The Renters' Rights Act 2025: Why Smart Landlords Are Making The Switch Now

The Renters Reform Bill is keeping landlords awake at night. And rightfully so. What was once a straightforward buy-to-let model has become a minefield of regulations, restrictions, and rising costs. If you're a landlord feeling the pressure, you're not alone—and there's a smarter path forward.

The Reality of What's Coming

The Renters Reform Bill represents the most significant shake-up to the private rental sector in decades. Here's what's actually changing:

Abolished Section 21 "No-Fault" Evictions

Gone are the days of being able to reclaim your property with two months' notice. Section 21 has been abolished, and now you'll need specific grounds to evict a tenant - and the process will be longer, more complex, and more expensive.

Extended Notice Periods

Even with valid grounds for eviction, you'll be facing significantly longer notice periods. That problematic tenant? You could be stuck with them for months longer than before.

Strengthened Tenant Rights

Tenants will have increased protection against rent increases and stronger grounds to challenge property conditions. More tribunal cases. More legal fees. More headaches for landlords across the UK.

The Decent Homes Standard

Your property will need to meet more stringent quality requirements. More mandatory upgrades. More compliance checks. More costs eating into already-shrinking margins.

What This Means for Your Returns:

As experienced professional landlords, our opinion is that traditional buy-to-let is becoming a harder game to win.

With mortgage rates still elevated, maintenance costs rising, and now regulatory compliance adding to your burden, many landlords are seeing their margins squeezed to uncomfortable levels. The buy-to-let alternatives UK landlords are exploring have never been more relevant.

And here's the kicker—you're losing control of your own asset. Can't easily reclaim it. Can't quickly remove problem tenants. Can't adjust to market conditions without jumping through regulatory hoops.

Why Short-Term Lets Sidestep These Problems:

Here's what most landlords don't realise: short-term rental arrangements operate under an entirely different regulatory framework.

You Retain Complete Control

No Section 21 concerns because you're not under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. Your property, your timeline, your decisions. This is the key Section 21 alternative that experienced landlords are discovering.

Flexibility When You Need It

Want to sell? Need the property for the family? Market conditions changed? With short-stays, you have the flexibility to pivot immediately - not in 6-12 months after a lengthy eviction process. This flexibility is why short-term rental management is becoming the preferred alternative to buy-to-let.

No Long-Term Tenant Risk

Problem guests leave after a shorter period, not after a tribunal hearing months down the line. Wear and tear is managed with professional cleaning after every stay, not discovered at the end of a three-year tenancy.

Higher Returns in a Tighter Market

While traditional landlords are seeing returns compress under regulatory pressure, short-term rental properties in the right locations are generating 30-50% more income. That's not marketing speak - that's what properly managed serviced accommodation can deliver.

Our Rental Market Predictions

Here's what we're seeing on the ground across the Thames Valley—and what industry analysts are predicting nationally:

More Landlords Will Exit Traditional BTL

The National Residential Landlords Association estimates that 18% of landlords are considering selling up in the next 12 months. That's nearly one in five, all looking for a viable landlord exit strategy.

Supply Constraints Will Push Rents Higher

Fewer landlords + same demand = higher rents for those who remain. But also more competition from desperate tenants, more tribunal disputes, and more regulatory scrutiny.

Institutional Investors Will Dominate

Large build-to-rent operators can absorb regulatory compliance costs. Small portfolio landlords? Not so much. The market is shifting away from the individual landlord model that's sustained British property investment for generations.

Alternative Rental Models Will Grow

Short-term rentals, serviced accommodation, and corporate lets will capture an increasing share of the market. These models offer what traditional BTL no longer can: control, flexibility, and strong returns. Understanding short-term rental vs long-term rental returns is crucial for making this decision.

The Solution as we see it…

Some people might ask, “Won’t the short-let sector get regulated soon too?” - It's a fair question. The government has signalled potential regulation of short-term lets, but here's why the two are fundamentally different:

Short-term rental regulation focuses on planning permission and local authority registration, not tenant rights and eviction restrictions. You'll still maintain control of your property, flexibility over usage, and the ability to exit the market quickly if needed.

Even in areas with short-term let restrictions (like certain London boroughs), exemptions exist for owner-occupied properties and those let for less than 90 days per year. A professional property management operator knows how to navigate these frameworks.

If you're a landlord with 2-3 properties, approaching retirement, and watching your returns compress while your stress levels rise, why continue down a path that's only getting harder?

The landlords making the switch now are the ones who'll look back in two years and feel relieved they moved early. The ones who wait until they're forced out by regulation or problem tenants? They'll wish they'd acted sooner.

This is about finding the right alternative to buy-to-let before the market forces your hand.

What You Could Do Next..

If you're in the Thames Valley, or surrounding areas, get a free revenue assessment from Spire. No obligation. No sales pitch.

We'll show you:

• What your property currently generates vs. what it could earn with short-term rentals

• How the numbers actually work when comparing short-term rental vs long-term rental (real figures, not optimistic projections)

• Whether your specific property is suited to the short-term model (not every property is)

• What working with professional short-term rental management would actually involve

The Renters Reform Bill isn't coming, it’s here already. The question is whether you adapt with a smart landlord exit strategy from traditional letting, or get left behind.

We've successfully helped landlords across Marlow, Henley, and the wider

Thames Valley region transition to higher-earning, lower-stress property strategies.

Book your free revenue assessment today and discover why serviced accommodation is the smart alternative to buy-to-let that experienced landlords are choosing.