With regard to sentiment on the Renters (Reform) Bill, introduced to Parliament in May, this significant piece of legislation continues to divide opinion.
This is according to the latest survey from rent tech platforms Goodlord and Vouch. It reveals that landlords are overall feeling pessimistic about the introduction of the new rules – with 25% feeling ‘very’ pessimistic and 29% feeling ‘somewhat pessimistic’ (54% in total). Only 14% are feeling at all optimistic.
Letting agents are more mixed. 43% feel either ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ pessimistic about the bill. However 29% are feeling optimistic about the changes.
In last year’s report, the abolition of Section 21 (banning no- fault evictions) proved a highly contentious area, with the majority of agents and landlords believing the scrapping of Section 21 would have a negative impact.
However, whilst sentiments are still broadly pessimistic, the position of some stakeholders appears to have softened this year, particularly amongst landlords.
In 2022, 71% of landlords believed it would have a negative impact. In 2023, this has dropped to 62%. At the same time, the number of landlords feeling neutral about the change has risen from 12% to 29%.
In contrast, letting agents appear to have lost optimism over the course of the year. In 2022, 27% of agents believed the abolition of Section 21 would have a positive impact. In 2023, this number had dropped to just 11%.
Opinion is also divided around the introduction of a property ombudsman. Landlords hold the most negative views on the introduction of the ombudsman, with 43% believing it will have a negative impact on the sector, and only 22% believing it would have a positive impact.
Conversely, 42% of letting agents and 41% of industry suppliers believe that it will have a positive impact.
The report, which is the most comprehensive overview of the private rented sector, brings together the views of more than 2,000 letting agents, landlords and tenants.
Goodlord CEO, William Reeve, comments: “The insights on the Renters (Reform) Bill show how much change a year can bring and how opinions are continuing to shift as the regulatory picture evolves. We’re excited to share our findings in full in the coming weeks.”
