The Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) will not protect tenants from excessive rent rises and a third of them could still be forced to move home after the bill is passed, according to Tom Darling (main picture), Director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC).

Research carried out by the pressure group found that those renting privately would struggle with a rent increase of £110 per month (7.9%), despite being very close to the average annual rent increase in England.

Average increase

The RRC says that while the Government has promised to ‘empower’ renters to ‘challenge unreasonable rent increases,’ analysis of first-tier tribunal rent appeal cases found that, in 2025, they approved rent rises in more than 90% of cases.

The average gap between original rents and the recommended rent set by the tribunal was £244.63 more per month, which is the equivalent of a 22.2% rent increase.

The data also shows that more than half of renters (54%) are not even aware of the existence of rent tribunals, and only 14% say they were ‘very likely’ to use one to challenge a rent increase in future.

Rent tribunals

The RRC is therefore warning that rent appeal tribunals will not provide tenants with proper security and is demanding that the Government introduce a cap on in-tenancy rent increases so renters can remain in their homes.

It’s also why the group is backing Lord Best, former chair of the Government’s Affordable Housing Commission, in his attempts to bring an amendment to the RRB which would limit rent increases for existing tenants for the first four years of a tenancy.

Darling says: “The Renters’ Rights Bill is long overdue. It will give renters more rights and protections and should help drive up housing standards. But the rent rise eviction loophole is a serious gap in the legislation.

A cap on rent increases would be simple to implement, putting money back into renters’ pockets and giving them real long-term security in their homes.”

“Even after section 21 is abolished, our research suggests as many as a third of renters will still face being pushed out of their homes and communities by rent increases, and landlords will be able to use rent hikes they know tenants cannot afford to threaten or intimidate.

“The Government’s proposed solution will not address this – our analysis shows rent tribunals will do nothing to protect the large proportion of renters who already cannot afford average market rents, even if they were willing to take their landlord to a tribunal in the first place. But a cap on rent increases would be simple to implement, putting money back into renters’ pockets and giving them real long-term security in their homes.”

The Renters’ Reform Coalition is a campaign group which comprises 21 leading organisations supporting and representing private renters including Shelter and Crisis, Generation Rent, ACORN, as well as the Lloyds Bank Foundation and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.