As the Chancellor of the Exchequer has realised, it’s not easy being a landlord. And it’s about to become a whole lot more complicated with the passing of the Renters’ Rights Act.

This act has been years in the making, originally in the guise of the Renters’ Reform Bill under the Conservatives, until they ran out of time amidst the slurry of backbench wrangling, and then picked up, rebranded and pushed through by Labour, desperate to fulfil their manifesto pledge of banning no-fault evictions.

And now we are in a position of waiting to see when the first elements of the act will be implemented, most significantly the ending of Section 21 evictions, the transition from fixed term to rolling tenancies and new rules around rent increases, bidding and payment in advance.

Overall, I don’t buy into the doom mongering about the act bringing Armageddon to the rental sector. The overwhelming majority of landlords are good operators who look after their tenants well and run their operations professionally. This may further shake out some of those one-property or accidental landlords who simply don’t see the return they want and would rather stick their money in a bank earning 4% a year.

However, as we have seen with previous Government intervention in the private rented sector (PRS) and buy-to-let market, actions will have consequences. Remove mortgage interest relief and more landlords start limited companies; add a Stamp Duty surcharge and landlords migrate to regions where property prices are lower.

I believe the most significant change we’ll see as a result of this act is landlords becoming far more selective over who they let their property to. Why wouldn’t they? There is no way landlords will ‘take a chance’ on a tenant if they face the prospect of months in the court to gain possession of the property if that tenant stops paying their rent.

The most recent survey from Pegasus on behalf of Paragon found 81% of landlords will become more selective about who they let to and I’m sure the tenant referencing sector is rubbing its hands in anticipation. As a lender we thoroughly underwrite our applicants to limit our risk; landlords will clearly do the same.

And that is bad news for those on lower incomes or in receipt of housing benefits. Let’s face it, the PRS has been the de facto social housing provider for the past two decades due to a woeful lack of investment in social homes from successive governments.

I also believe landlords will be far more stringent in raising rents each year in line with inflation. The landlords I meet regularly tell me that they don’t raise rent because they have a good relationship with their tenant, and I think that is why we saw some significant rent increases when mortgage rates started to rise post the infamous Liz Truss premiership.

Landlords will be more cognisant of market rents and will ensure what they charge increases in line with inflation.

We are now waiting for the Government to lay out its implementation timetable and the all-important ‘commencement date’. As I have previously written in Mortgage Strategy, we are pushing for a period of at least six months to enable the sector to adapt. That’s sensible and pragmatic and gives landlords time to adjust.

Landlords and brokers now need to spend time building a full understanding of what the Act means for their business and the sanctions they could face for failure to comply. And that includes a certain resident of 11 Downing Street too.

Louisa Sedgwick is managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank