Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal

When a tenant refers a rent increase, the tribunal decides the market rent by looking at what similar homes nearby actually let for. Comparable lettings are that evidence, kept on the rent review.

Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.

What you are deciding

Which lettings to put forward for a review, and whether you have enough to stand behind the rent you propose.

Your options

An achieved rent. A rent a tenant actually agreed: a letting agent's letter, a let-agreed listing, or one of your own lettings. This is the evidence the tribunal gives most weight.
An asking rent. What a landlord advertised for. It shows the market's mood but not what anyone paid, so it is always graded weak.
A published tribunal decision. Useful context for the area, shown as a decision rather than a letting. It is not a substitute for lettings.
Your own lettings. A home you let, now or before, can be added straight from your records with Add from our lettings. Its address, size and the rent agreed when it was let come across with it.

How to do it

Open the rent review and go to Comparables.
Select Add a comparable, choose where the rent comes from, and enter the address, postcode, bedrooms, the rent and the date it was let. Attach the letter or listing if you have it.
Record any adjustment, with its reason: for example a parking space the other home has and yours does not.
Check each letting's grade and reasons. Aim for three strong lettings before you send the notice.
Archive a letting you no longer rely on. It leaves the review but its record is kept.

How lettings are graded

Abide.Rent grades each letting against the home under review. This is our own guide to weight, not a rule the tribunal applies.

Strong: an achieved rent for a home with the same number of bedrooms and of the same kind, within a mile (or in the same postcode district where no exact location is known), let in the last 12 months.
Usable: an achieved rent for the same number of bedrooms, let in the last 18 months, within two miles or in the same district. A different kind of home is noted against it.
Weak: anything else, and every asking rent.

The review shows how many strong lettings you have and how many more you need. With three strong lettings it says the evidence is ready.

Adjustments

No two homes are the same. An adjustment moves a letting's rent up or down for one named difference, so the figure compared is like for like. Keep adjustments few and explain each one: the tribunal will look at them.

A worked example

On Monday 2 November 2026 an agent prepares a review for a two-bedroom flat let at £1,150.00 a month, proposing £1,225.00. She adds a let-agreed letter for a two-bedroom flat 400 metres away, let at £1,240.00 on 14 August 2026 (strong), one of her own lettings in the same block at £1,210.00 from 1 June 2026 (strong), and an asking rent of £1,300.00 on a portal (weak). The third strong letting comes from a colleague's letter: £1,250.00, let on 3 October 2026, adjusted down by £50.00 because it has a parking space. The review now shows three strong lettings and the evidence as ready.

What Abide.Rent does for you

Grades every letting strong, usable or weak against the home under review, with the reasons.
Works out each letting's monthly rent, applies adjustments and shows where the proposed rent sits among them.
Lists your own current and past lettings nearby so you can add them in one step.
Keeps each letting, its file and who added it with the review. Archived lettings are kept, not deleted.

If something goes wrong

“Attach the evidence as a PDF or a photo (JPG, PNG, HEIC or WebP).”
What to do: Save the agent's letter or the listing as a PDF or take a photo of it, then attach that. Files over 10 MB are refused.
“Use “Add from our lettings” for one of your own tenancies.”
What to do: Your own lettings come straight from the record. Choose Add from our lettings and pick the tenancy.
A comparable shows as weak
What to do: Asking rents and lettings far away, let more than a year ago or with a different number of bedrooms count for less. Add achieved rents for similar homes nearby.
“That letting is already in this review's evidence.”
What to do: It is already listed. Edit the existing row instead of adding it again.

Common mistakes

Relying on asking rents. A tribunal wants rents people agreed.
Using a letting with more bedrooms or a different kind of home without saying how it differs.
Stacking adjustments until the figure says what you want. Each one needs a reason the tribunal will accept.
Waiting for a referral before gathering evidence. It is easiest to collect when the review is prepared.