At Goldsmith Property, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the ever-changing legislative landscape affecting landlords. Our focus has always been on ensuring our clients can enjoy hassle-free rental income, underpinned by legal compliance and expert guidance. The upcoming Renters' Rights Bill (RRB) is another significant shift, and one that could have a major impact — particularly on the popular Rent to Rent (R2R) strategy.

If you’re a landlord currently self-managing or considering R2R arrangements, it’s essential to understand how these changes could affect you.

What is Rent to Rent?

Rent to Rent has been a popular model among cash-poor property investors and hands-off landlords. The basic idea is simple:

• An investor guarantees rent to the landlord for a fixed term (often 2–5 years).

• The investor handles minor maintenance.

• They then let the property out, often as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) or for short-term holiday lets.

• Some larger companies even use this model to house asylum seekers.

When done well, it can offer benefits for both parties: the landlord enjoys guaranteed income without the day-to-day headaches of property management, and the investor profits from subletting arrangements. In fact, I’ve personally used R2R strategies in the past and have seen them work well — when properly managed.

However, the Renters' Rights Bill looks set to fundamentally undermine this model through two key legal changes.

1. The End of Section 21 'No Fault' Evictions

Under most Rent to Rent agreements, investors select the tenants and manage the lettings. When the agreement comes to an end, they usually serve Section 21 notices to regain possession of the property — ensuring it’s handed back to the landlord empty.

The RRB will remove Section 21 altogether.

Without Section 21, landlords cannot simply ask tenants to leave at the end of a tenancy term. If a Rent to Rent agreement ends, the landlord could inherit tenants they didn’t select — tenants who could be wonderful or, unfortunately, problematic.

If those tenants stop paying rent or breach tenancy agreements, removing them could be costly and time-consuming, involving court action under stricter grounds for possession. Worse still, if tenants are not in breach, there may be no route to regain possession at all.

For a landlord seeking a stress-free income, this level of risk is unacceptable. Would you really want to hand over your property to a third party and trust them to select tenants you might be unable to remove later?

At Goldsmith Property, our ethos is to protect our landlords from precisely these kinds of risks, offering professional management that keeps you in control — not locked into stressful legal battles.

2. Superior Landlord Liability

The second major change is about legal responsibility.

Until now, in Rent to Rent arrangements, the immediate landlord (the investor managing the tenants) was held liable for legal compliance issues such as HMO licensing. A recent case, Rakusen v Jepsen, tested this: when the Rent to Renter failed to obtain an HMO license and went into receivership, the property owner (the superior landlord) was found not liable for a rent repayment order.

However, the government sees this as a loophole — and the RRB will close it. Moving forward, superior landlords will be liable for compliance failures even if they are not managing the property.

In practice, this means:

• You, as the property owner, will need to actively monitor your Rent to Rent investor’s compliance.

• If there’s a breach — whether licensing, deposit protection, gas safety, or anything else — you could be financially and legally responsible.

But if you are already having to monitor every aspect of legal compliance, what is the point of a Rent to Rent arrangement? You’re back to carrying all the risk and responsibility, without the control or the full benefit of direct management.

What Does This Mean for Landlords?

At Goldsmith Property, we believe these legal changes will make Rent to Rent arrangements largely unworkable for landlords seeking a low-stress, low-risk income. We expect many Rent to Rent companies to exit the market altogether, and for landlords to increasingly seek professional, fully compliant management services.

For landlords currently involved in Rent to Rent agreements, these changes also raise urgent questions about what happens when the law comes into force. Future-proofing your property portfolio will mean reassessing how you let and manage your assets.

We’re here to help you navigate these changes, offering property expertise you can trust, and service you’ll value.

If you are self-managing or worried about your current Rent to Rent arrangements, contact Goldsmith Property today for an expert, no-obligation consultation.