Landlords struggled to secure rent rises in September, research claims

Landlords have secured a rent rise in only around a quarter of recent cases, research shows.

Cyborg Finance analysed 74 First-tier property tribunal decisions in England during September.

It found that only 21 of 74 rent tribunal cases, at 28.4%, decided in England in September 2026 resulted in landlords receiving their proposed rent increase in full, .

The research showed that 39.2% of cases, or 29 out of 74, resulted in a partial increase.

However, 12 – or 16.2% – ended up with no increase, and 12 concluded with either a reduction or a rejection.

The rent a landlord proposes and the rent a tribunal determines are not always the same.”

That means 53 cases – at 71.6% – ended with a smaller increase than requested, no change, a rent reduction or a struck-out case.

Across the 68 cases where there was a change in rent, the combined monthly rent rose from £93,285 to £99,509, a net increase of 6.7%. This calculation includes cases where rents were reduced or unchanged.

Average monthly rent moved from £1,372 to £1,464 – approximately £92 more a month, or £1,104 annually.

The aggregate increase edged up from 6.3% in August to 6.7% in September, a rise of 0.4 percentage points. These figures describe the analysed tribunal decisions, rather than rent increases across the private rented sector as a whole.

It comes as the Renters’ Rights Act gave tenants more powers to appeal against rent changes.

Cyborg Finance’s wider tracker also shows an average of around 91 days between service of a landlord’s rent notice and a tribunal decision, across cases with both dates recorded since May 2026.

Tribunal troubles

Mark Hosker (pictured), Mortgage Adviser at Cyborg Finance, says: “The rent a landlord proposes and the rent a tribunal determines are not always the same. Landlords should be ready to support proposed rents with comparable local evidence, while tenants should remember that challenging an increase does not guarantee their rent will stay unchanged.”

“Tenants shouldn’t assume challenging a rent increase means their rent will stay the same. More than two-thirds of September cases still resulted in an increase, with rents rising 6.7% overall.

“However, with a challenge potentially delaying higher rent payments by around four months, and nearly three-quarters of landlords failing to secure their full proposed increase, the £47 tribunal fee could prove money well spent.”

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Author: Gemma