Pace, counteroffers and the Renters' Rights Act: A March market update

By Tom Lambourne, Director – Living and Estate Agency 

Since the start of 2026, the conversations I'm having with hiring teams across the market are more urgent, the briefs are more serious, and the competition for strong candidates is intensifying. 

But the theme I keep coming back to isn't headcount or salary, it's pace. 

The companies winning on hiring right now are the ones moving quickly. 

Not recklessly. Not cutting corners on due diligence. But making decisions with confidence, structuring their processes efficiently, and getting to offer stage without unnecessary delay. 

The businesses that aren't doing this are losing candidates, often at the very end of the process, and often to a counteroffer. 

Counteroffers are no longer the exception 

Counteroffers have become a near-constant feature of the market. As candidates grow more active and companies become more competitive on pay and benefits, the risk of losing someone late in the process is very real. 

I've seen it happen at every level, from consultants to heads of department, and it rarely comes down to money alone. Often it reflects a process that moved too slowly, or an offer that wasn't positioned correctly from the outset. 

The way to protect against it isn't to panic or over-inflate your offer at the last minute. It's to have the right advice throughout, someone who can identify the risk early, help you structure your approach, and keep momentum in the process before a counteroffer even becomes a possibility. 

Agility is a real competitive advantage 

One thing I've noticed is that smaller businesses are performing particularly well in this market. With fewer sign-offs required and the ability to respond quickly to what candidates are telling them, they're often able to outmanoeuvre larger competitors, not on salary, but on speed and experience. 

For larger organisations, if your hiring process involves multiple rounds of approval, long gaps between stages, or slow offer turnaround, you're giving competitors, including smaller, nimbler businesses, the time they need to move in. 

The market is active. The candidates are there. The differentiator is how quickly and decisively you can act. 

The Renters' Rights Act: settled for now, but the real test is coming 

On the regulatory front, the mood across the industry ahead of the Renters' Rights Act commencement on 1st May feels relatively calm. Most operators and agencies have had sufficient lead time to prepare, and from what I'm hearing, people feel reasonably well-equipped going into the implementation period. 

That's encouraging, but I'd caution against complacency. The real test will come once the Act is in force and businesses are navigating its practical implications day to day. 

With that in mind, we'll be hosting a roundtable in September to take stock of how the industry has adapted, looking at where businesses have adjusted well, where challenges remain, and what the sector can learn collectively. If you'd like to be added to the waiting list, get in touch by emailing me directly on tommy.lambourne@deverellsmith.com  

Looking Ahead 

The first quarter of 2026 has reinforced something I've believed for a while, the businesses that treat recruitment as a strategic function, rather than a reactive one, consistently outperform those that don't. 

If you're thinking about your hiring plans for the rest of the year, or you want to understand how to structure your process for pace and protection against counteroffers, I'm always happy to have a confidential conversation.