The Renters Rights Bill is well-intentioned. Protecting tenants from unfair eviction is a noble goal. But the way government is sequencing reforms is illogical — and damaging. They have put the cart before the horse, abolishing Section 21 before fixing the courts, before embedding conciliation and mediation, before ensuring arbitration is linked to resolution. 

The result? A shrinking private rented sector, rising rents, and the most vulnerable tenants pushed closer to homelessness. 

'Reform without sequencing is not reform — it is chaos.' 

 The Quix-MTD team will be at our meeting this month to demonstrate how spreadsheet users can use their product to simply upload and submit the necessary information to HMRC if they choose to go that route, rather than changing the way they operate in order to switch to a landlord software package.

We know they exist - the media and tenant groups constantly remind us - but fortunately rogue landlords are few and far between AND typically they are not uncaring, money grabbing slum landlords or like those responsible for the Highland Clearances in the 18th century, these days they are more likely to be under-resourced and badly managed local councils or social housing providers,  

This months example identified fire risks that needed to be addressed over 10 years ago and they are still unresolved.

 I have been doing a lot on MTD recently and I know many landlords are annoyed at the prospect of having to subscribe to an expensive online accounting package and in the case of husband and wife landlords like Rachel and I, paying twice!

...and How Landlord LRA Makes It Simple

There are a mountain of responsibilities that come with being a landlord and one that sometimes gets overlooked is Legionella.

So what is it, where does it come from, is it really a risk in simple water systems, do you need to assess that risk or is it just another check box that you need to tick….

Matt Etherington of  legionella specialists, Landlord LRA,  answers some of the most frequent questions you may have and that we get asked!

Instead of our usual Christmas Social, we chose to gather for brunch at Southsea Marina this year (or last year, depending on when you're reading this). It was a wonderful occasion, enjoyed by all.

Rent to rent is a growth area for the property sector. Some of those properties are rented on to the social sector for various forms of accommodation and that has caused much debate in Planning meetings here in Portsmouth. It is a solution fraught with risk for the landlord unless the contractual relationship is clear and the management levels high - and that could all get worse under the Renters Rights Act but.... renting these properties into the social sector will become more appealing.

Legal expert David Smith outlines the pros and cons....

It seems to be a perennial problem that the appropriate paperwork has been served, the local authority have a duty to house (in order to prevent homelessness) and yet the tenant believes they have been told no help will be forthcoming until the bailiffs arrive.

We asked via one of our local MP's for evidence to support our case from the House of Commons Library, this is what they said.... 

Local landlord and PDPLA Member John Hodgart wrote in anger to his local MP about the impact upon him (and his student tenants) of the Renters Rights Act if implemented as proposed. He was even less happy when he saw the Ministers response.

Negative Effects of the RRA for Tenants

Court Judgement Based on AI Mistake

Government 2025 Report Card

HMRC Net £107m from Landlord Investigations

Make the most of your membership - use our Landlords Checklist (https://pdpla.com/documents/landlords-checklist) to ensure you don't miss a vital piece of paperwork when you create or manage a tenancy and regularly check our Hot Topics for the latest news on Renters Rights (Renters' Rights Bill - Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Association), MTD and many other important topics.