Renters’ Rights Act 2026: How Letting Agents Can Reduce Compliance Workload Without Increasing Costs
Renters’ Rights Act 2026: How Letting Agents Can Reduce Compliance Workload Without Increasing Costs
Every now and then, a headline in the property press stops us in our tracks. In February, it was one that appeared on Property Industry Eye: “Twice the compliance. Same old agency fees. Does that add up?”
The headline was the work of author Rachel Ollington, who examined how the incoming Renters’ Rights Act on 1st May 2026 will increase the compliance workload of agents and property managers.
A long line of new compliance ahead
It’s an absolute given that lettings professionals will have several tiers of new work, from transitioning ASTs to rolling periodic tenancies, ensuring landlords understand Section 8 notices and issuing tenants with new prescribed information, to restructuring listings, handling pet requests and advising landlords on new rent review policies.
The multi-phase implementation of the Act means the learning curve will continue. Later in 2026 will see a new landlords’ ombudsman launch, as well as the introduction of a compulsory database. More documents to file, more red tape to navigate, more risk for agents to manage.
In the background, professionals will be preparing for a new PRS Decent Homes Standard, Awaab’s Law and a change to the minimum EPC requirements required to legally rent out a property. Rachel rightly asked whether letting agents and property managers could continue charging the same fees moving forward, in light of an increasing compliance burden.
Workload worries are evident
The push to increase fees is justified given workloads will exponentially grow but the money issue is masking something else: who will actually undertake all this new work? It’s crystal clear that letting agents and property managers will need to focus on legislation in a way that almost feels lawyer-ish. Financial penalties for breaches will soon rise and tenants will enjoy a powerful new stance, with increasing rights to challenge and mount prosecutions.
Agents will need ‘boots on the ground’
Yet compliance is also out in the field. It involves visiting properties, inspecting rooms and checking workmanship. It needs people to let in gas engineers, electricians, energy assessors, damp specialists and fire safety representatives. It needs face-to-face interaction so tenants feel safeguarded and landlords supported. The backbone of compliance remains in inventories, check-in procedures, mid-term inspections and check-out processes.
As such, lettings will split into two core competencies: desk-based compliance, which will accommodate existing legislation and the phased implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, and field-compliance that involves physical visits, precise record keeping and defined time stamps.
There are solutions to the impending resourcing crisis. Employing extra staff is one of them but it’s a fixed-cost overhead that involves National Insurance, an automatic enrolment workplace pension with minimum contributions, sick pay, holiday pay, equipment and training.
A professional partner in the field
A second solution is to outsource the ‘in the field’ tasks. This frees agents to focus on advisory work, compliance and risk management, clearly demonstrating their value and justifying their fees.
Viewber’s ‘boots on the ground’ services have evolved with all aspects of the Renters’ Rights Act in mind. We have understood the current and forthcoming compliance benchmarks and tailored property solutions for each.
Services developed for the Renters’ Rights Act
Viewber’s focus is on visiting private – and social – rented properties to inspect, check, log and report back on condition in a way that assists property managers and safeguard landlords’ interests. A Viewber can undertake and create:
• Condition reports, noting damage, vandalism, wear and tear
• Vacant property checks, inside and out
• Right to Rent and document checks
• Mid-term inspections
• Visual reports checking for condensation, damp and mould
• Bespoke reports focusing on specific elements
• Creation of EPCs
• 5-point fire door inspections
• Person-centred fire risk assessments with vulnerable tenants
• Audible checks of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms
• Block and communal area checks
Pay as you go for better budgeting
Unlike hiring an extra member of permanent staff at cost, Viewber operates on a ‘pay as you go’ basis. Order as many, or as few, property visits as you need and only pay for appointments you have booked. Never be over or understaffed again.
A Viewber for every property
We work at scale, with a network of more than 5,000+ Viewbers who provide blanket nationwide coverage. Our set-up means we have a Viewber able to visit every UK property seven days a week, with unsociable hours availability too. The result? We’re working when tenants are at home, and when agents are enjoying time with their families. The more visits successfully booked, the less chance of lapses in compliance – especially when you consider that Awaab’s Law will come with prescribed response timeframes.
Watertight audit trails
Viewber also understands the importance of audit trails and proof in a Renters’ Rights Act landscape, so our reports can be evidenced with photographs and video footage in addition to an accurate written summary. Each post-visit report is added to a client’s digital dashboard, with a time stamp and easy access.
If you’d like to concentrate on the administrative side of compliance, reducing risks and managing legally sound portfolios, talk to Viewber. Our network of viewing and inspection professionals can be deployed at short notice or on a scheduled basis in line with prescribed timeframes.
Send a Viewber on your behalf as part of diligent time and risk management.
