First-Tier Tribunal Rent Decisions: How to Prepare and What to Expect

What happens if a tenant refers your rent increase to the tribunal?

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) works out the open-market rent for the property. The new rent is that figure or the rent you proposed, whichever is lower. It takes effect from the determination (the first rent period starting on or after it), not from the date in your notice, and the tribunal can put it back by up to two months if the tenant would suffer undue hardship. Nothing in the law stops the tribunal's figure being below the rent the tenant pays now.

These rules are in sections 14 and 14ZB of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 from 1 May 2026, and are summarised in GOV.UK's Guide to the Renters' Rights Act. A Section 13 notice is now the only way to increase rent under an assured periodic tenancy, so every increase can be referred.

How the process works

The tenant must apply before the date the new rent is due to start. The notice takes effect as written unless, before that date, the tenant applies to the tribunal or you both agree a lower rent (s13(4)). The tenant keeps paying the existing rent while the application is decided. The tribunal can also decide whether your notice was valid in the first place (s13B). A notice on the wrong form, with too little notice (the minimum is now two months), or proposing a start date less than 52 weeks after the last increase took effect can fail before market rent is even considered.

Both sides submit written evidence. The tribunal sets the directions and the deadlines. Meet them, because late evidence may not be considered.

The hearing may be on paper. Under rule 31 of the Property Chamber procedure rules, the tribunal must hold a hearing unless the parties consent to a decision without one. You are treated as consenting if the tribunal gives you 28 days' notice that it intends to decide on the papers and you do not object. If you want to be heard, object in time. The tribunal may also inspect the property.

The decision is binding. You can appeal only on a point of law, not because you disagree with the valuation.

What the tribunal considers

The tribunal values the property as if it were let on the open market by a willing landlord, on an assured tenancy with the same terms apart from the rent (s14(1)). In practice it looks at size, layout, condition, location, furnishings and, above all, what comparable properties actually let for.

The Act tells it to disregard three things (s14(2)):

• any effect on the rent of the tenant being a sitting tenant
• any increase in value from improvements the tenant made that the tenancy did not oblige them to make
• any fall in value caused by the tenant breaking the tenancy terms

Your costs are not part of the test. Mortgage payments, what you paid for the property and the yield you want do not affect market rent. The tenant's ability to pay affects only the start date, through the hardship deferral. The property's actual condition does count. If repairs you are responsible for are outstanding, expect a lower figure. See landlord repair responsibilities.

A worked example with real dates

Take a monthly tenancy whose rent periods start on the 1st. The current rent is £1,200. The last increase took effect on 1 September 2025.

1. 20 June 2026: you serve a Section 13 notice proposing £1,300 from 1 September 2026. This passes both timing tests. It is at least two months after service, and not earlier than 52 weeks after 1 September 2025, which is 31 August 2026.
2. Before 1 September 2026: the tenant applies to the tribunal. They carry on paying £1,200.
3. 14 October 2026: the tribunal decides the open-market rent is £1,250. That is lower than your £1,300, so the new rent is £1,250. If it had found £1,150, the new rent would be £1,150, which is less than the tenant was paying.
4. Start date: the date in your notice (1 September) is before the determination, so the new rent starts from the first rent period beginning on or after 14 October. That is 1 November 2026 (s14ZB(3)(b)). No back-payment is due for September or October. If the tribunal accepts undue hardship, it can set a later date, but no later than 13 December 2026, the end of the two months beginning with the determination date.
5. Next increase: because the rent was increased by the determination, your next notice cannot propose a new rent starting earlier than 52 weeks after 1 November 2026 (s13(2)(c), s13(3A)). That is 31 October 2027, so in practice the rent period starting 1 November 2027. In a narrow set of cases the gap is 53 weeks.

The referral cost you two months at the old rent and £50 a month off your proposal. It could not have gone above £1,300. For more on picking a defensible figure, see how to calculate a defensible rent increase.

Preparing your evidence

• Comparables are the case. The closer they are in location, type, size and condition, and the more recent, the better. Achieved rents (let agreed) carry more weight than asking rents. A handful of well-matched comparables beats a long list of loose ones.
• Record them properly. For each comparable, keep a dated screenshot showing the rent, bedrooms and key features, plus the street or postcode and a note on how it differs from your property.
• Letting agents' opinions help. Get them in writing, with the agent's name, firm and date.
• Describe your own property honestly, including its condition, EPC, any outstanding repairs and recent improvements. The tribunal may inspect, and overstating condition undermines everything else.
• Put it on one or two pages with a schedule of comparables attached, submitted before the tribunal's deadline.

The cheapest referral is the one that never happens. Assemble this evidence before you serve the notice, propose a figure the comparables support, and show the tenant how you reached it. See also rent increases under the Renters' Rights Act.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the First-tier Tribunal set the rent higher than I proposed?

No. Since 1 May 2026 the new rent is the open-market rent if that is lower than your proposal, and otherwise your proposed rent (Housing Act 1988 s14ZB(5)). Before the Renters' Rights Act, the tribunal could set a figure above the landlord's proposal.

Can the tribunal reduce the rent below what the tenant pays now?

Yes, if the open-market rent it determines is lower than the current rent. The rule takes the open-market rent whenever it is below your proposal, and sets no floor at the existing rent. That is why a referral is not risk-free for a landlord whose current rent is already above market.

When does the tribunal's rent start?

From the new period in your notice if that falls on or after the determination date. Otherwise it starts from the first rent period beginning on or after the determination. It is not backdated. For undue hardship, the tribunal can direct a later date, up to two months after the determination.

Do I have to attend a hearing?

Not necessarily. The tribunal can decide without a hearing if the parties consent, and you are treated as consenting if you do not object within 28 days of being told it intends to decide on the papers. You can object and ask for a hearing. You do not need a solicitor, but a clear written evidence pack matters.

Can I appeal the tribunal's decision?

Only on a point of law, not because you disagree with the tribunal's valuation of the market rent. Getting the evidence right first time is far more effective than trying to challenge the outcome.

Further Reading

• Section 13 rent increase notices: new rules and timeline: serving a valid notice
• Rent increases under the Renters' Rights Act: market rent and frequency limits
• Rental bidding wars banned: rent transparency: how advertised rents constrain the figure you can justify