Landlords have started putting up rents and toughening checks on tenants after the Renters’ Rights Act was passed last month, research from Pegasus Insight found.
Pegasus Insight’s Landlord Trends Q3 2025 report showed 81% of landlords planned to be more selective with tenants, and 71% said they would raise rents to cover new costs and rules.
73% of landlords expected the Act to hit their own lettings business, and 81% thought it would have a negative effect on the wider private rented sector (PRS).
Mark Long (pictured), founder and managing director of Pegasus Insight, said: “The Renters’ Rights Act marks one of the most significant shifts in the private rented sector in decades, and many landlords are preparing cautiously.
“Faced with stricter limits on rent reviews and growing uncertainty around evictions, they’re acting pre-emptively to protect income and manage risk.
“These are rational business responses, but they risk compounding the affordability pressures tenants are already facing.”
The research also found landlords and tenants had different views on the changes.
Landlords expected higher costs and less flexibility, while tenants mostly saw the new law as a win for renters.
Long added: “Our recent Tenant Trends research found that almost half of renters believe the Renters’ Rights Act will benefit them, largely due to stronger protections and limits on rent rises.
“But the corresponding Landlord Trends data tells another story: four in five landlords say they’ll be more choosy about who they let to, and two-thirds intend to raise rents in response to the new rules.
“This mismatch between perception and reality underlines how complex PRS reform can be: policies designed to protect tenants could, unintentionally, make it harder for them to find and afford a home.”
