Can the tribunal set my rent higher than the landlord asked? The rule that changed on 1 May 2026

There is one question that stops more tenants challenging a rent increase than any other, and it is rarely the one they say out loud. It is not "will I win?" It is "could this backfire and leave me paying even more?"

For years, that fear was justified. A tenant could challenge a rent increase, take it to the tribunal, and walk away with a rent higher than the one on the notice they were complaining about. That single risk quietly killed thousands of perfectly good challenges. People with strong cases looked at the downside, decided it was not worth the gamble, and paid up.

On 1 May 2026 that changed. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 removed the risk for notices in the new regime: the First-tier Tribunal can no longer set your rent higher than the figure your landlord proposed. This post explains exactly what that means, what the old rule was, what the worst case is now, and how to work out which rule applies to your notice. It covers England only, and Section 13 rent increases on periodic assured tenancies.

The old rule: why challenging used to be a gamble

Under the rules that applied before 1 May 2026, the tribunal's task when a tenant referred a Section 13 increase was simple to state and uncomfortable in practice. The tribunal decided the open market rent for the property. That was the whole job.

The catch was in what "the open market rent" allowed. If the tribunal looked at comparable local rents and decided the property was actually worth more than the landlord had asked for, it could set the rent at that higher figure. The landlord's proposed amount was not a ceiling. It was just the starting point of a fresh valuation.

So picture a tenant facing an increase from £1,000 to £1,150 a month. They think £1,150 is steep, they challenge it, and the tribunal decides the genuine market rent is £1,250. The tenant is now legally bound to pay £1,250: a hundred pounds a month more than the increase they objected to. They would have been better off saying nothing.

That outcome did not happen in every case, but it happened often enough to be famous. Advice services warned about it. Landlords occasionally relied on it as a quiet deterrent. And the result was that the tribunal route, which is free for tenants, was badly underused by exactly the people it was meant to protect.

The new rule: the proposed rent is now a ceiling

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 fixed the deterrent directly. For Section 13 increases in the new regime, the tribunal can no longer set the rent any higher than the amount the landlord proposed in the notice.

In plain terms, the landlord's figure becomes a cap. When you challenge, the tribunal can:

• Set a lower rent, if it decides the market rent is below the landlord's proposed figure, or
• Confirm the proposed rent, if it decides the proposed figure is at or below the market rent.

What it cannot do is go above the proposed figure. The number on the notice is the most you can ever end up paying as a result of the challenge.

What this means for the decision to challenge

The practical effect is to take the downside off the table. Under the new rules, the worst realistic outcome of challenging a rent increase is that the tribunal looks at everything, agrees with the landlord, and confirms the proposed rent. You then pay exactly what the notice said, which is the position you were already in before you lifted a finger.

So the risk-reward of challenging has flipped. It used to be "you might win, but you might also lose and pay more." Now it is closer to "you might win, and the worst case is you stay exactly where you were." For a tenant who suspects the proposed rent is above market rate, that is a very easy decision.

This is the change that RentSOS, advice charities, and housing lawyers all expect to drive a sharp rise in challenges. The grounds were always there. What was missing was the confidence that challenging could not make things worse.

The detail that catches people out: which rule applies to me?

Here is the part to be careful about. The new no-higher-rent rule does not apply to every rent increase from today onwards just because it is now past 1 May 2026. It applies to notices in the new assured-tenancy regime that the Act brought in.

Broadly:

• A Section 13 notice served under the new regime that took effect on 1 May 2026 falls under the new rules, where the tribunal cannot set the rent above the proposed figure. The new prescribed form for these is Form 4A.
• A notice served under the old rules before that date can still be governed by the old position, where the tribunal could in principle set a higher market rent.

The transition has edge cases, and the safest thing is not to assume. Two quick checks tell you most of what you need to know: which form was used, and when the notice was served. If the notice is on Form 4A and served in the new regime, you are almost certainly in no-downside territory. If it is older, or you are not sure, get the notice checked before you decide, because the difference changes whether challenging carries any risk at all.

No downside is not the same as "always worth it"

It is worth being honest about the limit of this change. Removing the risk of a higher rent makes challenging far safer. It does not make every increase worth challenging.

A challenge is genuinely worth your time in two situations:

1. The proposed rent looks above the market rate for similar properties in your area. This is the bread-and-butter ground, and it is the one the tribunal weighs most heavily.
2. The notice itself is procedurally defective, for example the wrong form, the wrong notice period, or the wrong dates. A defective notice can be invalid regardless of the rent figure.

If the proposed rent is genuinely in line with local market rents and the notice is valid, the tribunal will simply confirm it. You will not be worse off, but you will not be better off either. So the new rule does not say "always challenge." It says "challenging can no longer backfire, so the only real question left is whether you have grounds."

The bottom line

The fear that challenging a rent increase could leave you paying more was, for years, the most powerful reason tenants stayed quiet. As of 1 May 2026, for notices in the new regime, that fear no longer reflects the law. The tribunal cannot set your rent higher than your landlord proposed. The worst case is that it confirms the figure you were already facing.

That changes the whole calculation. The only questions left are the ones that were always the right ones: is the notice valid, and is the proposed rent above the market rate for your area? If you can answer yes to either, the new no-downside rule makes challenging a straightforward move rather than a gamble.

The piece worth nailing before you decide is whether the proposed rent really is above the market rate. A clear comparison of what similar local properties are actually letting for is the evidence the tribunal weighs most heavily, and it is the difference between a challenge that lowers your rent and one that simply confirms it.