The short answer
There is no confirmed figure for how much Property Tribunal work will rise. The Senior President of Tribunals' August 2026 consultation says only that the residential caseload is "anticipated" to increase, and proposes letting Regional Surveyors decide some applications made after a decision in rent cases. On 9 September 2026 the government also announced that HMRC's Valuation Office will take over decisions on challenges to rent increases in England. Until then, tenants must still apply to the First-tier Tribunal.
For most landlords the practical response is routine rather than alarm: keep a clear, dated record of the tenancy, the property, rent and relevant communications, so the facts are easy to check if a question or application arises.
Key facts
- The Senior President of Tribunals consulted from 10 August to 25 September 2026 on allowing Regional Surveyors to decide post-decision (Part 6) applications in residential rent cases. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
- The government plans to transfer decisions on challenges to rent increases in England to HMRC's Valuation Office, but for now tenants must still apply to the First-tier Tribunal. GOV.UK
- A tenant challenging a rent increase must apply before the new rent's start date, and the application fee is £47. GOV.UK
- A landlord has 28 days to respond to a tenant's open market rent application using form MR2. GOV.UK
- Since 1 May 2026, the maximum rent repayment order has increased from one to two years' rent. GOV.UK
What the consultation actually proposes
The consultation was issued by the Senior President of Tribunals, the judge who leads the tribunals system, not by the government. It concerns the Property Chamber's residential work and asks whether the rules on panel composition should change so that the Chamber President can direct that certain applications made after a decision in rent cases are decided by a Regional Surveyor sitting alone. The aim is to help the tribunal manage the extra rent work it expects following the Renters' Rights Act.
It closed on 25 September 2026. As at early October 2026 no outcome had been published, so treat the change as proposed, not in force.
Some news coverage in August 2026 reported a forecast of annual caseloads rising from about 12,500 to at least 36,000. Those figures are not in the consultation document as published, so we have not relied on them here.
Which tribunal applications affect landlords?
Two kinds of application are most relevant to private landlords in England:
- Rent increase challenges. If you propose a new rent with a section 13 notice on Form 4A, the tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal for an open market rent determination before the new rent starts. The tribunal cannot set the rent higher than you proposed (Housing Act 1988, s.14ZB). You can work out your notice dates with our Section 13 rent increase calculator.
- Rent repayment orders. Where a landlord has committed certain offences, a tenant can apply for a rent repayment order. Since 1 May 2026 the maximum is two years' rent, up from one.
These are separate processes, and a forecast of higher workload does not mean any individual landlord will be involved in either.
What changes when the Valuation Office takes over?
The government has said that HMRC's Valuation Office will become responsible for decisions on challenges to rent increases in England. No start date has been announced. In the meantime the process is unchanged: tenants apply to the First-tier Tribunal, and they do not have to pay the higher rent until the tribunal has made its final decision (GOV.UK).
Records worth keeping in order
Landlords do not need to build a tribunal file for every tenancy. But maintaining orderly records as part of ordinary management is prudent. Depending on the property and tenancy, that can include:
- tenancy agreements and any later written variations;
- dated rent records, including the amount due and payments received;
- copies of key tenant communications and notices;
- property condition records, photographs and inventories where used;
- repair reports, contractor invoices and correspondence about works;
- documents relating to property costs; and
- a simple timeline of significant events, such as a reported issue, inspection, repair or change to the tenancy.
The aim is not to create more paperwork. It is to make existing information findable and understandable. Keep original documents where possible, use clear filenames and dates, and avoid relying only on a personal inbox or unlabelled phone photos.
A practical record-keeping workflow
A workable approach is to keep records in one consistent structure for each property and tenancy:
- Create a property record for core documents and property-level costs.
- Keep tenancy documents together so that the agreement, relevant correspondence and key dates can be located without searching across several systems.
- Log costs and supporting documents promptly, particularly where they relate to repairs or property issues.
- Save communications in date order and make a short note where a message needs context.
- Review the file when circumstances change, such as at the start or end of a tenancy, after significant works or when a disagreement emerges.
A property-management tool can support this kind of everyday organisation. Landlords who want to keep property, tenancy, cost and supporting documents together can see how Portfoliq works or explore Portfoliq's landlord features.
When to seek specific help
If you receive a tribunal application, are considering an application, or are unsure which documents are relevant, obtain advice appropriate to the facts of the case. This article is general information, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice.
For now, the key point is straightforward: the tribunal expects more rent work, but that is not a prediction that every landlord will face a case. Maintaining complete and accessible tenancy records is a useful normal-management habit regardless of whether a tribunal issue ever arises.