In this month’s Landlord Lens, I’m taking a look at the Rent Review process, but before we get into the details though it’s worth saying that in today’s climate only one rent review is permitted in a 12 month period for residential tenancies, which means it’s well worth getting it right first time. Most rent review problems don’t start with a landlord asking for too much. They usually start earlier, when the tenant’s been quiet, the rent’s been arriving, and nobody has really stopped to check whether the figure still makes sense. I see it most often at this time of year. The summer rush has settled, renewals start appearing in the diary again, and a landlord asks the obvious question: can the rent go up? It’s a fair question, especially when mortgage costs, service charges and maintenance bills have all moved, but on its own it’s too narrow. The better question is whether the rent has been looked at properly. Not guessed from a portal average, not pushed up because a nearby listing looks higher, and not left alone because the tenant hasn’t complained. It needs to be checked against what’s actually let nearby, how the property compares, the tenant you already have, and what it would cost if they left. Below is what I’d check before recommending a rent increase, and why keeping a good tenant can sometimes protect your return better than chasing the highest possible number.

The rent review needs to start with evidence

A rent review shouldn’t start with a guess, a portal average, or last year’s rent with a bit added on. Those things might give you a rough feel for the market, but they don’t tell you enough on their own. The first job is to look at what’s actually let nearby. That means the same street, the same building, the same block, or the closest comparable homes over the last three months. Then you look at the condition, layout, finish, parking, outside space and the type of tenant demand in that area. Two properties can be a few streets apart and still be worth different rents. One might photograph better, have a cleaner finish, a stronger layout, or fewer small repairs sitting in the background. That’s why a rent review needs proper local context, not just a number that sounds about right. If the rent’s too low, you need to know by how much. If the increase is too high, you need to know the risk before you ask for it.

Two rent reviews, two different risks

For obvious reasons I’ll change the details, but this is the sort of thing that comes up more often than most landlords realise. Two landlords, both with good tenants, both with rents that hadn’t been properly reviewed for a while. The first wanted to move from £1,050 to £1,200 because he’d seen similar homes advertised around that figure online. The second was also under market, but wanted to understand what the property could carry without losing a tenant who’d been there for nearly three years and looked after the place properly. The first increase looked stronger on paper. £150 more a month is £1,800 over a year, so it felt like the obvious decision. The problem was that the comparison was based on advertised properties, not homes that had actually let, and the ones being used as evidence had been refurbished to a better standard. The tenant pushed back, the conversation became harder than it needed to be, and the landlord had to rethink the figure anyway. The second review was less dramatic. We looked at what had actually let nearby, checked the condition and specification properly, and weighed up the tenant sitting in front of us. The recommendation was still an increase, but a sensible one. The tenant stayed, the rent moved, and nobody had to start again. That’s usually the better result, not because the rent never changes, but because the decision has been made properly.

The tenant is part of the calculation

This is the part that often gets missed, because the tenant you already have has a value. If they pay on time, report repairs properly, look after the property and want to stay, that should be part of the rent conversation. You don’t see it as one neat line on a statement, but you feel it very quickly if they leave. A void, check-out works, new marketing, viewings, referencing and another tenancy agreement can take the shine off a higher rent very quickly. That doesn’t mean you avoid rent increases. It means the increase has to make sense after you’ve looked at the full picture. A good tenant doesn’t mean the rent should never move. It means the review should be handled with judgement.

The highest rent is not always the best return

There’s a difference between a rent that looks good on paper and a rent that works over the year. If a £75 increase keeps the tenant settled, protects the relationship and still brings the property closer to market level, that may be a better result than asking for £125 and losing them. The bigger figure only wins if it actually lands, and if the cost of getting there doesn’t wipe out the gain. That’s why I don’t think a good rent strategy is about chasing the highest possible number. It’s about getting to the right number for that property, with that tenant, in that market. Sometimes the advice will be to increase, sometimes to increase, but not as far as the landlord first thought. Sometimes it’ll be to hold for now, because the tenant is worth more than the extra rent would earn after a void. The important thing is that it’s a decision, not a default.

Rent reviews matter more under the new rules

Since the Renters’ Rights Act came in, rent increases need to be handled more carefully. Rent can only be reviewed once every twelve months, and a tenant can challenge an increase at tribunal if they think it’s above the market. That doesn’t mean landlords should be afraid of reviewing rent, it means the review needs to stand up. If you’re asking for an increase, you need to know what it’s based on. Not just what’s advertised nearby, but what’s actually let. Not just what the market is doing generally, but what your property can realistically carry. Not just what you’d like the rent to be, but what can be explained clearly to the tenant if they ask why. A rushed rent review is where problems start. A planned one gives you time to look at the evidence, decide the right figure and have the conversation properly.

Renewals shouldn’t be left until the last minute

September is a useful reset point because autumn renewals start to come into view. The mistake is waiting until the renewal is on top of you before anyone looks at the rent. By then, everyone has less room to move, the landlord has less time to understand the market, the tenant has less time to respond and the agent has less time to manage the conversation properly. I’d rather look early and decide there’s nothing to do than leave it late and find out there was a sensible increase that should’ve been discussed six weeks ago. A proper renewal should give you a clear view of where the rent sits, what the property would likely achieve if it came back to market, whether the tenant is worth keeping and whether the timing works. If nobody is bringing that to you until the last minute, the issue is not just the rent. It’s the lack of a plan around it.

So what can you actually do to sense check? 

If you have a renewal coming up this autumn, start with the basics. When was the rent last reviewed properly? What has actually let nearby in the last three months? How does your property compare on condition, finish and presentation? Is the tenant worth keeping? Would the proposed increase still make sense if it caused them to leave? Those questions usually tell you whether the rent is being managed properly, or whether the same figure is just being carried forward because nobody has stopped to look at it. A rent review should leave you clear on three things: what the property could achieve, what increase can be justified, and whether that increase is worth the risk attached to it.

A straight rent review sense-check

If your renewal is coming up this autumn, it’s worth looking at the rent early enough to make a proper decision. At Miller Rose, we look at recent lets, local demand, the condition of the property, the tenant you have and the risk of losing them before recommending a figure. The aim is not to chase the highest possible number. It’s to give landlords a clear rent strategy that protects the return over the year, not just the next month. If you would like me to look at your rent, you can reach me on 07939 164182 or through the form below.
Stuart Macdiarmid
Sales and Lettings Director, Miller Rose

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