{"id":12959,"date":"2026-09-02T12:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/?p=12959"},"modified":"2026-09-14T09:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T08:23:20","slug":"renters-rights-act-first-rent-tribunal-rulings-lonres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/renters-rights-act-first-rent-tribunal-rulings-lonres\/","title":{"rendered":"Renters&#8217; Rights Act: First Rent Tribunal Rulings | LonRes"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"12959\" class=\"elementor elementor-12959\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f332fa8 main-header e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f332fa8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db71be6 e-con-full 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color:var(--muted); margin:0 0 14px;}\n.lrtc .sources p{font-size:13.5px; color:var(--muted); line-height:1.7; margin:0 0 10px;}\n.lrtc .method{font-size:13px; color:var(--muted); font-style:italic; line-height:1.7; margin-top:18px;}\n\n\/* reveal \u2014 hidden state is opt-in via .js-anim, added by the inline script,\n   so content stays visible wherever scripts don't run (e.g. the Elementor editor) *\/\n.lrtc.js-anim [data-reveal]{opacity:0; transform:translateY(14px); transition:opacity .55s ease, transform .55s ease;}\n.lrtc.js-anim [data-reveal].on{opacity:1; transform:none;}\n@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){.lrtc.js-anim [data-reveal]{opacity:1; transform:none; transition:none;} .lrtc .cx-fill{transition:none;}}\n<\/style>\n\n<!-- Intro -->\n<div class=\"intro\">\n  <p class=\"eyebrow\">LonRes Research &middot; Renters&rsquo; Rights Act<\/p>\n  <p class=\"lede\">Last month we read 200 rent tribunal decisions made under the old rules. Now the first decisions under the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act have arrived: 47 published by 2 September, and we read every one.<\/p>\n  <p class=\"sub\">In one case in five that reached a determination, the tribunal decided the property was worth more than the landlord had asked, and the law required the lower figure. Under the new rules the number on the Section 13 notice is a ceiling; ask low, and you stay low for a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"kpis\" data-reveal>\n  <div class=\"kpi\"><div class=\"n\">47<\/div><div class=\"l\">decisions under the new rules<\/div><div class=\"m\">Every one published to 2 September 2026. A census, not a sample.<\/div><\/div>\n  <div class=\"kpi\"><div class=\"n\">1 in 5<\/div><div class=\"l\">capped at the landlord&rsquo;s own figure<\/div><div class=\"m\">Tribunal valued the property above the notice; the law required the lower number.<\/div><\/div>\n  <div class=\"kpi\"><div class=\"n\">47%<\/div><div class=\"l\">of determinations landed at the notice<\/div><div class=\"m\">21 of 45, against 25% under the old rules in the same weeks.<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- S1 -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>How many rent tribunal decisions have there been under the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act?<\/h2>\n  <p>Forty-seven, decided between 24 June and 26 August and published by 2 September 2026.<\/p>\n  <p>The register runs several weeks behind, so a decision made in August typically appears in September: every figure in this article counts decisions published by our cut-off of 2 September, and every figure will rise as more surface. Furthermore, which rules apply to a case is set by the date of the landlord&rsquo;s notice, not the date of the tribunal&rsquo;s decision. The Act&rsquo;s rent rules took effect on 1 May 2026, and a notice served before that date is decided under the old law however long the case takes.<\/p>\n  <p>Put those two facts together and the picture sharpens. The First-tier Tribunal has decided 493 market rent cases since 1 May 2026, but 446 of those concern notices served before 1 May and are still working through the system under the old law. Only 47 were genuinely decided under the new rules. So counting everything the tribunal has done since 1 May as new-Act activity overstates the new regime&rsquo;s caseload roughly tenfold, and larger figures built that way are already being quoted in the market.<\/p>\n  <p>Forty-seven decisions is an early read, and we treat it as one. It is also every decision published at our cut-off, a census of the register rather than a sample, and each case in this analysis is named, linked and checkable on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/residential-property-tribunal-decisions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GOV.UK register<\/a>.<\/p>\n  <p class=\"src\">Source: LonRes analysis of the GOV.UK residential property tribunal decisions register, 2 September 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<!