Putting landlords at the heart of the policy debate: the NRLA’s media campaigning in 2025
The past twelve months has seen the most dramatic period of policy change in the recent history of the private rented sector (PRS). Landlords have – justifiably – watched closely at what the impact of legislative changes will be on their position in the rental market.
At a time when uncertainty about what the market will look like after the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented, the NRLA has sought to both put landlords at the heart of the debate, whilst at the same time seeking to counter some of the negative perceptions of landlords in the market.
Throughout this time our campaigns and communications teams did their utmost to ensure our members’ voices were heard by key policymakers, as well as national, trade and regional press.
What did we do?
The impact we made in the media was significant. Since the start of 2025 the NRLA’s campaigning work produced 3,421 items of press coverage*. Included in this total is 493 pieces of broadcast coverage.
Alongside the media mentions which resulted from our pro-active commentary, NRLA spokespeople were interviewed on a total of 113 occasions. These interviews took place on Sky News, BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme, BBC News at 10, LBC, The Times, The Telegraph, The I – as well as with many other media outlets.
Our comms team has been able to respond to breaking news at pace and with precision. Throughout 2025, we drafted and issued 92 reactive statements for target media outlets – a reminder of how the NRLA strives to be right at the heart of all debates in the media surrounding the future of the PRS.
The NRLA’s key spokespeople – Ben Beadle, Chris Norris, and Meera Chindooroy – participated in a wide range of interviews. But we were also able to put forward a significant number of landlord case studies who provided a ‘grassroots’ perspective on the issues currently affecting the market.
Our PR push in 2025 was dominated by the various twists and turns of the Renters’ Rights Act, as it eventually made its way towards royal assent in November. At every stage of the legislative process, we ensured that key stakeholder groups were aware of our stance on a range of policy areas. But the campaigning work didn’t end there.
Other campaigning work
We also embarked on a range of other campaigns which aimed to highlight the pivotal role private landlords play in the delivery of much-needed private rented accommodation at a time of reduced supply. Take for instance our work in response to the Budget, which produced a wide array of ‘tier one’ press coverage. By way of an example, you can listen to our Chief Executive Ben Beadle offer his insights on what effect the Budget was likely to have on private landlords here.
What’s coming up in 2026?
We’ll be supporting our members during the Act’s implementation period by highlighting their key concerns to the press as regards the workability of the legislation. Likewise, with further detail expected from the Government on proposed energy efficiency changes we’ll be campaigning hard to ensure landlords’ views are taken into account by policymakers and other influential voices across the rental market.
We’re always keen to hear the views of members on how we campaign across our various communications channels, so if you’d like to offer any suggestions on what more you think we could be doing in this area please do contact us at [email protected].
*Based on research conducted on media platform Cision concerning NRLA media relations work that occurred between 1 January and 12 December 2025.
