Four months after the Tenants’ Bill of Rights came into force, more than six in 10 agents said their teams were spending more time on compliance and administration.
Research by The Letting Partnership, based on a survey of 163 letting agents in England, found that 62.5% of them had seen their level of compliance and admin workload rise since the reforms were implemented on 1 May.
Nearly three in 10 agents (29.2%) described the increase as significant, while another 33.3% reported a slight increase.
Increased management was identified as the biggest impact of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights by 45.5% of agents surveyed.
Another 18.2% said the main impact was an increased compliance workload, while 22.7% cited increased disputes or uncertainty.
Only 9.1% said the reforms had little or no operational impact on their business.
The results indicate that although the industry has largely adapted to the new framework, the additional requirements create a significant increase in the amount of work involved in managing tenancies and maintaining compliance.
Overall, 79.1% of agents described themselves as either completely or mostly prepared to work under the new rules. However, 20.8% said they were somewhat or less prepared, including 12.5% who said they were completely or not at all prepared.
The research also points to concerns about the impact of the reforms on landlords.
Nearly two-thirds of agents (62.5%) said the Tenants’ Bill of Rights had a negative impact on landlord morale. This included 45.8% who reported a somewhat negative impact and 16.7% who described the impact as very negative.
In comparison, only 16.7% reported a positive impact on landlord morale, while 20.8% said they saw no noticeable change.
Agents were also cautious about the outlook for the private rental sector over the next 12 months.
Half of those surveyed expect the sector to be in a weaker position a year from now. Only 16.6% believe it will be stronger, while 33.3% expect the market to remain broadly unchanged.
A decline in rental supply was the most anticipated long-term outcome of the reforms, cited by 38.1% of agents.
33.3% expect there will be fewer landlords, while 14.3% believe higher rents will be the biggest result in the long term. About 9.5% expect increased use of managing agents to be the main outcome.
Chris Mason, chief operating officer at The Letting Partnership, said the operational impact of the reforms was now clearer.
He said: “The Tenants’ Bill of Rights has generated a great deal of discussion about what it means for landlords and tenants, but four months into implementation, we are also starting to see the operational impact it is having behind the scenes within letting agencies.
“More administration, greater compliance requirements, and increasingly complex operations require additional time and resources. For agents, the challenge is to ensure this increased workload does not come at the expense of the robust processes and controls needed to run a compliant business.”
The survey of 163 letting agents in England was conducted by ProperPR on behalf of The Letting Partnership and was conducted via consumer research platform FindOutNow on 22 August 2026.