-- S1b: the pre-Act rush -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>The rush before 1 May is what the tribunal spent its summer deciding<\/h2>\n  <p>Those 446 old-rules cases are not background noise. Most of them exist because of the Act itself: landlords hurried to serve notices before the rules changed, tenants tested them, and that backlog is what the tribunal has been working through.<\/p>\n  <p>Over the first four months of 2026 the tribunal decided about 40 market rent cases a month. Then the Act&rsquo;s rent rules arrived, and with them a surge of referrals lodged as landlords served notices ahead of commencement and tenants tested them: 113 decisions in May, 151 in June, 174 in July, and the most recent months are still filling in. Against the same three months of 2025, decisions have nearly trebled: 438 this summer against 154 last. Half of our old-rules comparison group, 70 of 136 cases, sits on a notice dated in April 2026 alone, the final month of the old regime.<\/p>\n  <p>Those last-minute notices show their haste. April-dated notices were priced more aggressively and fared worse at the tribunal than notices served earlier in the year: where the rent was cut, the median reduction was 7.2% against 6.2% for pre-April notices. And 20 of the 136 old-rules cases in our window ended with no rent set at all, the notice invalid, struck out, withdrawn, or the tribunal declining to determine. A last sprint under rules that were about to disappear produced high asks, loose paperwork, and a tribunal caseload that says more about the deadline than about the new law.<\/p>\n  <p>That rush is why counts of this summer&rsquo;s tribunal activity look so large. Counting decisions, or referrals, measures the old regime&rsquo;s closing stampede. Measuring the new regime means following the notice date, and that is what the rest of this analysis does.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- S2 + cap explorer -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>The cap has already cost landlords money<\/h2>\n  <p>Under the old rules, the tribunal set the market rent wherever the evidence pointed, including above the landlord&rsquo;s proposed figure. This happened in <a href=\"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/section-13-rent-increases-what-200-tribunal-decisions-reveal-lonres\/\">9% of the decisions we analysed last month<\/a>. The Renters&rsquo; Rights Act removed that possibility: the determined rent is now the tribunal&rsquo;s open market valuation or the figure on the notice, whichever is lower.<\/p>\n  <p>In the first 47 decisions, that cap has bitten again and again. Of the 45 cases that reached a determination, nine of them, exactly one in five, record the tribunal valuing the property above the landlord&rsquo;s own notice, then awarding the notice figure because the law allowed nothing more. Tap through all nine below &mdash; each is a real decision on the public register.<\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"capx\">\n    <p class=\"cx-title\">The cap in action: all nine capped decisions<\/p>\n    <p class=\"cx-sub\">What the landlord asked, what the tribunal thought the property was worth, and what the law allowed.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"cx-tabs\" role=\"tablist\" aria-label=\"Capped cases\">\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"true\" data-i=\"0\">Manchester<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"1\">Salisbury<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"2\">Croydon<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"3\">Salford<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"4\">Blackpool<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"5\">Newton-le-Willows<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"6\">Middleton<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"7\">Jarrow<\/button>\n      <button class=\"cx-tab\" role=\"tab\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-i=\"8\">London SW17<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"cx-row\">\n      <div class=\"cx-lab\"><span>Tribunal&rsquo;s own valuation<\/span><span class=\"v\" id=\"cx-omr\">&pound;1,300<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"cx-track\"><div class=\"cx-fill omr\" id=\"cx-omr-bar\"><\/div><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"cx-row\">\n      <div class=\"cx-lab\"><span>Landlord&rsquo;s notice, and the determination<\/span><span class=\"v\" id=\"cx-not\">&pound;1,200<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"cx-track\"><div class=\"cx-fill notice\" id=\"cx-not-bar\"><\/div><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"cx-verdict\" id=\"cx-verdict\"><\/div>\n    <p class=\"cx-ref\" id=\"cx-ref\"><\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <p>The shortfalls run from &pound;5 to &pound;100 a month. A Section 13 rent increase can be served once a year, so an underpriced notice locks the gap in for 12 months: &pound;60 to &pound;1,200 a year per property, and across a managed portfolio that adds up quietly. Under the old rules a low notice was a mistake the tribunal could correct. Now it is a ceiling the landlord sets themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<!