The Role of the Rent Officer and Fair Rents

The rent officer can register fair rents for most private-sector residential accommodation which was let before 15 January 1989. Fair Rents are a form of rent control applicable to private sector rented accommodation that is still governed by the Rent Act 1977. The Rent Act 1977 provides the rules for setting Fair Rents and the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999 limits the amount of rent that can be charged by linking increases to the Retail Prices Index. Rents can be re-registered every two years to keep them up to date, or earlier if a significant change takes place.

The rent officer can register fair rents for most private-sector residential accommodation which was let before 15 January 1989. Fair Rents are a form of rent control applicable to private sector rented accommodation that is still governed by the Rent Act 1977. The Rent Act 1977 provides the rules for setting Fair Rents and the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999 limits the amount of rent that can be charged by linking increases to the Retail Prices Index. Rents can be re-registered every two years to keep them up to date, or earlier if a significant change takes place.

Fair Rent cases constitute nearly 7% of the current TRS caseload.

Further information is available on the TRS website – see Additional Resources