Key facts
- London Renters Union analysis found 80% of tenants who challenged a rent increase saw their rent rise, by an average of £1,200 a year.
- Tribunals approved the landlord's proposed increase in full in 36% of cases and reduced it in 42%, per the London Renters Union.
- A tribunal approved an 88% increase in Dagenham, raising the tenant's monthly rent from £1,200 to £2,250.
- Chris Norris of the National Residential Landlords Association said only just over 30 full-time judges handle tribunal cases nationwide.
- The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said tribunals had cut above-market rents by hundreds of pounds a month.
England's rent tribunal system is not working for tenants or landlords, both groups said, as increases of up to 88% continued to be approved after the Renters' Reform Act took effect in May 2026.
Analysis of tribunal data from May to October by the London Renters Union found that 80% of tenants who went through the process saw their rent go up, by an average of £1,200 a year. In 36% of cases the landlord's proposed increase was approved in full, in 42% it was reduced, in 16% it was canceled and in 6% rent was lowered.
In one case a tribunal approved an 88% increase on a property in Dagenham, raising the tenant's monthly rent from £1,200 to £2,250. The tenant, who paid rent through housing benefit, argued the rise would cause undue hardship. In another case a tenant who challenged a £17 a month increase received a £200 a month decrease after the tribunal ruled the rent was too high.
Jae Vail of the London Renters Union said the system was not doing what Labour promised in its manifesto. He said long delays had led to London tenants being asked to attend hearings in the Midlands.
The reforms mean a tribunal can no longer set rent above the landlord's application, increases cannot be backdated before the decision, and the abolition of no-fault evictions reduced the risk of retaliation. The application fee is £47.
Chris Norris, chief policy officer at the National Residential Landlords Association, said the system was not working for anyone and that only just over 30 full-time judges handle cases nationwide. He said some judgments rested almost entirely on listings from RightMove or similar sites, and that unions encouraging members to challenge every increase amounted to an abuse of the system.
Nye Jones of Generation Rent said the tribunal had worked well since the May reforms but that further change was needed because many renters already pay more than they can afford. Renters' groups called on the government to set controls on rent increases.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Renters' Rights Act empowers tenants to challenge above-market increases and that tribunals had cut rents by hundreds of pounds a month or ruled there should be no increase.