-- S2b: what the old rules could still do -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>What the old rules could still do this summer, and the new rules cannot<\/h2>\n  <p>The sharpest way to see the change is the outcome the new rules abolished: a determination above the landlord&rsquo;s own figure.<\/p>\n  <p>It still happened this summer, on the old-law side. In three of the 116 old-rules determinations in our comparison window the tribunal set the rent above the notice. In one, the landlord proposed &pound;1,095 a month and the tribunal, weighing the evidence, determined &pound;1,150: the tenant challenged, and the rent came out &pound;55 higher than the landlord had asked. In another, a housing association case, the tribunal assessed the open market rent at more than three times the sub-market figure on the notice, a ceiling the landlord will never actually charge but one the old law required it to set.<\/p>\n  <p>On the new-law side the count is zero, and it will stay zero. None of the 45 new-regime determinations exceeded the notice, because none can: in the nine capped cases above, the tribunal wanted to award more and the law prevented it. A tenant referring a rent increase now faces no possibility of the number going up. That is the trade the Act made, and both sides of it are visible in a single summer&rsquo;s decisions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- S3 + comparison -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>More notices are surviving intact<\/h2>\n  <p>To see what else has changed, we compared the 47 new-regime decisions with 136 old-rules decisions made by the same tribunals in the same weeks, resolved at the same speed. It is the fairest like-for-like available, and outcomes are established for every case in both groups.<\/p>\n  <div class=\"cmp\">\n    <p class=\"cx-title\">Where determinations landed, old rules vs new<\/p>\n    <div class=\"cmp-g\">\n      <p class=\"cmp-q\">Determined at the notice figure<\/p>\n      <div class=\"cmp-row\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">Old rules<\/span><div class=\"cmp-track\"><div class=\"cmp-fill old\" style=\"width:25%\"><\/div><\/div><span class=\"cmp-v\">25%<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"cmp-row\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">New rules<\/span><div class=\"cmp-track\"><div class=\"cmp-fill new\" style=\"width:47%\"><\/div><\/div><span class=\"cmp-v\">47%<\/span><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"cmp-g\">\n      <p class=\"cmp-q\">Determined below the notice<\/p>\n      <div class=\"cmp-row\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">Old rules<\/span><div class=\"cmp-track\"><div class=\"cmp-fill old\" style=\"width:72%\"><\/div><\/div><span class=\"cmp-v\">72%<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"cmp-row\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">New rules<\/span><div class=\"cmp-track\"><div class=\"cmp-fill new\" style=\"width:53%\"><\/div><\/div><span class=\"cmp-v\">53%<\/span><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"cmp-g\">\n      <p class=\"cmp-q\">Median cut, where the rent was reduced<\/p>\n      <div class=\"cmp-pair\">\n        <div class=\"cmp-cell\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">Old rules<\/span><span class=\"cmp-big\">6.7%<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"cmp-cell\"><span class=\"cmp-who\">New rules<\/span><span class=\"cmp-big cmp-big--pink\">4.0%<\/span><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <p class=\"cmp-foot\">Source: LonRes. New rules: 45 determinations, decided 24 Jun &ndash; 26 Aug 2026. Old rules: 116 determinations by the same tribunals in the same window. Three old-rules determinations exceeded the notice; under the new rules, none can.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <p>The clearest shift is that more notices are holding. 47% of new-regime determinations landed exactly at the notice figure, against 25% under the old rules, a difference large enough to clear the statistical bar we set in advance of the analysis. Where tribunals did cut, the cuts look shallower, at a median reduction of 4.0% against 6.7%, though on 47 cases that comparison remains suggestive rather than proven.