Rent disputes in England are rising, and the numbers are sharper than much of the private rented sector expected.
Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, a Section 13 notice has been the only legal route for a private landlord in England to raise rent on a periodic tenancy. Landlords must give at least two months' notice of the proposed figure. Tenants who believe the increase sits above the local market rate can ask the First-tier Tribunal to look at it.
More of them are doing exactly that. Ministry of Justice figures obtained by Landlord Studio show tribunal applications rose by 58% once the Act took effect. In the three months before 1 May 2026, applications averaged 6.9 a day. Across the six weeks that followed, the average reached 10.8.
The climb started before the Act landed. Applications more than doubled from around four a day in February 2026 to about nine a day in April.
Agents are asking for clearer rules
ARLA Propertymark has called for better guidance on how the tribunal process works, warning that confusion around the rules is making disputes harder to resolve. Greg Tsuman, a past president of the body, has asked for simpler forms and practical advice for tenants who want to challenge an increase before it takes effect.
He also raised a detail that matters to anyone setting a rent. Tribunals weigh achieved rents, meaning what comparable homes actually let for, rather than the asking prices advertised on portals. Those two numbers are rarely identical, and the gap between them is where a good many challenges begin.
Why it matters beyond the paperwork
A challenge is more than an administrative nuisance. It leaves rental income uncertain while the case is decided, and uncertain income feeds into portfolio reviews, refinancing conversations and a lender's view of whether borrowing is serviceable.
A few habits lower the risk of a referral:
- Base any increase on evidence of what similar local properties have actually let for, and keep that evidence on file.
- Review rent regularly rather than leaving it untouched for years and then asking for one large jump.
- Check the notice itself. A Section 13 notice with the wrong dates or too short a notice period is open to challenge on its own terms.
- Speak to the tenant before the notice arrives. An increase that has been explained is less likely to end up in front of a tribunal.
Landlords who are unsure how their rent compares with the wider market often ask a letting agent with local market knowledge to pull achieved letting figures for similar homes, which is the same class of evidence a tribunal will consider.
The direction of travel
The application figures suggest tenants are far more aware of the right to challenge than they were a year ago, and that awareness is unlikely to fade. The practical response is not to avoid rent reviews, but to document them.
A landlord who can show how a figure was reached, with dated comparable evidence behind it, is in a stronger position than one who picked a number from a portal listing. Some now commission an independent rent review from a local agent before serving notice, on the basis that it is cheaper to get the number right than to defend the wrong one.