weaker position a year from now. Just 16.6% believe it will be stronger, while 33.3% expect the market to remain broadly unchanged.
Reduced rental supply was the most commonly anticipated long-term consequence of the reforms, cited by 38.1% of agents.
A further 33.3% expect there to be fewer landlords, while 14.3% believe higher rents will be the biggest long-term consequence. Some 9.5% expect increased use of managing agents to be the main outcome.
Chris Mason, chief operating officer of The Letting Partnership, said the operational impact of the reforms was now becoming clearer.
He said: “The Renters’ Rights Act has understandably generated a huge amount of discussion around what it means for landlords and tenants, but four months on from implementation, we’re also starting to see the operational impact it is having behind the scenes within letting agencies.
“More administration, greater compliance requirements and increasingly complex processes all require additional time and resources. For agents, the challenge is ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t come at the expense of the robust processes and controls needed to run a compliant business.”
The survey of 163 letting agents in England was commissioned by ProperPR on behalf of The Letting Partnership and conducted via consumer research platform FindOutNow on 22 August 2026.
