It will be difficult to assess the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act on tribunals as it stands, because the government isn’t holding data.
Next year every private renter will be able to challenge rent increases via tribunal where they rise above local market rates.
The information was obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
David Smith, partner at Spector, Constant and Williams, said: “It is simply bizarre that the government is failing to collect basic data on the performance of the rental appeals Tribunal.
“For all its talk of not wanting the system to be overwhelmed, without measuring the average time taken to process rent cases both now and in the future there will be no way of knowing the impact the Renters’ Rights Act is actually having and what additional resources are required by the Tribunal to operate effectively.
“If ministers are serious about wanting their reforms to work, they need urgently to measure, and publish in full, baseline data on the performance of the Tribunal now.
“The government should regularly publish this data to ensure everyone can see if, and when, the Tribunal starts to struggle with the anticipated massive increase in rent appeal cases it is asked to consider.”
If the tribunal service gets overwhelmed the government has granted itself the power to enable rent increases to be backdated if the system becomes overwhelmed.
Tenants will be able to use tribunals for free, meaning they have little to lose in challenging rent increases.
Any increase would come into force after the tribunal makes the decision, rather than the point when a landlord initially suggested an increase should take place.
Tribunals will have the power to delay rent increases by two months.
