If you were renting your home from your landlord before the 15 January 1989 then you will probably have the right to ask a Rent Officer to decide what is a 'Fair Rent' for your home. When a 'Fair Rent' is set by the Rent Officer then this is the rent that the landlord must charge and the tenant must pay.
The Rent Officer is an official who is independent of both Hillingdon Council and the Government. They follow rules set out in the Rent Act 1977 to decide what a 'Fair Rent' for a property would be. The Rent Officer will consider all the circumstances of the property and the tenancy but does not look at the personal circumstances of the tenant or the landlord.
When the Rent Officer sets a fair rent it is recorded in a register. If you are thinking of asking the Rent Officer to set a fair rent then you can ask to look at the register to see the level of rents in your local area before you apply for the rent to be set. Remember that a Fair Rent may not always be lower than the rent you currently pay.
If you would like more information, please contact your local rent service office at:
4-5 Theatre Place
Theatre Lane
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1SS
Tel. 01243 756900
