Rent tribunal decisions in Kent
157 published rent tribunal decisions in Kent, 5 under the Renters’ Rights Act rules (80% cut). What landlords proposed, what the First-tier Tribunal set and why, linked to GOV.UK.
Of 5 new-rules decisions in Kent, 4 set the rent below the landlord’s notice. Under the new rules a challenge can only lower the rent.
The tribunal valued the home above the notice but could only award the notice figure. Under-pricing is now a 12-month ceiling.
New-rules decisions where the rent was held at, or set below, what the tenant already paid.
New rules Notices from 1 May 2026
- Decided
- 5
- Set below the proposal
- 80% England 65%
- Median cut, where cut
- −12.1% £125 a month
- Median wait, application to decision
- 72 days
- Cut 80%
- Confirmed 20%
Earlier rules Notices before 1 May 2026
- Decisions
- 111
- Set below the proposal
- 68% of 99 with both figures
- Set above the proposal
- 8%
- Median rent set
- £1,010
- Cut 68%
- Confirmed 24%
- Above 8%
Raising rents in Kent? Abide.Rent checks each proposed rent against local evidence and tribunal outcomes before you serve.
Start your free trialLatest under the new rules
Notices served from 1 May 2026. The tribunal cannot go above the notice.
- Cut 12.1%
1-bed flat
Folkestone and Hythe CT2010 Sep 2026 · Folkestone and Hythe · New rules£825£725a month - Cut 12%
2-bed unfurnished flat
Ramsgate Road, Margate CT97 Sep 2026 · Thanet · New rules£1,250£1,100a month - Cut 15.3%
2-bed unfurnished flat
Ramsgate Road, Margate CT97 Sep 2026 · Thanet · New rules£1,240£1,050a month - Cut 3.2%
3-bed end-terrace house
Davidson Road, Dartford DA23 Sep 2026 · Dartford · New rules£2,375£2,300a month - Confirmed
2-bed unfurnished flat
Baltic Wharf, Gravesham DA11£1,420a month28 Jul 2026 · Gravesham · New rules
By council
Every council in Kent with at least one published decision.
Every recent decision
The latest 30 of 157. Open one for the figures, the evidence and the tribunal’s reasons.
| Decided | Where | Paid before | Proposed | Set | Outcome | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2026 | Lott Close, Tunbridge Wells TN42-bed unfurnished terraced house · Tunbridge Wells | £865 | £906 | £990 | Above | Earlier rules |
| 10 Sep 2026 | Folkestone and Hythe CT201-bed flat · Folkestone and Hythe | £440 | £825 | £725 | Cut 12.1% | New rules |
| 7 Sep 2026 | Ramsgate Road, Margate CT92-bed unfurnished flat · Thanet | £1,030 | £1,250 | £1,100 | Cut 12% | New rules |
| 7 Sep 2026 | Ramsgate Road, Margate CT92-bed unfurnished flat · Thanet | £990 | £1,240 | £1,050 | Cut 15.3% | New rules |
| 3 Sep 2026 | Davidson Road, Dartford DA23-bed end-terrace house · Dartford | £2,350 | £2,375 | £2,300 | Cut 3.2% | New rules |
| 3 Sep 2026 | Heathfield Way, Barham CT45-bed unfurnished semi-detached house · Canterbury | £1,800 | £2,000 | £1,800 | Cut 10% | Earlier rules |
| 4 Aug 2026 | Calverley Lane, Dartford DA102-bed semi-detached house · Dartford | £2,250 | £2,375 | £2,325 | Cut 2.1% | Earlier rules |
| 3 Aug 2026 | Sussex Avenue, Ashford TN242-bed unfurnished terraced house · Ashford | £1,350 | £1,450 | £1,350 | Cut 6.9% | Earlier rules |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Norfolk Road, Margate CT9Thanet | £640 | £800 | — | Set | Earlier rules |
| 28 Jul 2026 | Baltic Wharf, Gravesham DA112-bed unfurnished flat · Gravesham | £1,395 | £1,420 | £1,420 | Confirmed | New rules |
| 3 Jul 2026 | Sundridge Road, Sevenoaks TN14Furnished semi-detached house · Sevenoaks | £1,200 | £1,650 | £1,600 | Cut 3% | Earlier rules |
| 16 Jun 2026 | Hindmarsh Crescent, Gravesend DA111-bed unfurnished flat · Gravesham | £786 | £870 | £1,085 | Above | Earlier rules |
| 12 Jun 2026 | Brook Road, Tunbridge Wells TN2Flat · Tunbridge Wells | £925 | £975 | £975 | Confirmed | Earlier rules |
| 12 Jun 2026 | Westbury Avenue, Westgate-on-Sea CT8Thanet | — | — | — | Registered | Fair rent |
| 11 Jun 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA23-bed unfurnished semi-detached house · Dartford | £2,195 | £2,375 | £2,363 | Cut 0.5% | Earlier rules |
| 8 Jun 2026 | Goods Station Road, Tunbridge Wells TN12-bed flat · Tunbridge Wells | £1,550 | £1,850 | £1,330 | Cut 28.1% | Earlier rules |
| 2 Jun 2026 | Intelligence Walk, Ashford TN23Ashford | £1,455 | £1,375 | — | Struck out | Earlier rules |
| 26 May 2026 | Griffin Drive, Telford Shropshire TN12-bed furnished semi-detached house · Tunbridge Wells | £1,025 | £1,100 | £1,025 | Cut 6.8% | Earlier rules |
| 18 May 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA22-bed house · Dartford | £2,250 | £2,375 | £2,275 | Cut 4.2% | Earlier rules |
| 14 May 2026 | Blenheim Road, Dartford DA12-bed terraced house · Dartford | £1,600 | £1,700 | £1,600 | Cut 5.9% | Earlier rules |
| 1 May 2026 | Tudeley Road, Tudeley TN113-bed furnished terraced house · Tunbridge Wells | £1,220 | £1,350 | £1,375 | Above | Earlier rules |
| 1 May 2026 | Penney Close, Dartford DA13-bed unfurnished terraced house · Dartford | £1,500 | £1,700 | £1,635 | Cut 3.8% | Earlier rules |
| 23 Apr 2026 | Burroughs Drive, Dartford DA14-bed terraced house · Dartford | £2,100 | £2,400 | £2,300 | Cut 4.2% | Earlier rules |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Maidstone Road, Tonbridge TN12Tunbridge Wells | — | — | — | Registered | Fair rent |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Charlotte Square, Margate CT93-bed semi-detached house · Thanet | £1,250 | £1,300 | £1,250 | Cut 3.8% | Earlier rules |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA22-bed house · Dartford | £2,285 | £2,425 | £2,400 | Cut 1% | Earlier rules |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Talbot Road, Dartford DA22-bed house · Dartford | £2,285 | £2,450 | £2,400 | Cut 2% | Earlier rules |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA22-bed semi-detached house · Dartford | £1,795 | £1,900 | £1,865 | Cut 1.8% | Earlier rules |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA22-bed detached house · Dartford | £2,275 | £2,425 | £2,400 | Cut 1% | Earlier rules |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Heathcote Street, Dartford DA22-bed semi-detached house · Dartford | £1,765 | £1,920 | £1,875 | Cut 2.3% | Earlier rules |
Decisions by month
Last 12 months with a published decision. Tribunals publish weeks after deciding, so the latest month fills in over time.