<\/p>\n  <p>Part of the story is landlords pricing more carefully now the number is a ceiling. Part of it may be tenants referring more freely: a challenge under the new rules carries no risk of a higher rent, so weaker challenges to well-priced notices can reach the tribunal and fail. Both forces point the same way, and both reward the same discipline: a notice priced on evidence survives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- S4 -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>Two notices died before the tribunal set any rent at all<\/h2>\n  <p>Not every landlord got as far as a determination. Two of the 47 referrals ended with the application struck out and no rent set. In a Stockport case, the proposed start date on the notice did not fall at the beginning of a rent period, and the tribunal found the notice invalid on its face; the same notice was also unsigned, gave no landlord contact details and even named the wrong town, but the tribunal needed none of that, because the date error alone made the notice invalid. In a Walthamstow case, the landlord conceded mid-proceedings that its own notice was invalid and served a fresh one, and since both parties agreed the original notice failed, the tribunal had no jurisdiction and struck the application out. No increase, re-serve, start again, with two months&rsquo; minimum notice and the once-a-year rule waiting on the other side.<\/p>\n  <p>This is not a new hazard, and the old-rules group proves it: 20 of those 136 cases also ended without a rent being set, most on defective notices. What has changed is the price of the mistake. Referring a rent increase to the tribunal costs a tenant &pound;47 and carries no risk of a higher rent, so challenges to both the figure and the paperwork are now cheap to make, and a failed notice under the new rules costs the landlord a year&rsquo;s timing. The correct form (Form 4A), the correct dates and a defensible number are no longer housekeeping; they are the whole game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"keep\" data-reveal>\n  <p class=\"tag\">Rental Checker<\/p>\n  <p>Serving a Section 13 notice this autumn? A Rental Checker report prices it from achieved rents: evidence built for the tribunal, generated in minutes for a specific address. <a href=\"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/services\/rental-checker\/\">See how it works &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- S5 -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>What the first decisions mean for the next notice you serve<\/h2>\n  <p>The practical lesson of the first 47 decisions is that pricing has become a one-way risk, and evidence is what controls it.<\/p>\n  <p>Asking rents will not carry the argument. Tribunals weigh what comparable properties actually let for, and the Act itself has widened the gap between asking and achieved: landlords and agents can no longer accept offers above the advertised rent, so advertised figures are likely to be pitched high. A screenshot of an asking price is an aspiration. An achieved rent is the market, confirmed.<\/p>\n  <p>The agents adapting fastest are the ones treating the notice as a valuation exercise.<\/p>\n  <div class=\"quote\">\n    <p>The LonRes Rental Checker has become an invaluable tool, particularly in light of the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act. The reports are clear, concise and easy to interpret, making it much simpler to advise tenants of rent increases with confidence.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"who\">Jade Andrews &middot; Lettings Negotiator, Aston Chase<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <p>And when the challenge comes anyway, the evidence does the arguing.<\/p>\n  <div class=\"quote\">\n    <p>If things go wrong and the tenant doesn&rsquo;t agree, we&rsquo;ve got proper proof with achieved results. And if it gets to a tribunal &mdash; happy days.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"who\">Mark Von Grundherr &middot; Director, Benham &amp; Reeves<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- product + CTA -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>Price the ceiling right: the LonRes Rental Checker<\/h2>\n  <p>This is the gap the Rental Checker was built to close. It turns achieved rents contributed by letting agents across London into an impartial market rent report for a specific property: the number to put on the notice, and the evidence to stand behind it if a tenant refers it. Priced from what the market actually pays, an increase is harder to argue with, and far less likely to leave money above the cap.<\/p>\n  <p>Rental Checker reports are available to contributing LonRes members within the platform. The agents who contribute data get the data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"cta\" data-reveal>\n  <p class=\"eyebrow\">LonRes Rental Checker<\/p>\n  <h3>Under the old rules a low notice was a mistake the tribunal could fix. Under the new rules it is a ceiling you set yourself. Set it with evidence.<\/h3>\n  <p>Achieved-rent reports for a specific address, built for Section 13 notices and tribunal-ready from the start.