Landlords are being urged to gather tribunal-ready evidence to justify rent increases as legal experts warn that tenants could mount more challenges under the Renters’ Rights Act.

Property solicitor Tessa Shepperson, founder of Landlord Law, is developing a Market Rent and Tribunal Kit to help landlords assess market rents and prepare evidence should tenants challenge a proposed increase at the First Tier Tribunal.

The kit, due to launch later this month, includes a Comparable Properties Assessment Pack designed to help compare their property with similar homes, assess differences in size, condition and specification, and record the evidence supporting the proposed rent. Shepperson now wants landlords to test a draft version of the pack in return for feedback before the final version is released.

The move reflects growing concern among landlords following the introduction of the Act, which has made tribunal challenges to rent increases more likely. The importance of robust comparable evidence was highlighted recently in one of the first tribunal decisions under the new Section 13 regime involving institutional landlord Get Living, where the tribunal gave greater weight to the achieved rents when determining the market rent.

Queries

“I’ve had a lot of queries from concerned landlords about how the procedure will work,” Shepperson tells LandlordZONE. “In the past, some landlords have basically stuck a finger in the air and come up with a figure, which tenants have typically paid because they feared being asked to leave their home.”

However, that approach is no longer sustainable, she adds. “You need proper evidence. If the tribunal decides the market rent is the same as, or higher than, the landlord has proposed, then they're home and dry.”

Shepperson also believes the relatively low tribunal application fee could encourage more tenants to challenge increases, even where the eventual reduction is small. “One case discussed on LinkedIn was where a tenant brought a challenge for a very modest rent increase, which shows the £47 application fee isn't necessarily a deterrent,” she says.

Application

“If tenants make an application to review the rent, even if they don’t win, it will put back the date when the higher rate will start. That could incentivise lots of tenants to apply.”

The kit will guide landlords through the entire process, from researching comparable properties and setting a market rent to preparing a hearing bundle if a tenant applies to the tribunal. Later sections will deal with appeals, rent increase procedures for protected tenancies and tribunal resources.

Any landlords wanting to test out the forms pack will find it here.

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