611 - How Landlords and Tenants are still falling foul of Renters Rights Law

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Welcome to Modern Mindset, the show that picks the brains of the world's leading minds to help you unlock yours. Decoding the beliefs and strategies of global experts to give you an updated mindset to make the most of modern life.

Rory McGowan (0:21)

This is Modern Mindset, the show that picks the brains of the world's leading minds to help you unlock yours. My name is Rory McGowan, and in this episode, it's roughly four months on from the Renters' Rights Act being introduced, and according to many tenants, they've still not been given the information about their new rights that they're required to have by law.

September is a crucial time for moving house. Not only are many university students moving into rented accommodation, possibly for the first time, but August is usually the busiest month for moving homes in the UK, and that means the beginning of September is a time where many people are settling in to their new homes.

To talk more about this, I'm delighted to be joined again by Eddie Hooker, the CEO of My Deposits, a tenancy deposit protection brand that works with landlords and tenants to secure the best deal for both parties. Eddie, it's lovely to have you back.

Eddie Hooker (1:14)

Lovely to see you, Rory. Thanks for inviting me back. Thank you.

Rory McGowan (1:17)

Well, yeah, let's get down to brass tacks, Eddie, because four months on, this is a really critical period for a lot of people moving into their new homes. And well, according to some research that you guys have done, it's still not very clear to a lot of these tenants what their new rights are under some of the biggest changes we've seen to renters and to housing in quite some time.

Eddie Hooker (1:43)

No, I absolutely agree.

The research, I think when I was on last, Rory, we were giving a bit of the benefit of the doubt, weren't we, that it was a new piece of legislation. But actually, four months on, it is worrying that less than 30% of tenants are saying that they've actually received this information on the rights that they have.

Now, there could be many reasons for that, Rory, so I don't want to sit here and criticize renters or landlords for that matter. Because I think, something as complex as this, I think is probably still a behavioral issue. Yeah, the landlords don't know what they've got to do. A lot of landlords are what we class as accidental landlords or part-time landlords. So, they have a property and they may not know all of the nuances of how to rent property to people or what they need to do. But at the same time, I think a lot of tenants may well have already received this information. There is also the opportunity or possibility that that information has been sent, but it actually hasn't been acknowledged as being received.

Rory McGowan (3:01)

No, I totally understand that. And give us some context, Eddie. For those people who may not know, what is now required by law for landlords to tell their tenants? What are tenants missing out on?

Eddie Hooker (3:14)

So, the main point is that when the Renters' Rights Act was enacted in May, there is a requirement by law for landlords or their letting agent. Yeah, so the letting agent can assume the responsibility, have to provide what's called the Official Renters' Rights Information Sheet 2026

And that has to be given to the tenant by the 31st of May 2026 So, we're now beginning of September, so we're way past the deadline. And what that actually will talk about is the changes in the tenancy structure. So, no more fixed-term tenancies. They will now be periodic. How you, as a renter, can end that tenancy, and how a landlord can end that tenancy. Yeah. Now, the important thing for landlords is that it must be the official version, which you can download from gov.uk, must be issued to the tenant. So, what you can't do is copy and paste it into an email. You literally have to send that information, leaflet, as it is presented on the government website to that tenant. And if you don't, and we, as I said, we are way past the deadline, the tenant can go to court, and you will be fined £7,000 per incident. Student accommodation in halls of residence are outside of this Act.

So, it's only for students who generally are moving in with friends and other students in the beginning of their second year, when they go into private accommodation, does this Lenters' Rights Act kick in?

Rory McGowan (5:15)

Yeah, certainly in the landlord's interest there, if they find so much money per infraction.