<\/p>\n  <a class=\"btn\" href=\"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/services\/rental-checker\/\">Get started &rarr;<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- FAQ -->\n<div class=\"sec\" data-reveal>\n  <h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n  <div class=\"faq\"><p class=\"fq\">Can a tribunal increase the rent above a Section 13 notice under the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act?<\/p>\n    <p>No. Since 1 May 2026 the determined rent is the tribunal&rsquo;s open market valuation or the figure in the landlord&rsquo;s notice, whichever is lower. In the first 47 decisions, none exceeded the notice, and in nine cases the tribunal valued the property above the notice and awarded the lower figure. Under the old rules the tribunal could go higher, and did so three times this summer on pre-May notices, once setting a lawful maximum of more than three times the figure the landlord had asked for.<\/p><\/div>\n  <div class=\"faq\"><p class=\"fq\">How many rent tribunal decisions have been made under the Renters&rsquo; Rights Act?<\/p>\n    <p>Forty-seven had been published by 2 September 2026, all decided between 24 June and 26 August. The tribunal decided 493 market rent cases in that period overall, but 446 concern pre-1 May notices under the old rules. The register publishes several weeks in arrears, so the count is rising.<\/p><\/div>\n  <div class=\"faq\"><p class=\"fq\">What happens if a Section 13 notice contains an error?<\/p>\n    <p>The tribunal can find the notice invalid and strike out the application, as it did in two of the first 47 cases: one where the proposed start date did not fall at the beginning of a rent period, and one where the landlord itself conceded its notice was invalid. The landlord must re-serve using the correct form (Form 4A) with at least two months&rsquo; notice, and rent can only be increased once a year.<\/p><\/div>\n  <div class=\"faq\"><p class=\"fq\">How should landlords and agents evidence a Section 13 rent increase?<\/p>\n    <p>With comparable evidence based on achieved rents: recent lettings of similar properties showing the rent actually agreed, the letting date and condition, with adjustments explained. Tribunals give little weight to asking prices, and under the new rules an underpriced notice cannot be corrected upwards, so the figure needs evidence behind it from the start.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- Sources -->\n<div class=\"sources\" data-reveal>\n  <h4>Sources<\/h4>\n  <p>GOV.UK register of residential property tribunal decisions, category &ldquo;Rents&rdquo;, queried 2 September 2026: 493 market rent decisions since 1 May 2026; 446 on pre-1 May notices; 47 under the new regime; monthly decision volumes (about 47 a month through 2025, about 40 a month January&ndash;April 2026, then 113 in May, 151 in June, 174 in July; May&ndash;July 2026 total 438 against 154 in May&ndash;July 2025): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/residential-property-tribunal-decisions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gov.uk\/residential-property-tribunal-decisions<\/a><\/p>\n  <p>Capped determinations (all on the GOV.UK register): MAN\/00BN\/MRA\/2026\/0039 (Manchester, &pound;1,200 notice \/ &pound;1,300 valuation); HAV\/00HY\/MRA\/2026\/0016 (Salisbury, &pound;875 \/ &pound;900); LON\/00BF\/MRA\/2026\/0038 (Croydon, &pound;1,725 \/ &pound;1,750); MAN\/00BR\/MRA\/2026\/0009 (Salford, &pound;1,535 \/ &pound;1,550); MAN\/00EY\/MRA\/2026\/0007 (Blackpool, &pound;512.26 \/ &pound;525); MAN\/00BZ\/MRA\/2026\/0022 (Newton-le-Willows, &pound;1,415 \/ &pound;1,450); MAN\/00BQ\/MRA\/2026\/0015 (Middleton, &pound;1,340 \/ &pound;1,375); MAN\/00CL\/MRA\/2026\/0020 (Jarrow, &pound;895 \/ &pound;900); LON\/00BJ\/MRA\/2026\/0014 (London SW17, &pound;2,200, &ldquo;below the market rent&rdquo;). Struck-out notices under the new rules: MAN\/00BS\/MRA\/2026\/0001 (Stockport); LON\/00BH\/MRA\/2026\/0003 (Walthamstow).<\/p>\n  <p>Old-rules determinations above the notice: LON\/00BB\/MNR\/2026\/0208 (Newham, &pound;150.90 a week proposed, &pound;500 a week determined); HAV\/18UG\/MNR\/2026\/0123 (&pound;1,095 proposed, &pound;1,150 determined); HAV\/45UG\/MNR\/2026\/0113 (&pound;1,032.40 proposed, &pound;1,079 determined, an intermediate market rent tenancy).<\/p>\n  <p>Old-rules comparison group: 136 decisions by the same tribunals, decided 24 June &ndash; 26 August 2026, application-to-decision within 90 days, classified by notice date; 116 reached determinations and 20 ended with no rent set. Sixteen register entries carried impossible decision dates in the register&rsquo;s metadata; each was resolved from the decision text, and seven proved to have been decided before 1 May and are excluded.<\/p>\n  <p>&ldquo;9% above the notice&rdquo; under the old rules: LonRes, <a href=\"https:\/\/lonres.com\/public\/section-13-rent-increases-what-200-tribunal-decisions-reveal-lonres\/\">The Evidence Gap<\/a>, August 2026, analysis of 200 market rent determinations.