How to Be a Good Landlord Under the Renters' Rights Act: A Practical Guide

A good landlord communicates before acting and completes the formal step properly afterwards: explaining a rent increase before serving Form 4A, contacting the tenant at the first missed payment, acknowledging repairs in writing the same day, and responding to pet requests within the 28 day statutory window. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 each of these situations has a formal route with civil penalties for getting it wrong, so good practice and legal compliance are now the same discipline.

Within 28 days, in writing. Under section 16A of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, a landlord who receives a written pet request must give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days, and consent must not be unreasonably refused. If the landlord does not respond in time, the request is generally treated as granted. The period can extend where the landlord reasonably asks for further information or needs a superior landlord's consent.

Because every enforcement route under the Renters' Rights Act judges landlords on their records: councils can impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 on the balance of probabilities, the PRS Landlord Ombudsman will review how complaints were handled, and possession grounds must be evidenced in court. A dated record of conversations, notices, repair responses and proof of service is what turns good conduct into a defence. Compliance evidence systems such as LLCR are designed to hold that record in one place, with expiry alerts on certificates and an exportable file when a council or tribunal asks.