Fair rent calculator

In England there's no official formula. The benchmark tribunals use is open-market rent: what similar properties in the same area actually let for. A fair rent calculation therefore compares your rent to comparable local lets — this calculator does that using the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of rents for your postcode area, property type and bedroom count.

Only for a small number of pre-1989 regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977. Almost every modern private tenancy is an assured tenancy, where no fair-rent register applies — the reference point is open-market rent, which is what this calculator estimates.

Fair rental value is the rent a willing tenant and willing landlord would agree for the property on the open market. If your rent sits above the upper quartile of comparable local lets, you may be paying above fair rental value — grounds to negotiate, or to challenge a Section 13 increase at the First-tier Tribunal.

No. Tribunals don't use CPI or any percentage rule — they look at local open-market rent. An inflation-matching increase can still be unfair if local rents have stagnated, and an above-inflation increase can be fair if the local market has genuinely risen. Check the proposed figure against the local range rather than the percentage.

Start by negotiating with evidence — a short letter with local comparables settles many cases. If you've received a formal Section 13 rent increase notice, you can also refer it to the First-tier Tribunal (form MR1, £47 fee) before the new rent takes effect; the tribunal can only confirm or lower the proposed rent, never raise it above the notice figure.