Well. It's here.

After months of guides, webinars, countdown clocks and more newsletter sections than we can count, the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. The private rental sector in England has officially changed - permanently. We know some of you will feel relieved it's finally landed. Others may still have questions. Either way, we're here.

This month we're taking stock of what the new landscape actually looks like, sharing some honest thinking from the blog about what makes property management genuinely valuable (hint: it's not the process), and reflecting on what it takes to build something that holds up when things get hard.

As always, if you want to talk anything through, just give us a call.

Featured in this edition:

Renters’ Rights Act Deep Dive

Hackney Licensing

PropertyMark Trust

Best In Postcode

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The most significant reform to the private rented sector in a generation took effect on 1 May. Section 21 'no-fault' evictions are abolished. All new tenancies are now periodic from the outset. Landlords must now rely on specific, defined grounds to regain possession of a property.

If you served a Section 21 notice before 1 May, it remains valid but it must reach the court system no later than 31 July 2026 (regardless of whether the standard 6-month validity period has elapsed).

Phases 2 and 3 of the Act (the Landlord Ombudsman, PRS Database, Decent Homes Standard, and Awaab's Law) are still to come later in the year and beyond.

We've updated our Renters' Rights Hub with everything you need - plain-English summaries, FAQs, and resources. If you haven't visited it yet, now is the moment.

Full guidance → https://www.baseps.co.uk/renters-rights-bill-2025-latest-updates

Also landing on 1 May - Hackney Council's new property licensing schemes came into force. If you own rental property in the borough, there's a good chance you now need a licence.

Here's what's in play: a borough-wide Additional HMO Licensing Scheme covering all HMOs occupied by three or more people from two or more households, and a Selective Licensing Scheme covering private rentals in 17 of Hackney's 21 wards. Fees are £925 for a single home and £1,400 for an HMO. Non-compliance carries civil penalties of up to £30,000 per offence, with unlimited fines if prosecuted.

Worth noting: Haggerston, Hoxton East and Shoreditch, Hoxton West and Woodberry Down are not included in the selective licensing designation - so if your property sits in those wards, selective licensing doesn't apply to you (though HMO licensing still may).

If you're unsure whether your property is affected, the council's postcode checker is the quickest way to find out - or just give us a call and we'll help you work it through.

Check your property → https://hackney.gov.uk/property-licensing

Most clients experience property in predictable ways. But there's another side - the one that only becomes visible when something goes wrong. Not a delayed payment, but a real life event: illness, bereavement, sudden financial difficulty.

A conversation with Megan Eighteen went deep into to the Propertymark Trust, which sits quietly alongside the day-to-day industry and steps in when the usual structures fall short. It doesn't come up often - but it speaks directly to the kind of industry you're engaging with. An industry that understands people properly tends to deliver better outcomes. That doesn't come from systems alone.

Read more → https://www.baseps.co.uk/blog-posts/what-this-industry-looks-like-under-pressure

We don't shout about awards as much as we probably should, so bear with us for a moment.

We've just been named a Best in Postcode winner by The ESTAS - the largest customer service award scheme in the UK property industry. It's based entirely on verified client reviews and, which makes it one of the more meaningful ones to win. No judging panels, no entry forms. Just what our clients say about us.

As a postcode winner, we've also been shortlisted for the main ESTAS Awards in October, presented by Phil Spencer, in front of around 1,200 of the industry's top professionals. We'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a review. It genuinely matters, and this is the result of it.

See our full awards history → https://www.baseps.co.uk/our-awards