The Importance of a Letting Agent’s Terms of Business

The Terms and Conditions of Business sit at the heart of any letting agency providing both landlord and agent with a clear structure of how the contractual relationship will work. Generally, it is the corporate letting agent who reviews their Terms of Business and fee structure on a regular basis and not only when there is a change in legislation.

However, with the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on the horizon, letting agents are looking closely at the services they offer and the new processes that will be required as a consequence of the RRA 2025.

For example, the removal of fixed term tenancies means that tenancy renewals will no longer exist. Whilst this may not be a significant change for those managing properties, for the letting agent who has a business model where the focus has been on the Let Only landlord, changes need to be made. This not only applies to the fee structure, but also to the services that will be offered to landlords.

Rent Reviews - A Continuation of the Tenancy Agreement

With the removal of the fixed term tenancy, the key date for the landlord will be the anniversary date / rent due date (often the same) and it will be at this point that the rent can be increased. Prior to the 1st May 2026, the rent increase process will form part of the renewal process, however, with renewals no longer being required, letting agents must take into consideration not only the new mechanism for increasing rent, but also that rent increases will be in line with Market Rent and therefore, require the letting agent to put together a comprehensive set f information which justifies the increase. This process with also include a discussion with landlord and tenant to ensure that the expectations of both parties are met.

The letting agent will be required to serve the Section 13 Notice (Form 4A) within the statutory guidelines contained within the RRA 2025. Then letting agent should also consider whether they will deal with the tenant challenging the rent increase via the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) and provide the landlord with the support they require.

The Information Sheet

If a tenancy agreement already exists in writing,. the landlord (letting agent) will be required to provide tenants with a copy of the ‘Information Sheet’ published by the government on or before 31 May 2026. The ‘Information Sheet’ must be given to all tenants named on a tenancy agreement and their guarantors, and can be provided electronically or in hard copy format. Therefore, the letting agent will be required, at the request of the landlord, to ensure the Information Sheet is completed correctly and served within strict time-frames.

The Written Statement of Terms and Information

For tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026, tenants must be issued with the ‘Written Statement of Terms and Information’. This will also apply to any verbal agreement entered into before 1 May 2026. Again the landlord will be required to comply with this new legal duty which is likely to be fulfilled by a letting agent who manages properties on the landlord’s behalf.

Further Changes

Once Phase 1 of the implementation of the RRA 2025 has been completed, landlords will begin to prepare for the introduction of the Private Rented Sector Database. This will require ensuring the rental property is compliant, relevant documents are in place and therefore, ready to upload on to the PRS Database. Letting agents are likely to assist landlords in complying and providing reassurance that there are no omissions, errors or mistakes.

Points to Consider

Under existing management TOB, will letting agents: -

• Serve the Information Sheet to all existing tenants (Where applicable guarantors) for free?

• Serve the Written Statement of Terms for free?

• Deal with rent reviews and challenges by the tenant?