The tribunal can set a rent below today's
A referral can end with a rent lower than the tenant pays now, if the evidence shows the market is lower. Check before you propose.
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The tribunal decides the market rent for the home. It cannot set more than you proposed, but nothing stops it setting less than the tenant pays today when the evidence points that way.
Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.
What you are deciding
Whether to propose an increase at all, and at what figure, when comparable lettings sit close to or below the current rent.
Your options
- Propose with evidence above today's rent. Lettings of similar homes support the increase. The risk of a cut below today's rent is low.
- Propose when the evidence is mixed. Some lettings sit below today's rent. A referral could bring the rent down, so a smaller increase may be wiser.
- Do not propose this year. Where the market sits below today's rent, a notice invites a referral that could lower it. Waiting keeps the current rent.
How to do it
- Add comparable lettings to the review before you send anything.
- Read the review's warning. Where the lettings sit below today's rent, Abide.Rent says so and names the market figure.
- Show the landlord: the approval email carries the same sentence and the evidence so far.
- Decide the figure, or decide not to propose, with that risk in view.
A worked example
A house has been let at £1,400.00 a month since 2023. On Tuesday 10 November 2026 the landlord wants £1,500.00. The agent adds four comparable lettings; three strong ones let between £1,325.00 and £1,375.00. The review warns that the lettings sit below today's rent, around £1,350.00. If the tenant referred a £1,500.00 proposal and the tribunal followed that evidence, the rent could fall to £1,350.00, £50.00 a month less than now. The landlord decides not to propose this year and to look again on 1 November 2027.
What Abide.Rent does for you
- Warns on the review when comparable lettings sit below today's rent, with the market figure.
- Puts the same sentence in the landlord's approval email, with how strong the evidence is so far.
- Shows published decisions so you can see how similar proposals fared.
If something goes wrong
- The warning shows even though the proposal is modest
What to do: It shows on every review: the tribunal sets the market rent, which can be below today's rent. It turns stronger when your comparables sit below the current rent. - The landlord asks why the approval email mentions a lower rent
What to do: Point them to this guide. It is a risk to weigh before serving, not a prediction.
Common mistakes
- Treating the current rent as a floor. It is not one.
- Proposing because a year has passed rather than because the market has moved.
- Keeping the warning from the landlord. They carry the risk and should decide.
What to do next
More in Rent reviews
Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunalThe tribunal sets the rent from lettings of similar homes nearby. Achieved rents count far more than asking rents; three strong lettings make a case.
Condition and improvements: what the tribunal disregards (s.14(2))The tribunal values the home as it is let, but ignores the tenant's own improvements and any damage the tenant caused. Record both on the review.
What the tribunal can and cannot doThe tribunal decides the market rent. It cannot set more than the landlord proposed, cannot backdate, and can delay the start for hardship.