<\/p>\n  <p>Legal framework: Renters&rsquo; Rights Act 2025 (rent provisions commenced 1 May 2026); <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/apply-for-an-open-market-rent-determination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HMCTS guidance on open market rent determinations<\/a> (&pound;47 fee, Form 4A, two months&rsquo; notice, no backdating).<\/p>\n  <p>Agent quotations gathered by LonRes, May&ndash;June 2026, reproduced with permission.<\/p>\n  <p class=\"method\">Methodology: LonRes read all 47 tribunal decisions published to 2 September 2026 on notices dated on or after 1 May 2026, identified from the GOV.UK register by the notice date stated in each decision and verified case by case. The filing code alone would mislead in four of them: one case filed under the old code and one under a legacy code carry post-1 May notices and are included, while two filed under the new code carry April and March notices and are counted under the old rules. Of the 47, forty-five reached a determination and two were struck out. The old-rules comparison group is every eligible decision by the same tribunals in the same window at the same case speed: 136 cases, all hand-classified, of which 116 reached determinations, three of them above the notice (one on an intermediate market rent tenancy), and 20 ended with no rent set; outcome percentages use the 45 and 116 determinations. Weekly rents are converted to monthly at 52\/12. Thirteen controls state no application date, so their case speed cannot be checked against the 90-day cap; the pre-registered rule retains them, and excluding them instead changes nothing material (at-notice 26% old against 47% new, still past the threshold). Decisions are issued in panel batches and no clustering adjustment is applied at this sample size. Our statistical threshold was set in the study protocol before any outcome was examined; on an interim analysis of the 31 cases published to 25 August no comparison met it, and on the complete 2 September data the at-notice comparison does (p=0.008) while the size-of-cut comparison (p=0.029) is reported as suggestive. One borderline case (a &pound;2,300 notice where the tribunal noted a higher valuation if services remained included) is counted as at-notice, not as a capped case. Counts will rise as the register updates; the full case list is available on request via <a href=\"mailto:research@lonres.com\">research@lonres.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<script>\n(function(){\n  var cases=[\n    {name:\"Manchester\",omr:1300,notice:1200,ref:\"MAN\/00BN\/MRA\/2026\/0039 \u00b7 decided 20 August 2026\",\n     v:\"The largest gap so far. The landlord proposed <b>&pound;1,200<\/b>. The tribunal worked through its valuation and arrived at <b>&pound;1,300<\/b>, then awarded &pound;1,200, because that was the figure on the notice. <b>&pound;100 a month<\/b> below the tribunal&rsquo;s own valuation, for at least a year.\"},\n    {name:\"Salisbury\",omr:900,notice:875,ref:\"HAV\/00HY\/MRA\/2026\/0016 \u00b7 decided 5 August 2026\",\n     v:\"The landlord proposed <b>&pound;875<\/b>, up from &pound;625. The tribunal&rsquo;s own valuation came to <b>&pound;900<\/b>, and the law required the lower figure. <b>&pound;25 a month<\/b> stays on the table for at least a year.\"},\n    {name:\"Croydon\",omr:1750,notice:1725,ref:\"LON\/00BF\/MRA\/2026\/0038 \u00b7 decided 11 August 2026\",\n     v:\"The panel valued the house at <b>&pound;1,750<\/b> against a notice of <b>&pound;1,725<\/b>, and determined &pound;1,725. <b>&pound;25 a month<\/b> forfeited to the ceiling the landlord set.\"},\n    {name:\"Salford\",omr:1550,notice:1535,ref:\"MAN\/00BR\/MRA\/2026\/0009 \u00b7 decided 10 July 2026\",\n     v:\"The panel put the market rent at <b>&pound;1,550<\/b> against a notice of <b>&pound;1,535<\/b>: determined at the landlord&rsquo;s figure &ldquo;as this is lower than the open-market rent&rdquo;. <b>&pound;15 a month<\/b> forfeited.\"},\n    {name:\"Blackpool\",omr:525,notice:512.26,ref:\"MAN\/00EY\/MRA\/2026\/0007 \u00b7 decided 7 August 2026\",\n     v:\"The tribunal assessed the market rent at <b>&pound;525<\/b>; the notice said <b>&pound;512.26<\/b>, so &pound;512.26 it is: determined at the landlord&rsquo;s figure &ldquo;as this is lower than the open-market rent&rdquo;. Nearly <b>&pound;13 a month<\/b> capped away.\"},\n    {name:\"Newton-le-Willows\",omr:1450,notice:1415,ref:\"MAN\/00BZ\/MRA\/2026\/0022 \u00b7 decided 29 July 2026\",\n     v:\"Open market rent assessed at <b>&pound;1,450<\/b>; the notice said <b>&pound;1,415<\/b>, so &pound;1,415 it is. <b>&pound;35 a month<\/b> the tribunal itself said the property was worth, unrecoverable until the next notice.\"},\n    {name:\"Middleton\",omr:1375,notice:1340,ref:\"MAN\/00BQ\/MRA\/2026\/0015 \u00b7 decided 28 July 2026\",\n     v:\"The tribunal&rsquo;s valuation: <b>&pound;1,375<\/b>. The notice: <b>&pound;1,340<\/b>. Determined at &pound;1,340, with <b>&pound;35 a month<\/b> capped away.