What came up
- Damp or mould raised 50
- Landlord sent comparables 40
- Disrepair raised 36
- Tenant sent comparables 29
- Portal listings cited 28
- Asking rents cited 27
- Achieved rents cited 25
- Landlord used an agent 16
Counted from the text of market-rent decisions. Older decisions often publish the rent only, without reasons.
By type of home
Market-rent decisions in Kent by bedrooms and type, so you can compare homes like yours.
| Type of home | Decisions | Median rent set | Cut below the proposal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studios | 1 | £550 | — |
| 1-bed flats | 12 | £650 | 40% of 10 |
| 2-bed flats | 16 | £950 | 64% of 14 |
| 1-bed houses | 1 | £725 | — |
| 2-bed houses | 20 | £1,275 | 89% of 18 |
| 3-bed houses | 24 | £1,150 | 77% of 22 |
| 4-bed houses | 5 | £1,750 | 40% of 5 |
| 5+ bed houses | 4 | £1,800 | 67% of 3 |
All rules and years together. Type and bedrooms are read from the tribunal’s description of the home; older decisions often do not describe it.
Fair rents (regulated tenancies)
41 Rent Act 1977 decisions in Kent, median £712 a month, 3 limited by the Maximum Fair Rent Order. A different law from Section 13.
| Decided | Where | Paid before | Proposed | Set | Outcome | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 2026 | Westbury Avenue, Westgate-on-Sea CT8Thanet | — | — | — | Registered | Fair rent |
| 10 Apr 2026 | Maidstone Road, Tonbridge TN12Tunbridge Wells | — | — | — | Registered | Fair rent |
| 25 Feb 2026 | Regency Close, Sheerness ME12Unfurnished flat · Swale | — | — | £34,060 | Registered | Fair rent |
| 12 Jan 2026 | Plantation Lane, Maidstone ME14Unfurnished end-terrace house · Maidstone | — | — | £782 | Registered | Fair rent |
| 12 Dec 2025 | Muir Road, Maidstone ME15Maidstone | — | — | £859 | Registered | Fair rent |
Other countys in South East
Reading these decisions
- Each decision values one home on the evidence in front of the tribunal. It is not a rent for the street.
- A confirmed rent under the new rules means the market was at least that high; the tribunal could not go higher.
- The tribunal can set a rent below what the tenant already pays, usually for condition or a weak evidence pack.
Tenants: is my rent increase notice valid? Landlords and agents: tribunal risk checker · all new-rules decisions.
Questions agents and landlords ask
How many rent tribunal decisions are there in Kent?
157 published decisions: 5 on notices under the Renters’ Rights Act rules, 111 under the earlier rules and 41 fair-rent decisions for regulated tenancies. The list is refreshed daily from GOV.UK.
Does the tribunal usually cut rent increases in Kent?
Under the new rules, 4 of 5 decisions here (80%) set the rent below the landlord’s notice, against 65% across England. Where it cut, the median cut was −12.1%.
Can the tribunal set a higher rent than the landlord proposed?
Not for notices served from 1 May 2026. The tribunal sets the open-market rent or the notice figure, whichever is lower, and the new rent starts from the decision with no backdating. Under the earlier rules it could go higher, which is why the two are shown separately.
How should I price a rent increase in Kent?
Start from rents actually achieved for similar homes nearby, recent and close, then adjust for condition, furnishing and what is included. Tribunal decisions show the risk of getting it wrong; they are not a price list. Keep the comparables and condition record before you serve the notice.
Serve rent increases in Kent that survive a challenge
- Every proposed rent checked against local tribunal outcomes before the notice goes out
- Form 4A prepared, served and proven, with the 52-week clock tracked per tenancy
- Comparables, condition and service record bundled for the tribunal as you go
Source: every First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) rent decision published on GOV.UK, read by Abide.Rent and refreshed daily (last 23 Oct 2026). Street, town and postcode district only; open any decision for the tribunal’s published reasons on GOV.UK. Rents are shown a month; weekly rents are converted (× 52 ÷ 12). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Decisions are evidence of risk, not a price list. Not legal advice.