Quick answer
Yes. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal at any time before the new rent in a Section 13 notice takes effect. The tenant fee has been £47 since 1 May 2026. The tribunal decides what the home would let for on the open market. It cannot set the rent higher than the landlord proposed. If it decides after the date on the notice, the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision, with no backdating.
What the tribunal does
The tribunal decides the open-market rent for the home. It is not deciding whether the increase is fair in the abstract. It is deciding what the property would let for.
- It cannot set a rent higher than the one the landlord proposed.
- If it decides after the date on the notice, the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision.
- There is no backdating.
- For hardship it can set a later start, within two months of the decision.
That makes evidence one-sided. Good evidence protects the figure you asked for. It cannot get you more. Asking high in the hope of meeting in the middle does not work.
How often do tenants challenge?
Much more often than before the Act. There were 166 market-rent determinations in July 2026. Before the Act, the monthly figure was about 42.
How do landlords fare?
In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all.
On a £1,500 rent proposed at £1,650, a 5% cut is about £990 in the first year.
- Set below the proposal: 60% of new-rules decisions.
- Proposal confirmed: 18%.
- Median cut: 5%. No increase at all: 18%.
- Median wait from application to decision: 82 days; 169 in the Midlands.
The 60%, 40% and 5% figures come from Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules (June–September 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The wait costs money too
The new rent runs from the first rent period starting on or after the decision. With a median wait of 82 days, the old rent carries on for months after the date on the notice.
In the Midlands, with a median of 169 days, that gap is longer still. Tell the landlord about the wait before the notice goes, not after the tenant applies.
See how a proposed figure might fare with the free rent increase tribunal risk checker.
Why published decisions cannot set your rent
It is tempting to price from past decisions. There are too few. 478 post-Act market-rent decisions fall across 323 postcode districts, and only four districts have five or more.
Decisions tell you the risk. The figure itself should come from your own achieved lettings nearby, checked against official local rent averages from the ONS.
Before you serve: a challenge-ready checklist
- A proposed rent you could defend from your own recent lettings.
- The ONS local average for the area, as a cross-check.
- Landlord approval on the record.
- The correct start date: two months’ notice and 52 weeks since the last change.
- Proof of service for every tenant.
- A pack you can file quickly if the tenant applies.
The free Section 13 rent review playbook walks through each step.
If you are a tenant
Apply before the new rent starts — the last day is the day before the date in the notice. Tenant access to Abide.Rent is always free.
Where Abide.Rent fits
Rent reviews in Abide.Rent put the risk on the figure before the notice goes out: your achieved lettings, the ONS anchor, and what the tribunal decided for proposals like yours, with the sample size shown.
What tribunals decided in the first cases under the new rules
| Case | Rent: current → proposed → decided | Why |
|---|---|---|
| LON/00BB/MRA/2026/0009 | £3,103 → £3,180 → £3,180 | Nine agreed lettings in the same block beat the tenant’s asking rents |
| BIR/00CS/MRA/2026/0013 | £1,360 → £1,500 → £1,360 | Landlord relied on a portal price guide; £47 fee repaid to the tenant |
| MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0043 | £1,650 → £1,700 → £1,450 | Nearby flats advertised for less; the rent went down |
| HAV/21UD/MRA/2026/0019 | £860 → £1,300 → £860 | No increase until damp repairs were finished |
| MAN/00EJ/MRA/2026/0034 | £1,200 → £1,700 → £1,300 | Per-room student lets were not comparable to a family let |
| MAN/00BM/MRA/2026/0049 | £895 → £925 → £925 | Start date moved for hardship after the tenant showed her income and outgoings |
Across the 77 new-rules decisions, 60% of rents were set below the proposal and 18% ended with no increase at all. Tribunals need evidence for hardship: ‘a mere assertion of undue hardship would not be sufficient’ (BIR/37UD/MRA/2026/0005, citing Anderson v Kokins & Kokina [2024] UKUT 0091 (LC)).
Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card.
Not legal advice.
More from the blog
Section 13 notice: how to raise the rent in 2026How a Section 13 rent increase works in England since 1 May 2026: the two-month notice, the 52-week rule, service, and what happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal.
Achieved rents, not asking rents: what wins at the rent tribunalTribunals set the rent from what similar homes actually let for. Asking prices, portal guides and area averages carry little weight. How to gather evidence that holds up — and why the tribunal can still go below today’s rent.
Rent tribunal decisions digest — October 2026191 market-rent decisions dated September 2026, 70 under the new rules. 73% of those were set below the landlord’s figure. What won, what lost, and three cases by district.