Government claims tribunal rent system protects tenants from arrears

The government has claimed that tribunal-determined rents will protect tenants from falling into rent arrears.

In a Parliamentary written question, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed asked whether landlords should be required to notify councils and the Department for Work and Pensions when a First-tier Tribunal finds a tenant has been overcharged rent.

The government has announced a £47 fee for tenants challenging a rent increase through the first-tier property tribunal.

Protect tenants from falling into rent arrears

In response to Mr Mohamed’s question, housing minister Matthew Pennycook claimed mechanisms are in place to support tenants.

He said: “Where a tenant challenges a proposed rent increase at the Tribunal, any rent increase will be payable only from the start of the next rent period following the date of the Tribunal’s determination.

“This means that, in such circumstances, if the Tribunal determines a rent level below what the landlord proposed, the landlord will not have received any rent above the level determined by the Tribunal. This is intended to protect tenants from falling into rent arrears.”

Landlords left in limbo

However, as previously reported by Property118, critics argue the same mechanism could encourage tenants to challenge rent increases simply to delay higher payments.

The mechanism would mean that even unsuccessful challenges could delay higher rent payments for months, leaving landlords in limbo.

Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and head of civil justice in England and Wales, warned the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association that the rules under the Renters’ Rights Act could create “an incentive for tenants to apply to the First Tier Tribunal in respect of every increase in order to delay its implementation”.