Nearly three-quarters of rent disputes decided by UK property tribunals since January 2025 have resulted in lower rents than landlords proposed, according to analysis by property data firm LonRes reported by PropertyWire.
The research examined 1,325 rent disputes from the register of residential property tribunal decisions and found that 73 percent resulted in rents below the landlord’s proposed amount, with a median reduction of 7.5 percent among those cut. Only 18 percent of decisions confirmed the rent as proposed. Nearly half of all decisions — 47 percent — cited evidence problems, pointing to landlords commonly failing to provide adequate supporting documentation for proposed increases. Cases took an average of 96 days to process from application to decision, rising to 142 days in London; landlords cannot collect the higher proposed rent during that period.
The findings come as the Renters’ Rights Act makes a Section 13 Notice the only lawful method for raising rent, requiring at least two months’ notice, with increases limited to once a year and capped at open-market rates. Tenants retain the right to refer a rent increase notice to a First Tier Tribunal, which cannot set a rent higher than the landlord’s own notice. LonRes director of sales Chris Welch said the process “can be both a costly and time-consuming process for a landlord,” underscoring the importance of setting rent rises correctly from the outset “with a firm evidence base.”
References
PropertyWire – Landlords lose 73% of rent tribunal cases, data shows
