The Renters’ Rights Act abolished Section 21 on 1sy May 2026. Every rent increase now has to go through a formal Section 13 notice, and every tenant has the right to challenge it at tribunal. For letting agents, that turns rent reviews from an informal conversation into a process that needs to hold up under scrutiny.
Fixed-term tenancies have gone. All tenancies are now periodic, and landlords can only raise the rent once a year, through a Section 13 notice that follows a set format and timeline.
Where a tenant thinks the proposed rent is too high, they can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal. If the tribunal is not asked to review it within the set window, the rent increase simply goes through. If it is referred, the tribunal starts from comparable evidence and adjusts from there.
That single change is why rent reviews now sit at the centre of agency risk. A proposal that cannot be backed up with solid comparable evidence is a proposal that will not survive a challenge, and agents without a documented process are exposed every time a review goes to tribunal.
Property professionals with direct experience of these cases are clear about what separates evidence that holds up from evidence that gets picked apart.
Good comparables are recent, ideally from the last three to six months, and drawn from the same postcode district. They reflect rent actually agreed and paid by a tenant, rather than the asking rent a landlord listed for. A single example is easy for a tenant or their representative to challenge, so a set of several comparables tells a far stronger story than one figure on its own. The evidence needs to be pulled from across the whole market rather than a single source, so the tribunal sees the full picture rather than a partial one.
The most common mistake is a mismatch in spec that has not been flagged, comparing a two-bed flat with parking against one without, for example. The second most common mistake is cherry-picking: building a case from the highest rents on the market while leaving out the lower end. Tribunals look at the full range, so a case built only on the strongest examples tends to fall apart under examination.
The sequence of events matters too. The evidence must come before the rental figure. Starting with a target rent and then hunting for comparables to justify it is the wrong way round.
As tribunal decisions accumulate over the next year, the evidence bar is only going to rise. Agencies still relying on manual, ad hoc research for each review will find that approach increasingly hard to sustain, while those with a consistent, documented process in place now will be far better placed once the standard firms up.
Sprift brings together 300+ data points on over 30 million UK residential properties, including whole-of-market comparables, in a single platform. Instead of cross-referencing multiple portals and sources by hand, agents can pull a complete, unfiltered set of comparables for a property in one search, then document how that set led to the proposed figure.
That matters for two reasons. It saves the hours that manual comparable research takes on every single review, and it leaves a clear, evidenced trail if a tribunal ever asks how the figure was reached. For agencies running reviews across a full portfolio, that consistency is what turns rent reviews from a recurring risk into a standard, repeatable part of the job.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act stop landlords increasing rent?
No. Landlords can still increase rent once a year, but it must be done through a Section 13 notice, and tenants have the right to challenge the proposed figure at the First-tier Tribunal.
What happens if a tenant does not respond to a rent increase notice?
If the increase is not referred to the tribunal within the set window, it takes effect as proposed.
What should agents do differently now?
Build a documented, evidence-first process for every rent review, using recent, local, like-for-like, whole of market comparables, rather than handling each case informally as it arises.
Before the next rent review lands on your desk, check whether your current process would survive a tribunal ask: recent comparables, local, like-for-like, based on rent agreed rather than rent advertised, and pulled from the whole market rather than one portal. If that takes more than a few minutes to answer, that is the gap to close first.
See whole of market comparables for any property in one search with Sprift’s Comparables tool. Book a demo at sprift.com.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Property professionals should refer to current legislation and seek appropriate legal advice where necessary.