Tenant groups are worried that high fees will stop renters from appealing once the Renters’ Rights Act goes into effect.
Justice Minister Sarah Sackman said in response to a question in Parliament that the government was beginning to put a new fees system in place in the Property Chamber.
Sackman said, “The goal of the new framework is to create a Property Chamber that is fair, long-lasting, and open to everyone.” “The framework has a fee of £47 for applications to appeal a rent increase, and there is no hearing fee. This is one of the lowest fees in HMCTS.”
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The Renters’ Reform Coalition wrote to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook earlier this month about the plans. Generation Rent’s polling of renters found that nine out of ten would fight a steep increase if tribunals were free. However, only half said they would still do so if they had to pay a fee of £200.
Clara Collingwood, the director, told The Mirror, “This government promised to protect renters from evictions that aren’t their fault and give them the power to fight unfair rent increases.” If tenants had to pay a fee to go to rent tribunals, it would be easier for bad landlords to threaten tenants with huge rent increases or kick them out by raising rents to levels that are too high for them to afford.
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Sackman said that the Help with Fees program would always be there to help people who couldn’t pay their fees. The fees were always being looked at again. She went on to say, “In 2024/25, we sent £91 million in fees to protect access to justice.”
