Rent increase ruling by First Tier Property Tribunal?

Hello, After a very long 7 months of trying to increase the rent on my property, which involved paper submissions, an inspection and a subsequent hearing, the First Tier Property Tribunal returned a decision agreeing to an increase in rent for my tenants.

The increase has been backdated which means the tenants now owe me the arrears. They will also need to amend their standing order going forward. There is no guidance about timescales. Do I just write to the tenants and request that they pay the arrears within the next 30 days?

I see they can appeal the decision if they believe there has been a mistake in the law. There have been no errors but I suspect the tenants will try and stall any increase by appealing the decision.

If this is the case, is the rent increase on hold? I cannot find any information regarding the rules around this.

If anyone has experience on the process, I’d appreciate your advice.

Many thanks,

Aislinn