Keeping A Good Relationship With Your Tenants
Most landlord and tenant relationships don't break down over money. They break down over being ignored.
A repair reported three times with no reply turns a reasonable person into a formal complaint, and since May 2026 that complaint has considerably more places to go. Managing the relationship well is now the practical core of managing the tenancy.
The short version
- Reply, even when the answer isn't ready. Silence causes more damage than delay.
- 24 hours' written notice for access, and agree a time rather than announcing one.
- Fix things quickly. It's the largest single factor in whether a tenant stays.
- Everything in writing protects you too, not just them.
Communication, which is most of it
Agree one channel at the start and stick to it. Email or a portal, so there's a record both ways.
The habits that matter:
- Acknowledge the same day. Even "got it, I'll come back to you tomorrow with a date" removes almost all the frustration.
- Give a realistic timescale, then meet it. An honest "the part's ten days away" lands far better than an optimistic promise that slips.
- Confirm phone calls in writing. Protects both of you and takes thirty seconds.
- Say who's coming and when. Contractors turning up unannounced is one of the most common complaints tenants make.
- Don't disappear at weekends without a route. Give an out-of-hours contact for genuine emergencies.
Repairs
The area that decides how the whole tenancy goes.
Structure, exterior, heating, hot water, water, gas, electrics and sanitation are yours by law and can't be signed away. No heating or hot water in cold weather is an emergency with a 24 hour target to make safe, which may mean capping the fault and providing temporary heating while a part arrives.
Beyond the legal minimum, three things make a practical difference:
Deal with small things fast. A dripping tap fixed in a week costs almost nothing and buys enormous goodwill. Left for three months it becomes evidence in a disrepair claim.
Take damp seriously and don't blame lifestyle. Government guidance is explicit that it is "totally unreasonable to blame damp and mould in the home on 'lifestyle choices'", and Awaab's Law now sets statutory timescales. Investigate, and treat a report as information rather than an accusation.
Replace ahead of failure. A boiler on its fifteenth year will fail in January. Replacing it in September is cheaper than four emergency callouts and a tenant who spent a fortnight cold.
Access
You need at least 24 hours' notice in writing, at a reasonable time of day, except in a genuine emergency.
Two things landlords get wrong. First, notice isn't permission: if the tenant says that slot doesn't work, agree another. Second, holding a key doesn't create a right to use it. Repeated entry without consent can amount to harassment under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, which is a criminal offence.
Practically: propose two or three times rather than announcing one, say who's coming and why, and keep routine inspections to a sensible frequency. Quarterly is fine, monthly is not.
Rent conversations
One increase a year, at least two months' written notice on the prescribed form, none in the first twelve months, and the tenant can challenge it free at tribunal. Rent review clauses in older agreements no longer have effect.
The commercial point underneath: a reliable tenant who might stay another three years is worth more than the last £40 a month. A void, re-letting costs, referencing and an unknown replacement costs considerably more than a below-market increase.
If you're raising it, explain why, give plenty of notice, and be open to a conversation. And if a tenant tells you in advance that a month will be difficult, work with them. People who volunteer bad news early are usually the ones worth keeping.
Requests
Say yes where you reasonably can. Most requests are cheap and the goodwill isn't.
Pets. You now have 28 days to respond in writing, and you need a fair reason to refuse. Allergies in the household, a property genuinely too small, a freeholder prohibition or an illegal animal can be reasonable. Simply not liking pets isn't. You cannot charge a pet deposit or require pet insurance, and damage still comes out of the deposit as normal.
Decorating. Agreeing to a neutral repaint costs you nothing and often improves the property.
Adaptations for a disabled tenant. These shouldn't be unreasonably refused, and a Disabled Facilities Grant of up to £30,000 usually means it costs you nothing. Ask what funding is in place before deciding.
A home business. Worth knowing that a genuine home business won't create a business tenancy under the 1954 Act, which is the concern most landlords refuse over.
When something does go wrong
- Respond to complaints properly. Have a process, acknowledge, investigate, and answer in writing. Most escalations happen because nobody replied.
- Stay factual. Anything you write may end up in front of an adjudicator, a tribunal or a judge.
- Deal with arrears early and in writing. A payment plan agreed in month one beats a possession claim in month six, and the mandatory ground now needs three months' arrears at both notice and hearing.
- Never threaten eviction as leverage. Beyond being unlawful in itself, it converts a fixable dispute into a formal case.
- Never change locks or remove belongings. Only a court order ends a tenancy and only county court bailiffs can remove someone.
What landlords can do about problem tenants.
Check-out
The last impression, and where a good relationship most often sours unnecessarily.
Fair wear and tear can never be deducted for. Betterment isn't allowed, so you can't charge the full price of a new item to replace an old one. The burden of proof sits with you, and adjudicators expect evidence of age and original cost.
Hunting for deductions on a tenant who looked after the place for three years is a poor trade. It costs you an adjudication, a bad review, and a reference you can no longer give.
Why this matters more now
Section 21 is abolished, tenancies are periodic, tenants leave on two months' notice, and possession requires a proved ground. A compulsory landlord ombudsman and a PRS Database are coming in the next phase.
So the relationship is no longer something you can end at two months' notice when it becomes inconvenient. Managing it well is now the efficient option as well as the right one.
The honest summary
Reply the same day even when you don't have the answer. Fix things quickly and don't defer maintenance into winter. Give proper notice and agree times rather than announcing them. Say yes to reasonable requests, and be fair at check-out.
None of it is complicated, and almost all of it is cheaper than the alternative.
And ask your tenants to review you. A landlord who does this properly has no way of proving it to the next tenant otherwise.
This guide covers England and reflects the Renters' Rights Act 2025 as in force from 1 May 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. General information rather than legal advice. Sources: GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act overview for landlords, GOV.UK guidance on damp and mould.