RentDocs Landlords & Tenants Forum

Talk shop with UK landlords & tenants

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Renters' Rights Act, Section 21, EPC, licensing rules.

Legislation & ComplianceN. B.Bristol
Rent bidding wars — advertised price only, thoughts?
New rules ban asking for offers above the advertised rent. I've always priced at market and refused overbids anyway. Is anyone genuinely losing income from this, or was rent biddi…
12 replies23d ago
Legislation & ComplianceP. S.Bournemouth
Section 21 abolition — what's your transition plan for early 2026?
My fixed terms all end between January and April 2026. I'm already treating everything as periodic in practice. Anyone drafting new tenancies now that assume Section 21 is gone fr…
10 replies24d ago
Legislation & ComplianceL. W.Plymouth
Pets by default — are you saying yes now to get ahead?
Renters' Rights Act 2024 & 2026 makes pets much harder to refuse. I've started saying yes to cats with a pet insurance requirement written into the tenancy. Two years in, zero iss…
10 replies25d ago
Legislation & ComplianceJ. M.Liverpool
Awaab's Law extending to private rented — how ready are we?
Awaab's Law originally hit social landlords. It's coming to the PRS with strict repair timescales. What's your process for logging tenant-reported damp and mould so you can prove…
10 replies26d ago
Legislation & CompliancePriya S.Reading
Section 21 abolition — what actually changes on day one?
Trying to get my head around commencement. On the switch-on date, do all existing ASTs convert to periodic automatically, or is there a transition window? My solicitor is being ca…
5 replies28d ago
Legislation & ComplianceBeth A.York
Legislative burden — is anyone else just exhausted?
RRA 2024 & 2026, MTD, EPC changes, potential Awaab's Law extension, portal registration, database, decent homes standard for PRS. I've got 2 flats. This is a full second job now.…
6 replies28d ago
Legislation & ComplianceJ. K. from LeedsLeeds
Renters' Rights Act 2024 & 2026 — final commencement date any clearer?
MHCLG comms this week suggested phased commencement through 2026. Anyone else read the same? Trying to decide whether to reissue tenancies now or wait.
4 replies28d ago
Legislation & ComplianceFarida S.Brighton
New user — first week on RentDocs and I'm converted
Ex-spreadsheet landlord here. Signed up last Tuesday, put my 4 properties in, generated my first tenancy pack and got e-signatures back the same day. The compliance scoring made m…
4 replies29d ago
Legislation & ComplianceS. B. from SheffieldSheffield
EPC C by 2028 — how far through the upgrades are you?
Have three properties at D. Loft insulation done on two. Cavity wall next. Anyone finished all upgrades already?
3 replies29d ago
Legislation & ComplianceSophie M.Manchester
Awaab's Law timelines in the private sector
My understanding is the strict timeframes hit social first, then private. What's the realistic date the same duties bite for us, and is anyone building an internal SLA now to get…
5 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceK. W. from NottinghamNottingham
Section 21 transition — pending cases still going through?
Served S21 back in March. Court still hasn't listed. Anyone else stuck in the pre-abolition backlog?
3 replies1mo ago
Legislation & CompliancePeter H.Ipswich
Tenancy agreement clauses that actually hold up in court
Downloaded a "premium" template from somewhere and my solicitor red-lined half of it as unenforceable. What clauses do people actually rely on that survive scrutiny?
4 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceKwame O.Croydon
Evictions — realistic court timeline in 2026
Serving on rent arrears grounds. Solicitor said "6-9 months if nothing goes wrong". Anyone got a recent real-world timeline from notice served to possession granted?
4 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceY. K.Sheffield
Decent Homes Standard in the PRS — quick sanity check
The Decent Homes Standard is being extended to private rentals. My properties are all mid-90s builds with newer kitchens. Anyone had a surveyor do a pre-check? Worth the £250 or o…
8 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceN. J. from LiverpoolLiverpool
Awaab's Law in the PRS — what's your damp/mould response window now?
Rules are tightening. I've set 7 days for investigation, 14 for works. What are others doing?
3 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceOllie R.Chester
New landlord database and portal — what do we actually have to do?
The portal keeps getting mentioned but I can't find a clear "here's the steps" anywhere. Is it live yet? Do I need to pre-register? Is it separate to Rent Smart Wales / Scotland's…
3 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceA. B. from BrightonBrighton
Tenant requesting a dog — RRA "reasonable refusal" in practice
New rules say I can't unreasonably refuse. Flat is 3rd floor, no garden. Is that a reasonable refusal? Any tribunal cases yet?
4 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceY. L. from BathBath
Heat pump retrofit in a Victorian terrace — worth it?
Quoted 14k after grant. EPC would jump from D to B. Anyone regretted it?
3 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceNia L.Cardiff
New rules on pets — are our refusal clauses actually enforceable?
RRA requires us to consider pet requests reasonably. My template still has a blanket "no pets". What's a defensible middle ground that doesn't open the floodgates?
5 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceT. B. from Milton KeynesMilton Keynes
Right to Rent — share codes only, no more passports?
Home Office guidance shifting fully digital. Anyone had a tenant unable to produce a share code?
3 replies1mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceYasmin H.Bristol
First eviction under the new grounds — what should I expect?
Rent arrears case, will fall under the new mandatory grounds. Anyone been through the new process end-to-end yet and can share what surprised them, good or bad?
5 replies2mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceI. S. from ReadingReading
Rent Repayment Orders — protecting yourself
Read a case where a landlord got hit with 12 months RRO for an unlicensed HMO — even though he'd applied and was waiting. Terrifying. What paperwork are you keeping to prove you a…
4 replies2mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceP. D. from NorwichNorwich
Selective licensing — Nottingham renewal fees
Nottingham's selective licensing scheme was renewed and the fees have gone up again. It's £890 per property for 5 years now. Anyone found it actually improves anything or is it ju…
3 replies2mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceP. E. from IpswichIpswich
EPC C by 2028 — is it really happening?
Every year there's a new rumour. Last I read the government paused, then re-committed. Anyone got a straight answer on the current timeline for existing tenancies to hit EPC C? I'…
6 replies2mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceI. C. from ReadingReading
New tenancy agreement — is my old one still legal?
I've been using the same AST template for 8 years. With the Renters' Rights Act I'm assuming most of it is now obsolete. Where are people getting compliant templates from — solici…
6 replies3mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceC. T. from NorwichNorwich
Right to Rent checks after the digital changes
The share code system works okay for most tenants but I had one recently with a biometric card and it flagged. Took 3 days for the Home Office to come back. How are others handlin…
7 replies4mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceI. C. from FalkirkFalkirk
Additional HMO licence — worth it for a 3-bed let to sharers?
My council's additional licensing scheme catches 3-person shares. Anyone gone through the application recently — how long and how much hassle?
3 replies5mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceM. R. from AberdeenAberdeen
Section 21 abolition — what's your exit plan?
With the Renters' Rights Act phasing out Section 21, I'm looking at how others are planning to regain possession for genuine reasons. My worry is the court backlog when I need to…
6 replies7mo ago
Legislation & ComplianceI. M. from NewcastleNewcastle
Awaab's Law — private sector implications
Bit worried about how Awaab's Law is going to be applied to private rentals. Timescales for damp and mould repairs are tight. What's your response process when a tenant reports mo…
3 replies7mo ago

