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The Renters’ Rights Bill has finally become an Act, gaining Royal Assent six years after the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, promised to ban Section 21 evictions. While the long and winding road to rental reform is almost over, the private rental sector didn’t change overnight.

Private landlords are alive and well – and they are younger than you think. In 2024, analysis completed by the national accountancy group, UHY Hacker Young, found more than 3,000 landlords in the UK were aged 21 or younger. Collectively, they earned more than £66 million from their rental income.

Landlords have a duty of care to keep buy-to-lets in a fit and habitable state, as detailed in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Housing Act 2004. Responsibilities include preventing mice and rats from entering the property and addressing an infestation that is a result of sub-standard living conditions.