Your landlord did up the flat and now wants a big rent rise: can you still challenge it?

Your landlord has spent a few months and a fair bit of money doing the place up. New kitchen, maybe a new bathroom, fresh windows, better insulation. Then a Section 13 notice lands with a rent figure that makes your eyes water, and the message underneath is clear: look at everything I have done, so of course the rent is going up.

It is a stressful moment, because the works are real and it feels rude to argue. But a refurbishment does not hand your landlord a blank cheque. In England the tribunal sets the open market rent for your property as it actually is now, and that figure has a ceiling: what similar improved homes near you genuinely rent for. If the proposed rent sails past that, you can still challenge it.

Here is how to tell a fair improved rent from an overreach, and what to do next.

What the tribunal actually decides

When you challenge a Section 13 rent increase, the First-tier Tribunal works out the open market rent for your property in its current condition under section 14 of the Housing Act 1988. It does not ask whether the increase feels big, or whether you can afford it. It asks a single question: what would this property, as it is today, let for on the open market?

That matters after a refurbishment in two ways.

First, the improvements are priced in. A property with a new kitchen and bathroom will usually let for more than the same property with a tired one, so the tribunal reflects that. You are not going to keep your old rent as if nothing changed.

Second, and this is the part landlords often skate over, the figure is capped by the market, not by ambition. The tribunal compares your improved property against other improved properties in your area. If similar refurbished homes rent for less than the number in your notice, the proposed rent is too high, and that gap is exactly what you challenge.

Repairs are not improvements

This is the single most useful distinction to get straight.

A repair puts right something the landlord was already responsible for keeping in order. A broken boiler, damp, a leaking roof, worn-out wiring. Fixing those is an existing legal duty, and increasingly a Decent Homes duty too. Doing your job as a landlord does not justify charging a premium on top.

An improvement adds something genuinely new or better that was not there before. A brand new kitchen where there was a functional but dated one. An extension. Proper insulation and double glazing where there was none. These can move the market rent up, because a tenant on the open market would pay more for them.

So when you read the notice, sort the works into two piles. If most of what the landlord points to is really overdue repairs dressed up as improvements, the case for a big premium gets a lot weaker.

Work you paid for does not count against you

If you fitted the shelves, redecorated, sorted the garden, or paid towards any of the works yourself, the tribunal disregards those improvements when setting the rent. You do not get charged more for making your own home nicer at your own expense.

The catch is that the tribunal only knows about your contribution if you tell it. Keep receipts, quotes, bank transfers, and any messages where the works were discussed. If your landlord tries to claim credit for something you paid for, that evidence puts it back in your column.

When a post-refurbishment increase is still challengeable

A refurbishment does not automatically make the increase safe. You can still have solid grounds if any of these apply.

• The figure beats the improved market. Comparable refurbished properties near you rent for less than the proposed rent. This is the strongest ground and the easiest to evidence.
• The works were cosmetic or minor. A coat of paint, one new appliance, or a quick tidy rarely justifies a large jump. Look at the scale of what was actually done.
• The work is not finished. If the property is still mid-project, or the improvements are not yet reflected in what similar local homes let for, the landlord is pricing in value that is not fully there.
• Disrepair remains. A shiny new kitchen does not cancel out damp in the bedroom or a boiler that keeps failing. Remaining problems pull the fair figure back down.
• Some of it was your improvement. As above, anything you paid for or arranged is disregarded.

You do not need all of these. One clear gap between the proposed rent and the true improved-market rent is enough to make a challenge worthwhile.

How to check before you commit

Before you pay the tribunal fee, which is 47 pounds from 1 May 2026, do a quick market check yourself.

1. Photograph the real standard of the works. Not the glossy version, the actual finish. If a problem was left unfixed, photograph that too.
2. Find comparable improved homes. On the main letting sites, look for properties with the same number of bedrooms, a similar condition, and the same rough area. Note the rents.
3. Compare honestly. If the improved homes near you rent for less than your proposed figure, you likely have grounds. If they rent for the same or more, the increase may simply be catching up to the improved market, and negotiation might serve you better than a challenge.

A free grounds check does this comparison for you and flags whether the proposed rent looks above the improved market, so you are not paying 47 pounds to confirm a fair increase.

The reassurance

Two things make this a low-risk decision.

Since 1 May 2026, the tribunal cannot set your rent higher than the figure your landlord proposed. The proposed rent is your worst case, so challenging an over-market post-refurbishment figure has no downside on the decision itself. The old rule that could land you with a higher rent is gone.

And your landlord cannot lawfully evict you simply for challenging a rent increase. A refurbishment is a legitimate reason for a landlord to seek more rent. The only real question is how much, and that is a question the tribunal answers by looking at the market, not at the landlord's outlay.

If your landlord has done the place up and the new rent looks steep, run a free check first. It will tell you whether the figure is a fair reflection of the improved market or an overreach you can challenge.