How we fight to make you heard – an NRLA media relations round up

To say that it’s been a hectic time for the private rented sector would be a significant understatement. Upheaval has been the watchword for landlords across the market as many ready themselves for the arrival of the biggest legislative shake-up for decades. At every step of the process – up to and including the granting of royal assent to the Renters’ Rights Bill – we’ll build on the campaigning we have done on behalf of our members in the UK national and trade media.  

At the NRLA we recognise how our members have had to navigate what has proved to be a particularly busy period for the market. In light of this we’ve been hard at work putting landlords at the centre of the rental reform agenda across the UK media.

But we haven’t neglected to fight for members with respect to other government policy changes – for instance as regards the government’s proposed new energy efficiency benchmarks, which call for all private rented properties to reach an EPC rating of ‘C’ by 2030. 

As 2025 proceeds – with developments occurring on a range of policy fronts – our media campaigns will play a pivotal role in how we communicate our messages to target audiences.  

Our membership will already be aware of the work the NRLA has done over recent years to communicate their interests to policymakers and the UK national press.

We have continued to campaign hard throughout past months to maintain our comms momentum by fighting even harder to ensure private landlords are recognised as providers of much-needed private rented accommodation. 

To that end we navigated a hostile media landscape to ensure that the NRLA’s members’ concerns were heard in outlets such as BBC News, the FT, The Times, The Telegraph, ITV News, and in a wide range of other broadcasters and national titles. 

In what is a busy online environment we can truly argue that the NRLA has positioned itself as a significant voice when it comes to the future of the market.  

The impact

More to the point this approach has yielded significant success – according to our metrics the NRLA was featured on a total of 1,630 occasions in UK media between 1 December and 27 February.

The majority of these mentions consisted of key insights which put us right at the heart of the policy debate surrounding the future of the private rental market. Over this time our NRLA spokespeople took forward 21 interview opportunities with outlets like BBC Politics London, LBC’s ‘Matthew Wright Show’, The I and ITV Granada.  

With the second reading of the Renters’ Rights Bill taking place in the House of Lords, we allied with other organisations who operate across the private rental market. In a letter signed by the NRLA, student housing providers, and property portals, we highlighted how the government risks reducing access to higher education unless changes to the Bill are introduced. In this case, our press release responding to this stage of the Bill’s passage through parliament produced over 350 pieces of press coverage. Our media relations work was complemented by concise, detailed social media activity (including explainer videos) which spread our message even further afield.

How we've done it

Over recent months we adopted an integrated approach to our communications work across a wide variety of channels. This isn’t just comms jargon! What we mean to say is that we used a wide variety of different tactics to get our messages across to target stakeholders – compelling video explainers, incisive commentary, persuasive interviews, and landlord case study stories all played a big role in building our media presence.  

Speed, adept spokespeople, compelling insights – these three aspects of our approach are the glue which have held our campaigning together and made it so effective. The value of these campaign principles is underlined by our response to the launch of the government’s consultation on energy efficiency benchmarks. By responding swiftly to clearly set out our position on what the consultation means for our members, we secured over 200 pieces of press coverage – all of which resulted from key interviews and carefully-judged written press commentary.  

Watch: NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle was interviewed on BBC Breakfast this month

As many of those reading this will know, the Bill still must make its way through several more legislative ‘hoops’ before it receives royal assent and becomes law. At all stages, the NRLA will be taking steps to ensure our members’ interests are taken into account by lawmakers during this crucial period for the sector.  

With the government now consulting on new energy efficiency standards, you’ll be hearing much more from the NRLA in the media as regards how this is likely to affect the future of the market over the coming year. 

If you’d like to discuss our approach to campaigning in greater detail, we’d be happy to hear from you at [email protected].