\"},\n    {name:\"Jarrow\",omr:900,notice:895,ref:\"MAN\/00CL\/MRA\/2026\/0020 \u00b7 decided 3 July 2026\",\n     v:\"The tribunal put the market rent at <b>&pound;900<\/b> and determined the landlord&rsquo;s <b>&pound;895<\/b> &ldquo;as this is lower than the open-market rent&rdquo;. The smallest gap of the nine, and still a year locked in.\"},\n    {name:\"London SW17\",omr:null,notice:2200,ref:\"LON\/00BJ\/MRA\/2026\/0014 \u00b7 decided 27 July 2026\",\n     v:\"The tribunal wrote plainly that the <b>&pound;2,200<\/b> proposed &ldquo;is below the market rent&rdquo; and determined that sum, because the law allowed nothing more. The gap here is unquantified; the direction is not.\"}\n  ];\n  var root=document.currentScript.closest('.lrtc'); if(!root) return;\n  root.classList.add('js-anim');\n  var tabs=root.querySelectorAll('.cx-tab');\n  var omrV=root.querySelector('#cx-omr'), notV=root.querySelector('#cx-not');\n  var omrB=root.querySelector('#cx-omr-bar'), notB=root.querySelector('#cx-not-bar');\n  var ver=root.querySelector('#cx-verdict'), refEl=root.querySelector('#cx-ref');\n  function fmt(n){return \"\u00a3\"+n.toLocaleString(\"en-GB\",{minimumFractionDigits:n%1?2:0,maximumFractionDigits:2});}\n  function show(i){\n    var c=cases[i], max=Math.max(c.omr||c.notice, c.notice)*1.06;\n    omrV.textContent=c.omr?fmt(c.omr):\"not stated\";\n    notV.textContent=fmt(c.notice);\n    omrB.style.width=c.omr?(100*c.omr\/max)+\"%\":\"0%\";\n    notB.style.width=(100*c.notice\/max)+\"%\";\n    ver.innerHTML=c.v; refEl.textContent=c.ref;\n    tabs.forEach(function(t,j){t.setAttribute('aria-selected', j===i ? 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In 1 in 5, the tribunal valued the property above the landlord's notice.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-02\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-02\",\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"LonRes\"},\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"LonRes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lonres.com\"},\"about\":[\"Renters' Rights Act 2025\",\"Section 13 rent increase\",\"First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)\",\"rent tribunal\"],\"spatialCoverage\":\"United Kingdom\",\"isAccessibleForFree\":true}\n<\/script>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[\n{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Can a tribunal increase the rent above a Section 13 notice under the Renters' Rights Act?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. Since 1 May 2026 the determined rent is the tribunal's open market valuation or the figure in the landlord's notice, whichever is lower. In the first 47 decisions, none exceeded the notice, and in nine cases the tribunal valued the property above the notice and awarded the lower figure. Under the old rules the tribunal could go higher, and did so three times this summer on pre-May notices, once setting a lawful maximum of more than three times the figure the landlord had asked for.\"}},\n{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many rent tribunal decisions have been made under the Renters' Rights Act?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Forty-seven had been published by 2 September 2026, all decided between 24 June and 26 August. The tribunal decided 493 market rent cases in that period overall, but 446 concern pre-1 May notices under the old rules. The register publishes several weeks in arrears, so the count is rising.\"}},\n{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happens if a Section 13 notice contains an error?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The tribunal can find the notice invalid and strike out the application, as it did in two of the first 47 cases: one where the proposed start date did not fall at the beginning of a rent period, and one where the landlord itself conceded its notice was invalid. The landlord must re-serve using the correct form (Form 4A) with at least two months' notice, and rent can only be increased once a year.\"}},\n{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How should landlords and agents evidence a Section 13 rent increase?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"With comparable evidence based on achieved rents: recent lettings of similar properties showing the rent actually agreed, the letting date and condition, with adjustments explained. Tribunals give little weight to asking prices, and under the new rules an underpriced notice cannot be corrected upwards, so the figure needs evidence behind it from the start.\"}}\n]}\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We read the first 47 rent tribunal decisions under the Renters&#8217; Rights Act. 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