The Valuation Office will take over rent challenges: what does this mean?

The government announced on 9 September 2026 that HMRC’s Valuation Office will take responsibility for initial decisions on challenges to rent increases in England.

If you have a rent increase now, the most important point is simple: the process has not changed yet. The government says tenants who want to challenge an increase must continue to use the First-tier Tribunal while the new service is developed.

Check your rent increase for free if you want to understand how the proposed rent compares with local market evidence before deciding what to do.

What the government has announced

The government says HMRC’s Valuation Office will become responsible for decisions on challenges to rent increases in England.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook described the change as a transfer of responsibility for making initial rent determinations. The stated aim is to make decisions faster and reduce pressure on the tribunal system.

The Valuation Office Agency, usually called the VOA, already has rent officers who carry out rental valuations and collect private rental market data. Its existing work includes Local Housing Allowance and other rent officer functions.

The September announcement is therefore a change in who will make these rent increase decisions, rather than the creation of a completely new organisation.

However, the announcement did not give a date when the new rent determination service will start. It also did not set out the future application form, fee, evidence process or appeal route in detail.

Those details matter, so it is too early to assume exactly how the future service will work.

What changes if you have a rent increase now?

Nothing about the current application route changes today.

If a private tenant in England wants to challenge a proposed rent increase under the current rules, they must still use the First-tier Tribunal and follow the current market rent determination process.

The current MR1 form says that, for a Form 4A rent increase, the tribunal must receive the application before the proposed new rent starts. The current application fee is £47 for the relevant private rented sector applications, although Help with Fees may be available.

The government’s 9 September announcement also confirms that a tenant who makes the current challenge does not have to pay the higher proposed rent until the tribunal has made its final decision.

Do not wait for the Valuation Office system if you already have a current deadline. There is no published start date for the new service and the existing process remains the one to use.

If you are unsure whether the current process applies to your tenancy or notice, get advice from Shelter, Citizens Advice or a qualified adviser.

Why the Valuation Office is being used

The VOA already works with private rental evidence.

Its rent officers have a statutory role collecting rental data and carrying out rental valuations in England. For Local Housing Allowance work, they collect information from letting agents, landlords, tenants and other sources.

Importantly, the VOA says its Local Housing Allowance rental evidence is based on rents being paid in the private market. This can include new and renewal rents that have been negotiated between landlord and tenant.

That is different from an advertised asking rent, which shows what a landlord or agent asked for but not necessarily what was finally agreed.

The government says the future rent determination service will build on the Valuation Office’s existing rental expertise. That makes sense in principle because a challenged increase ultimately involves a valuation question: what is the open market rent for this home?

But the government has not yet explained exactly how the VOA will use its existing rental database for individual rent increase challenges.

What we do not know yet

There are several practical questions that remain unanswered.

The government has not yet published full details of:

• when the Valuation Office service will begin
• how tenants will make an application
• whether the current £47 fee will continue
• what information landlords and tenants will be asked to provide
• how comparable evidence supplied by either side will be treated
• whether inspections will be used and in what circumstances
• how someone will challenge or appeal a Valuation Office decision
• what will happen to applications already with the tribunal when the new service starts

Until those details are published, it would be wrong to tell tenants or landlords that they will no longer need their own evidence, or that a particular type of evidence will definitely be accepted or ignored.

The current process remains evidence-led. The future service is intended to use specialist valuation expertise, but its detailed rules still need to be seen.

Does this make local rent evidence less useful?

Not for the decision you face before an official application.

A tenant receiving a proposed increase still needs to understand whether the new rent looks realistic for the home and area. A landlord setting an increase still needs to understand whether the amount is supportable.

For example, if a rent rises from £950 to £1,150, you need more than the percentage to understand what that means. If genuinely similar homes nearby are mostly around £1,100 to £1,175, the proposed rent may be close to the current market. If they are mostly around £950 to £1,025, the increase may need closer checking.

That question exists before the First-tier Tribunal, the Valuation Office or any other official decision-maker becomes involved.

The future process may change how evidence is submitted and how much weight different sources receive. It does not remove the value of understanding the local market before deciding what to do next.

How UpRently fits while the process changes

UpRently is not built around a particular tribunal form. It is built around the earlier question: is the proposed rent supported by the local rental market?

The free Rent Rise Checker compares the proposed amount with similar homes advertised nearby where suitable data is available. It shows the evidence behind the comparison and makes clear that these are advertised asking rents, not verified achieved rents.

The Evidence Pack gives you a dated record of that comparison. Under the current process, it can help you review and organise market evidence. If the Valuation Office process changes what evidence an official application needs in future, UpRently will need to reflect that rather than pretending the old process still applies.

For now, the current tribunal route remains in place and the September announcement does not change what someone with an active rent increase deadline needs to do.