Another RRA deadline, another reason to talk to landlord clients – Cox

For advisers, this is another clear opportunity to contact landlord borrower clients, because this particular requirement affects all landlords with properties in England and, importantly, it introduces another annual cost that they have not previously had to meet.

A timetable advisers can work with

Registration is being introduced region by region, beginning in the West Midlands on 15 December this year, before moving across England on a monthly basis and reaching the South West from 15 August 2027.

Landlords will generally have three months from the start date for their region to complete registration, and it is the location of the rental property that determines when registration is required, rather than where the landlord lives.

That distinction could be particularly important for portfolio landlords with properties across several regions, because they may have multiple dates to consider rather than one registration point covering their entire portfolio.

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There is therefore a ready-made timetable for adviser communications, allowing firms to contact relevant clients before registration opens in their region and make sure they understand what is coming.

Another new cost for landlords

Registration will cost £65 per property and the fee will be payable annually, which means this is another permanent operating cost landlords need to factor into their businesses.

While £65 might not initially sound significant, a landlord with 10 properties faces an additional £650 every year, while a landlord with 20 properties is looking at £1,300 and a 50-property portfolio landlord would face a £3,250 annual registration bill.

That matters because this is not replacing an existing expense but adding a new one – at a time when landlords are already dealing with higher financing, maintenance, insurance and regulatory costs.

We are also only around a month away from the Budget, where there may or may not be further policy announcements affecting landlords, and nobody should be making decisions based on speculation about what the Chancellor might announce.

However, it is perfectly reasonable to expect landlords to be looking closely at their overall costs and considering whether savings can be found elsewhere.

Where can those additional costs be found?

This is where an adviser conversation that may start with Renters’ Rights Act registration can become considerably broader, because new costs provide a very good reason to review existing ones.

Could reviewing mortgage arrangements produce savings that offset some of the registration cost, particularly where loans are approaching maturity, or could refinancing or restructuring improve the overall financial position of the portfolio?

When were insurance arrangements last reviewed? Are individual properties still producing the expected returns? And are there other services available through the adviser that might help the landlord manage their overall costs?

There will not always be a saving to make, and nobody should be changing suitable arrangements simply because another £65 per property has been added to the annual bill, but that should not prevent advisers from asking the questions.

Responsibility remains with the landlord

Landlords should also understand that using a letting agent does not remove their responsibility for registration, because they remain responsible for providing the information required, even where an agent is involved in managing the property.

The registration process will require information about the landlord, property and tenancy, alongside relevant licensing, safety and compliance details, while landlords operating through companies or other organisations will also need to provide information about that legal entity.

This therefore affects individual and corporate landlords alike and, given the increasing number of professional landlords operating through limited companies, advisers should not assume their incorporated clients are somehow outside the requirements.

Keep the RRA conversation going

At Fleet, we have produced a range of Renters’ Rights Act resources for advisers and their landlord clients, including material covering the changes themselves and the conversations advisers might want to have around portfolio performance, borrowing, protection, compliance and longer-term plans. These can be found on our website.

We will continue updating those resources as further detail becomes available, because, as we know, Renters’ Rights Act implementation is an ongoing process rather than a single event.

For advisers, that means there should be no shortage of reasons to keep talking to landlord clients, and registration is simply the latest opportunity to start a conversation that could ultimately extend well beyond the Renters’ Rights Act itself.