Across the UK, people are struggling with short-term tenancies, damp bedrooms, increasing rents and, all too often, a constant fear of being moved on. Without a stable home, renters – who make up around 35% of the UK population – cannot genuinely experience a lifestyle that supports good health, a sense of community connection – or a productive workforce.
Secure housing is essential for UK economic growth
That is both why the Renters’ Rights Act, which passes into law today, is vital – and why it is only the first (and easiest) step in this journey.
Done well, this legislation could help create healthier, happier homes, and give people the security to contribute to their community and country. But the real test will be whether its measures – which include ending fixed-term tenancies, abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions, and tightening the rules on how rents can be increased – can be effectively applied in the messy reality of the private rented sector.
Government information is explicit that the Act’s changes apply automatically, even if landlords never update the paperwork, and that they cannot be written out of tenancy agreements. But rights on paper don’t protect anyone unless they are implemented consistently and well. If renters can’t access advice, don’t feel safe enough to complain, or see enforcement as something that happens to and for other people, today’s legislation risks being visible to professionals and campaigners, but largely unused by the people it is meant to serve
To prevent that happening, and to give the legal and practical framework of the Renters Rights Act a chance to improve tenants’ living conditions, policymakers and those delivering the Act must take steps to ensure communities know how to find timely advice, evidence disrepair, engage productively with landlords, and escalate cases when things don’t improve. This will only be possible if policymakers work with communities to remove the practical barriers people come up against, including any issues in enforcement. If the work required to understand renters’ lived experiences is tagged on as an afterthought, the Act risks failing to benefit those most in need.
Making renters’ rights work in practice
In big cities particularly, where the private rented sector is large, expensive, and highly mobile, these questions are especially urgent. Such conditions intensify both insecurity and poor standards. The extent to which the Act reduces those factors and improves tenants’ lives should be how we judge its success. Among the outcomes people care about will be fewer forced moves, fewer unresolved hazards, faster repairs, and a clearer sense that speaking up leads to improvement rather than risk – not how many notices were served or how many cases were opened.
None of this is an argument for delay; it is an argument on how the Act should be actioned across the UK. If the government wants the Renters’ Rights Act to be valued as a turning point for UK tenants, it must fund its enforcement as well as the advice ecosystem that helps people use the law. Mayors and local councils can help by coordinating standards work, sharing intelligence, and ensuring renters have access to information about their rights in places they already trust.
Done well, the prize is bigger than a tidier statute book, it’s a country where people can lay down roots, plan ahead, connect with their community, and have the resilience to contribute to society. That is what a pro-growth housing agenda should deliver.
Read our Just Transition in London’s Retrofits research for the Greater London Authority, where our findings similarly recommended creating a centralised, regionally-tailored support system with community experience at its heart, to build trust and foster resident engagement.
Housing and regeneration Inequality Places Posted on: 1 May 2026 Authors: Jacob Coburn,