A quarter of landlords are more likely to reject applicants previously accepted before the Renters’ Rights Act.

Goodlord’s annual State of the Lettings Industry reveals that nearly a third (31%) of landlords would also rather leave a property vacant while waiting for a lower-risk applicant, highlighting fears around the more complicated and expensive eviction process.

Its survey of more than 3,000 UK letting agents, landlords and tenants found that the abolition of Section 21, the inability to pay rent in advance, and the ban on over-bidding are making landlords behave far more cautiously.

It also found that over half (51%) of agents are now more cautious when recommending applicants compared to the same time last year.

Irony

“The deep irony here is that certain tenants will now be far more likely to struggle to secure tenancies,” says Goodlord CEO William Reeve, “creating a gulf between those settled in their properties and those seeking a new place to call home. Students, foreign nationals and those with non-traditional incomes are likely to fare the worst, becoming ‘outsiders’ in an increasingly cautious market.”

While the overall mood is brightening across the market, tenants and larger agents are more upbeat, with landlords and smaller agents feeling pessimistic

Optimism

Optimism has risen significantly among tenants, up from 20% to 37% but while landlord pessimism has also reduced compared to last year, the vast majority are feeling far from optimistic about the future of lettings; 69% of landlords remain pessimistic compared to 78% in 2025. Goodlord says it's larger landlords who are feeling most downbeat with 81% of landlords with six+ properties pessimistic compared to 63% of those with one property.

“Tenants and landlords are at opposite ends of the sentiment spectrum, which doesn’t bode well when it comes to persuading landlords to stay in the market,” Reeve adds.

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