Blog
Expert guides on tenant rights, rent increases, and the Section 13 process in England.
If I challenge my rent increase, will my landlord just try again next year?
Worried that challenging your rent increase just delays the next one? Here is what stops your landlord raising the rent again, why a successful challenge lowers your baseline for good, and why challenging is still worth it.
Can I ask the tribunal to delay my rent increase? The undue hardship rule
Most tenants know the tribunal can change the figure on a rent increase. Far fewer know it can also change the timing. Since 1 May 2026 the First-tier Tribunal has had the power to delay the start of a determined rent increase by up to two further months where paying it straight away would cause undue hardship. That extra breathing space can be the difference between coping and a crisis: time to get benefits advice, sort your finances, or look for somewhere more affordable. This walkthrough explains what undue hardship means, how the new power differs from the old rules, how to ask for the delay, and what evidence helps. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Do I pay the old or the new rent while my challenge is at the tribunal?
You have referred your rent increase to the tribunal, and now the most practical question of all hits you: which rent do I actually pay each month while I wait? The old figure or the new one the landlord asked for? Get this wrong and you can drift into technical arrears, or hand over money you may never see again. The answer depends on whether your notice was served before or after 1 May 2026, and the safe method is simpler than most tenants fear. This walkthrough explains exactly which figure to pay, how to protect yourself from arrears, and what to do if you have already paid the new amount by mistake. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord has died and a rent increase has arrived: what now?
When a landlord dies, the tenancy does not die with them. It carries on, and so does the rent. But a rent increase that arrives after a death raises questions an ordinary Section 13 notice does not: who has the authority to serve it, who you should actually be paying, and whether the notice is even valid if the estate has not been sorted out yet. Get this wrong and you could pay the wrong person or accept an increase served by someone with no power to serve it. This walkthrough explains who can validly raise the rent after a landlord dies, who to pay in the meantime, how to check the notice, and what to write. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord put the service charge up in the Section 13 notice: can they do that?
Plenty of Section 13 rent increase notices quietly do two jobs at once: they put the rent up, and they put the service charge up. Tenants assume both stand or fall together. They do not. A variable service charge, the kind that changes year to year to reflect actual costs, cannot legally be increased through a Section 13 notice at all. If your landlord has rolled a service charge rise into the rent increase, part of that notice may be unenforceable, and spotting it can change what you actually owe. This walkthrough explains how to tell which kind of service charge you have, what Section 13 can and cannot touch, how to challenge the part that does not belong, and what to write to your landlord. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Can the tribunal set my rent higher than the landlord asked? The rule that changed on 1 May 2026
The single biggest reason tenants never challenge a rent increase is the fear it could backfire and leave them paying more than the landlord asked for. Under the old rules that was a real risk. Since 1 May 2026 it is not: the First-tier Tribunal can no longer set your rent above the figure your landlord proposed. This walkthrough explains exactly what changed, why the old deterrent existed, what the worst case is now, and how to check which rule applies to your notice. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
Waiting for your rent tribunal decision: how long it takes and how to chase a late one
The hearing is over, you have made your case, and now there is silence. The wait for a rent tribunal decision is one of the most stressful parts of the whole process, mostly because nobody tells you how long it is supposed to take. This walkthrough sets out the realistic timeline, why a property inspection can add weeks, the point at which it is reasonable to chase, and exactly what to write to the tribunal office if your decision is overdue. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
Landlord ignoring the rent the tribunal set: how to enforce it and reclaim what you overpaid — tenant walkthrough 2026
Winning at the rent tribunal is one thing. Getting the landlord to actually charge the rent the tribunal set is another. Some landlords carry on demanding the figure they originally proposed, or keep deducting the higher amount by standing order, as if nothing happened. The tribunal's decision is binding, so you have clear options: insist on the correct rent, recover anything you have overpaid since the effective date, and if needed pursue it as a debt. This walkthrough explains exactly how, with a demand template and the money-claim route. England only, after a Section 13 determination.
Costs at a rent tribunal: when you can claim, when you might pay (Rule 13) — tenant walkthrough 2026
One of the biggest fears that stops tenants challenging a rent increase is the thought of a costs bill if they lose. The good news is that the rent tribunal almost never orders one side to pay the other's costs: each side normally bears its own. There is a narrow exception, Rule 13, for unreasonable behaviour, and it can cut both ways. This walkthrough explains how costs really work at the First-tier Tribunal, when you could ask for your costs back, when a landlord might try it on against you, and what to write if you need to make or answer a costs application. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
Withdrawing or settling a rent tribunal challenge before the hearing: the tenant walkthrough 2026
Not every rent challenge has to go all the way to a hearing. If your landlord offers a sensible compromise, or if your evidence turns out weaker than you hoped, you may want to settle on an agreed figure or withdraw the challenge altogether. Both are legitimate, but they have consequences worth understanding first, especially what happens to the proposed rent and to your right to challenge again. This walkthrough explains how withdrawing and settling work, the risks of each, and how to do it safely, with a template you can adapt.