Bristol Landlords: What Should Be on Your Wishlist for 2026?

Bristol Landlords: What Should Be on Your Wishlist for 2026?

As we move into 2026 what should the professional landlord be hoping for? 

Should they be hoping for some juicy rent rises? Should they be hoping for a queue of buff Love Island-wannabe tenants, who live such glamorous lives they never complain about so much as a dripping tap?

No. These things are not what should be on your wishlist. At least in our opinion.

What we think should be number one on a landlord’s Christmas wishlist is this: A complete rethink about what actually being a landlord is.

Because landlord is a very outdated term, with some pretty negative historical background. It dates back to the feudal system of the 9th century. When landlords really were lords (but never ladies) who actually owned and ruled the land.

Landlord suggests a relationship in which one party has absolute power over the other. It’s something that most modern landlords don’t see as a good thing.

In recent years the language around letting has been changing. Tenants have become renters. The word renter has even been written into law.

But landlords are still just that …. landlords.

The term landlord needs a modern rethink

We’d firmly encourage landlords to see themselves not as lords who rule the land but as partners. And as providers of homes which offer attractive, safe, high quality places to live as a valuable service.

More than ever, being a landlord in 2026, must be about maintaining your property to a high standard. Managing it well. Being proactive. Grasping new opportunities with both hands. And doing the right thing by tenants.

And of course expecting the right thing from them.

At the end of the day it’s all grounded in ethics.

The days of buying any property, trousering the rent and hoping (and praying) it will run itself belong to the dim and distant past.

2026 could be a turning point

Some might think that the Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force in England on 1 May, is going to be a negative for landlords.

Renters’ Rights will bring in the modern standards that good landlords strive for – and which have been in place in the rest of the UK for some time now – and make then the norm.

One of the best ways of rising to the challenge and becoming a modern professional landlord is to partner up with a professional letting agency.

If you need our help with valuing, letting or managing your property give us a call.

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