Tenants urged to ‘flood’ tribunals over rent rises
3 weeks ago | 36 comments
Landlords secure full rent rises in just 28% of tribunal cases
9:34 AM, 3rd November 2026, 1 week ago
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Landlords received their proposed rent increase in full in just 28.4% of tribunal cases decided in England in September.
Cyborg Finance examined 74 publicly available First-tier Tribunal decisions from September.
The remaining cases ended with a smaller increase than requested, an unchanged rent, a reduction or the case being struck out.
A strike-out does not determine a new rent.
Evidence for rent rises
Mark Hosker, a mortgage adviser at the firm, said: “The rent a landlord proposes and the rent a tribunal determines are not always the same.
“Landlords should be ready to support proposed rents with comparable local evidence, while tenants should remember that challenging an increase does not guarantee their rent will stay unchanged.”
He added: “More than two-thirds of September cases still resulted in an increase, with rents rising 6.7% overall.
“However, with a challenge potentially delaying higher rent payments by around four months, and nearly three-quarters of landlords failing to secure their full proposed increase, the £47 tribunal fee could prove money well spent.”
Tribunal rent decisions
Of the cases examined, 21 resulted in the full proposed increase and 29 in a partial rise.
Rents were unchanged in 12 cases, reduced in six, and a further six cases were struck out.
Across the 68 cases with comparable original and determined figures, average monthly rent rose from £1,372 to £1,464.
That amounted to approximately £92 more a month, or £1,104 a year, with unchanged and reduced rents included in the calculation.
Cyborg Finance found that the aggregate rent increase for tribunal cases in September was 6.7%, compared with 6.3% in August.
The firm‘s wider tracker recorded an average of around 91 days between service of a landlord’s rent notice and a tribunal decision.
Tags:
Buy to let Landlords, Cyborg Finance, first-tier tribunal, landlord rent increases, Private Rented Sector, proposed rent rise, rent challenges, Rent Tribunal, tribunal decisions
24 comments on this article
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3 weeks ago | 51 comments
Can landlords support their proposed rent?
3 weeks ago | 8 comments
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1126 - Articles: 1
12:12 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 03/11/2026 – 12:00
You can find the answer to your questions by reading some of the decisions already made, which are freely available at https://www.gov.uk/residential-property-tribunal-decisions
Member Since September 2024 - Comments: 124
12:48 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 03/11/2026 – 11:31
Okay, now let’s apply that logic to any other industry: “Government tribunal rejects supermarket price increase on bread in 1 in 3 cases” is a headline I’ve never seen.
Member Since September 2024 - Comments: 124
12:52 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
This will become a ‘make-work’ scheme for Tribunal judges.
Eventually every tenant will be encouraged to go via a Tribunal, and hundreds of judges will be rubbing their hands in glee at the extra work (and wages, and pension contributions…)
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1126 - Articles: 1
12:55 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 03/11/2026 – 12:48
You were obviously not around in the 1960s to experience the prices and incomes policy under Harold Wilson.
Member Since January 2022 - Comments: 3
2:27 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
This is only 74 cases, hardly enough to be nationally representative. Additionally, we have no idea what level of rent increase the landlords were looking for. The average was 6.7%, but we have no idea of the range.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3792 - Articles: 5
2:30 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Just a point of order here – isn’t the tribunal there to provide a decision on evidence PROVIDED to them by the LL and T?
It is NOT their job to find evidence that sides with either the LL or T.
If there is no public evidence available to show what a similar property, same area, same condition etc ACTUALLY let for, then they only thing that will be in front of them is what is being asked. THAT is deemed Market Rate.
If the LL subsequently accepts an offer lower than the MR/advertised rent, then that is at their discretion. That doesn’t mean the MR has dropped. It means the T and LL have negotiated an agreeable price and a tenancy agreement was entered into as a result. I cant see how any tenant can win a claim on that basis within 6 months of moving in.
The same though still stands if its a rent increase with a sitting tenant. The MR is still out there and being advertised. The condition of a property will also be down to how the existing tenant has been looking after the place.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3792 - Articles: 5
2:35 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 03/11/2026 – 12:52
will be interesting to see. A rise of claims means a rise in decisions. Be a sharp eyed LL that uses past tribunal cases also in evidence of how other judges have assessed other similar claims. Might be something to also refer to in an attached letter that goes with the S13 notice to the tenant when you are proposing an increase…..?
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3792 - Articles: 5
2:37 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 03/11/2026 – 12:52
…perfect job for the LL’s selling up and leaving the sector to do…..!
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1126 - Articles: 1
2:55 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 03/11/2026 – 14:30
Tell it to the judge, or alternatively read the decided cases so that you understand how the market rent is determined.
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 1126 - Articles: 1
2:57 PM, 3rd November 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Sarah, Husmus at 14:27
6.7% was the average increase awarded. The average rent increase proposed by the landlords in these cases was 13.9%.