Q. I have served a notice of rent increase (under the statutory notice procedure) on my tenant. She has now appealed this to the First Tier Tribunal claiming that the rent increase is excessive. Can she do this?

A. Yes, tenants can always appeal against  a rent increase notice served under this procedure - which is the procedure you use to increase rent during a periodic tenancy under s13 of the Housing Act 1988.

However, what the tribunal will do depends on what findings they make about the rent. Their job is to find out what the market rent for the property is and to increase (or decrease) the rent to that amount. When doing this they will take into account representations made by the landlord and the tenant, but they will also make their own investigations and will probably have a good idea of what the rent levels are in that area.

So, if your proposed increase is actually less than the market rent, the tenant risks having her rent increased even higher. If on the other hand, the tribunal considers your increase is too high, they will reduce it to the figure they consider is correct, which may not be the figure your tenant is asking for.

Q. I have just had a sale for my property fall though and it is going to take me some time to find a new buyer. I am considering renting out the property to a friend who is working as a nurse for a couple of months – what sort of agreement should I use? Can I use a holiday let agreement?