Talk shop with UK landlords & tenants

Rent bidding wars — advertised price only, thoughts?

Section 21 abolition — what's your transition plan for early 2026?

Pets by default — are you saying yes now to get ahead?

Awaab's Law extending to private rented — how ready are we?

Section 21 abolition — what actually changes on day one?

Legislative burden — is anyone else just exhausted?

Renters' Rights Act 2024 & 2026 — final commencement date any clearer?

New user — first week on RentDocs and I'm converted

EPC C by 2028 — how far through the upgrades are you?

Awaab's Law timelines in the private sector

Section 21 transition — pending cases still going through?

Tenancy agreement clauses that actually hold up in court

Evictions — realistic court timeline in 2026

Decent Homes Standard in the PRS — quick sanity check

Awaab's Law in the PRS — what's your damp/mould response window now?

New landlord database and portal — what do we actually have to do?

Tenant requesting a dog — RRA "reasonable refusal" in practice

Heat pump retrofit in a Victorian terrace — worth it?

New rules on pets — are our refusal clauses actually enforceable?

Right to Rent — share codes only, no more passports?

First eviction under the new grounds — what should I expect?

Rent Repayment Orders — protecting yourself

Selective licensing — Nottingham renewal fees

EPC C by 2028 — is it really happening?

New tenancy agreement — is my old one still legal?

Right to Rent checks after the digital changes

Additional HMO licence — worth it for a 3-bed let to sharers?

Section 21 abolition — what's your exit plan?

Awaab's Law — private sector implications