The Renters’ Rights Act was designed to rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants – and for the most part, that is exactly what it is doing. Tenants now have clearer rights, a formal route to escalate concerns, and far more confidence about what they are entitled to ask for. That is not a reason for landlords to worry. But it is a reason to make sure your own processes are watertight, because the honest truth is that self-managing landlords are now more exposed to complaints and disputes than they were before – simply because tenants have more ways to raise them.
A new Ombudsman gives tenants a formal route to complain.
The Private Rented Sector Ombudsman scheme was approved under the Renters’ Rights Act in November 2025, and membership will be a legal requirement for all private landlords in England with assured tenancies – including those who use a managing agent. The government has indicated there will be a membership fee, though the exact amount has not yet been confirmed, and the finer implementation details are still being developed.
Once live, the Ombudsman is intended to offer tenants a fair, impartial and binding way to resolve disputes without going to court – covering issues such as repairs, tenancy decisions, and how a landlord has responded to a complaint. For landlords, that means a formal, documented complaints process now sits behind almost every interaction you have with a tenant.
What counts as a complaint now
With Section 21 gone and tenancies now running on a periodic, ongoing basis rather than a fixed term, the relationship between landlord and tenant is a continuous one – and so is the opportunity for something to be challenged. Rent increase notices, how a repair request was handled, a decision about a tenant’s pet, or the paperwork behind a possession claim can all become the subject of a complaint. None of this is about tenants being unreasonable – it is simply that the Act has given them clearer grounds and a clearer route to raise concerns when something has not been handled correctly.
Why self-managing landlords carry more exposure
Industry research from The Letting Partnership found that 62.5% of letting agents have seen the time their teams spend on compliance and administration increase since the Renters’ Rights Act, and 22.7% say increased disputes or uncertainty have been the single biggest operational consequence of the reforms. Tellingly, seven in ten agents (70.8%) believe the The act will make professional letting agents more important to landlords – including a quarter who believe agents will become significantly more important.
That is not agents talking about their own book. It reflects a simple reality: the paperwork now has to be right. An incorrectly served notice, the wrong ground cited for possession, or a rent increase that has not followed the statutory process can turn a routine landlord decision into a challengeable one – potentially in front of a tribunal, the Ombudsman, or both. And the penalties for getting the underlying compliance wrong are not trivial: civil penalties starting at £7,000 for an initial breach, rising to £40,000 or criminal prosecution for repeated or serious non-compliance, alongside the risk of rent repayment orders.
How professional management shields you
A good managing agent’s value under this Act is less about finding tenants and more about reducing the number of ways things can go wrong. That means notices and paperwork prepared correctly and on time, rent increases handled through the proper statutory process, and a documented, professional response to every tenant query before it has the chance to become a formal complaint.
It also means having someone whose job it is to stay on top of a still-developing rulebook – including Ombudsman membership itself – so you are never the landlord who finds out about a new requirement only after missing it.
How Hunters Southampton protects you
At Hunters Southampton, we see reducing your legal exposure as a core part of what we do – not an afterthought. We handle the day-to-day tenant relationship so that small concerns get resolved quickly and professionally, long before they have any reason to escalate. Our processes are built around the Renters’ Rights Act as it stands today, and we keep them updated as the remaining detail – including the Ombudsman’s own rules – is confirmed.
For landlords, that means one thing: you get the benefit of a stronger tenant relationship without carrying all of the compliance risk that now comes with it on your own.
Talk to us about managing your property.
If you’d like to understand exactly where your current approach leaves you exposed – and what professional management would change – get in touch with the team at Hunters Southampton. We’re here to help you let it with confidence and with the right protection in place.
