Rent increase checker — is your increase fair?

You enter your postcode, property type, bedroom count and the current and proposed rent (or upload your tenancy letter and we read the details for you). We compare the proposed figure to lower-quartile, median and upper-quartile rents for comparable properties in your area, calibrated to ONS Private Rental Market Statistics and VOA local authority data, and tell you where it sits in the local band.

Running a check takes about a minute and you can fill in the form without an account. The full result is free where your council licenses RentCharter for your postcode, and free when you upload your tenancy agreement — contributing your data improves the dataset for everyone. If you don't have a contract to upload, unlocking the full result costs £9.99.

The ONS Price Index of Private Rents, the ONS Private Rental Market in London statistics, and VOA local authority rent data. We use quartile bands rather than single averages because the band is what the First-tier Tribunal looks at when it assesses an open-market rent. Full details are on the methodology page.

The checker covers England. Rent increase rules differ elsewhere in the UK — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own system, and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 framework the checker is built around applies to England only.

Yes. If the check shows the proposed rent is above the local market band, you can use the evidence pack to negotiate with your landlord, or refer a Section 13 increase to the First-tier Tribunal using form MR1 (£47 fee from 1 May 2026). Apply before the new rent starts — the tribunal's decision is not backdated, and under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 it can only confirm or lower the proposed rent, not raise it.