The Intermediary –- May 2026 - Flipbook - Page 48
BUY-TO-LET
Opinion
Quality, management
and resilience matter
more than ever
F
or most responsible
landlords with well
maintained, good quality
properties, there is lile
reason to believe that the
shi to periodic tenancies
will materially increase the likelihood
or frequency of voids.
While fixed-term residential
tenancy agreements offered some
certainty over rental periods, in
practice they are typically short,
usually six to 12 months, and far
shorter than a typical mortgage term.
As a result, even under the assured
shorthold tenancy (AST) structure,
landlords oen experienced multiple
successive tenancies, each carrying the
possibility of void periods.
The focus of the new legislation is to
provide tenants with greater security
of tenure, enabling them to remain in
a property for longer, not to encourage
higher turnover.
However, landlords with properties
affected by negative factors such
as less desirable locations, poor
maintenance, or who are slow
with responses to repairs, may see
different outcomes. This may indeed
influence both landlord and lender
aitudes to both property suitability,
maintenance and repair.
Landlords may move away
from pursuing maximum yield,
particularly where this previously
involved acquiring secondary
properties – perhaps as those near
commercial premises or noisy
infrastructure that could be bought
at a discount but let at near market
rents. Instead, they may favour more
desirable properties to encourage
longer-term tenancies and reduce the
possibility of increasing turnover and
void periods.
Similarly, lenders may adjust
their risk appetite and become more
46
The Intermediary | May 2026
cautious about lending on properties
affected by adverse factors, even where
this is reflected in the capital value, to
improve the longer-term prospect of a
stable and sustainable rental income.
The changes may also require
landlords to be more responsive to
maintenance and repair issues. If
problems are not addressed promptly,
tenants will not have to tolerate this
for months on end, and instead will
have the ability to terminate the
tenancy at any time with relatively
lile notice. This is likely to benefit
tenants through faster resolution of
issues, which in turn may benefit
lenders, who could see improved
upkeep of the properties on which
their loans are secured.
Survey says
From a surveying perspective,
surveyors will need to be alert to
properties that are more likely to
aract long-term tenants and provide
a consistent rental income to service
the loan.
This includes assessing not only
the physical and locational aributes,
but also the apparent standard of
maintenance and repair, which
together support stable long-term
tenancies and more predictable
rental income.
Surveyors will also need to apply
greater caution when recommending
properties affected by less desirable
factors, or those showing signs of
inadequate maintenance, and as a
result may be more vulnerable to
increased tenant turnover and longer
void periods under the new legislation.
The Renters’ Rights Act is
likely to widen the gap between
professional, well-capitalised
landlords with strong stock and
robust management practices, and
those whose model depends on thin
ANDREW PETERS
is associate
director of technical
services at Countrywide
Surveying Services
Surveyors [must]
apply greater caution
when recommending
properties affected by less
desirable factors”
margins, lower quality properties or
deferred expenditure.
Underwriting, valuation and
portfolio monitoring will all need to
reflect that distinction more clearly.
The winners in this new
environment are likely to be those
who see the Act not simply as a
regulatory burden, but as a prompt to
improve asset quality, responsiveness
and long-term occupancy
performance.
Ultimately, the Renters’ Rights
Act should be seen as more than a
tenancy reform. It is a redefinition
of what makes rental income
sustainable. It rewards desirable, wellmaintained property and professional
management.
It puts greater pressure on landlords
who have relied on lower quality
stock, slower repairs or contractual
rigidity to protect returns. And it asks
lenders and surveyors to look beyond
headline yield to the underlying
drivers of tenancy durability.
In that respect, the Act may not
reduce opportunity in the private
rented sector so much as redraw where
the best opportunities now lie. ●
