The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the most significant change to the private rented sector in a generation. The abolition of fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies, the end of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, the introduction of a mandatory Private Rented Sector Database, and the requirement for all landlords to join a landlord redress scheme have created a wave of process and compliance changes that lettings software must accommodate. This guide compares the main platforms used by UK lettings agents and explains what the regulatory changes mean for your software requirements.
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The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (building on the framework of the Renters (Reform) Bill that preceded it) makes several changes that directly affect how lettings management software must work.
All new residential tenancies in England are now periodic from the outset. There are no fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies. This eliminates the fixed-term expiry date as a management trigger and means that tenancy records no longer have a natural end date that prompts renewals or re-lets. Lettings software that was built around a fixed-term model, generating renewal notices at month 11 and expired tenancy reports, needs to adapt its workflow logic to a perpetual tenancy model.
Agents can no longer serve a Section 21 notice to recover possession without a stated ground. All possession proceedings now require a Section 8 notice with a specific, legally valid ground. Lettings software must support the Section 8 notice generation process with correct grounds, notice periods, and prescribed information requirements. Software that only generated Section 21 notices, or that generated Section 8 notices as a secondary function, needs updating.
The Act establishes a national database of private rented sector properties and landlords. Landlords must register before letting and agents managing properties on behalf of unregistered landlords may face compliance liability. Lettings software will need to store and verify landlord registration numbers against the database. The database is being phased in; agents should check the current implementation status with their software provider.
All private landlords in England (not just agents) are required to join a government-approved redress scheme. Lettings software should record the landlord's redress scheme membership and expiry date, similar to how it records client money protection (CMP) scheme membership.
| Platform | Renters' Rights Act Updates | CMP/Compliance | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reapit | Active updates; S.21 removal, periodic tenancy workflows | Full CMP, deposit protection, redress scheme tracking | Enterprise; quote-based | Large multi-branch agents and corporate lettings operations |
| Jupix (Zoopla) | Compliance updates in progress | CMP and deposit protection integration | Per-branch subscription; quote-based | Independent and multi-branch agents already in Zoopla ecosystem |
| Alto (Zoopla) | Compliance updates in progress | CMP and deposit protection | Per-user subscription | Small to medium lettings agents wanting a cloud-based system |
| Goodlord | Strong on tenancy compliance workflows; referencing and onboarding | Integrated referencing, insurance, deposit protection | Per-tenancy pricing | Agents wanting automated tenant referencing and onboarding within one platform |
| Fixflo | Maintenance-focused; limited tenancy management | Compliance features for maintenance obligations | Per-property per-month | Agents wanting to improve maintenance request management alongside their main platform |
| Acquaint CRM | Compliance updates in progress | CMP integration | Per-user per-month | Small independent lettings agents |
| Landlord Vision | Compliance updates in progress | Deposit tracking; basic compliance | Per-property per-month | Landlords managing their own portfolios without agent intermediaries |
| Arthur Online | Compliance updates in progress | CMP, deposit protection, compliance certificates | Per-unit per-month | Portfolio landlords and build-to-rent operators |
All lettings agents in England must be members of a government-approved Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme. CMP protects landlord and tenant money held by the agent if the agent goes out of business or commits fraud. The main approved schemes are ARLA Propertymark, NALS, RICS, safeagent, and the Client Money Protect scheme.
Agents must display their CMP scheme membership details in all business documentation and on their website. Lettings software should store the agent's CMP scheme name, membership number, and expiry date, and alert when renewal is approaching. An agent operating without CMP membership faces a civil penalty of up to £30,000.
Separate from CMP, all letting agents must belong to a government-approved redress scheme (Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman). Lettings software should track this membership alongside CMP.
Tenancy deposits in the UK must be protected in one of three government-approved schemes: Deposit Protection Service (DPS), mydeposits, or Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). Protection must be confirmed within 30 days of the deposit being received, and the prescribed information must be served on the tenant within the same timeframe.
Lettings software that integrates directly with one or more deposit schemes allows agents to protect deposits and generate prescribed information documents without leaving the platform. This integration saves significant time and reduces the risk of missing the 30-day deadline. Missing the deadline exposes the agent and landlord to a penalty of one to three times the deposit amount.
When evaluating platforms, confirm which deposit schemes are integrated and how the integration works. Some platforms integrate with one scheme only; if the landlord or tenant has a preference for a different scheme, the agent must manage that deposit outside the system. Full integration with all three schemes is the ideal.
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Lettings agents managing properties on behalf of landlords carry responsibility for ensuring compliance certificates are current before a tenancy begins and throughout the tenancy. The key certificates are:
Lettings software should store certificate expiry dates for every managed property and send alerts before each expires. Agents managing large portfolios without this capability are operating in a compliance blind spot: a single missed gas safety certificate expiry can result in a prohibition notice, an invalid tenancy, and a fine.
Rent arrears management is one of the most time-consuming aspects of lettings management and one of the areas where software quality most directly affects agent profitability. An effective lettings platform should automate the arrears escalation process: automatic reminders at day one, day seven, and day fourteen of arrears, with escalation to the lettings manager for manual intervention at a configurable threshold.
Under the Renters' Rights Act, the Section 8 eviction grounds have been revised. Ground 8 (two months' rent arrears) remains a mandatory ground requiring the court to grant possession. The key change is that the threshold for discretionary grounds (Ground 10 and 11) remains, but courts will apply a proportionality test more rigorously in periodic tenancy contexts. Lettings software that tracks the full arrears history and generates the Section 8 notice automatically with the correct grounds and notice periods is essential for agents managing any volume of arrears cases.
The UK build-to-rent (BTR) sector has grown significantly. BTR operators managing hundreds of units on a single site have requirements that differ from traditional lettings agents: centralised maintenance management, resident portal apps, community event management, and concierge services alongside the standard lettings compliance obligations.
Most traditional lettings platforms were not designed for BTR. Arthur Online and specialised BTR platforms like Goodlord, Elevated (part of Reapit), and dedicated BTR management systems like MODA's proprietary platform handle the resident experience layer better. For BTR operators at scale, the question is usually whether to use a specialised BTR platform or to build a custom resident management system that integrates with a standard lettings compliance back-end.
Most lettings agents will be well served by Reapit, Jupix, or Alto. The scenarios where bespoke development makes sense tend to be at the edges of the standard lettings model.
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The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has fundamentally changed the framework that lettings software must operate within. Fixed-term tenancy workflows, Section 21 notice generation, and renewal management processes need to be replaced with periodic tenancy management, Section 8 ground-based possession workflows, and PRS database tracking. Every platform in the market is adapting; the key questions are how quickly and how completely.
Reapit is the strongest full-service option for larger agents. Goodlord is the best choice for agents prioritising tenant referencing and onboarding automation. Jupix and Alto suit agents in the Zoopla ecosystem. For portfolio operators, BTR managers, and agents with institutional landlord clients, bespoke development often delivers better long-term value than adapting a commercial lettings platform to a non-standard use case.