Methodology, sources and limits
Benchmere is an independent service. It is not part of, or endorsed by, HM Courts & Tribunals Service, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or GOV.UK.
Sources
- Residential property tribunal decisions, published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service on GOV.UK. This is the complete source for every decision record.
- ONS private rent and house prices bulletin, for the annual private rent change shown beside tribunal figures.
Processing
- Collect newly published decisions from the GOV.UK finder.
- Read each decision and record the street, postcode district, proposed rent, determined rent, comparables and decision date.
- Remove names, unit-level addresses and signatures. Records that cannot be fully stripped are excluded.
- Check the extracted figures against the published document.
- Publish the record and update the district, area and tracker figures.
How the free check is calculated
The free check takes the postcode district of the property and counts the published decisions within the stated radius during the stated period. The share cut is the number of decisions where the determined rent is below the proposed rent, divided by all decisions in the set. The median cut is the middle value of the percentage changes among the decisions where the rent was cut. Where there are fewer than 5 decisions, the check shows the count only.
How area figures are calculated
Area pages group decisions by local authority. Monthly volumes count decisions by decision date. The share cut and median cut use the same definitions as the free check, applied to all decisions in the area for the period shown.
How the tracker is calculated
The tracker sums all published decisions for England by month. Regional figures group decisions by the nine English regions. Changes are stated against the previous month, in percentage points where the measure is a share.
Field definitions
| Field | Definition |
|---|---|
| street_public | Street name as published in the decision. Unit numbers and names are removed. |
| outward_code | The postcode district of the property, for example SW4. |
| decision_date | The date the tribunal issued its decision. |
| proposed_pcm | The rent on the Section 13 notice, in pounds per calendar month. |
| determined_pcm | The rent the tribunal set, in pounds per calendar month. |
| change_pct | Determined rent against proposed rent, as a percentage to one decimal place. A negative value is a cut. |
| comparables_summary | A plain-language summary of the comparable rents cited in the decision, where the decision records them. Null where it does not. |
Risk bands
Based on past tribunal decisions near this postcode, compared with the rest of England. It is not a prediction for your property.
Low
The tribunal cut the rent less often near this postcode than in most of England: the bottom third of postcode districts.
Medium
The tribunal cut the rent about as often as in a typical district: the middle third of postcode districts.
High
The tribunal cut the rent more often near this postcode than in most of England: the top third of postcode districts.
How it works: for each postcode district we take decisions within 1 mile of the district centre, widening to 2, 3 and then 5 miles until there are at least five decisions that state both the proposed and the decided rent. Districts are then ranked by the share of rents the tribunal cut. Current cut-offs: Medium from 66.7%, High from 80.0% of rents cut. Districts with fewer than five usable decisions get no band.
This is general information drawn from past tribunal decisions. It is not legal advice.
Limits
- England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different systems.
- Only decisions the tribunal publishes. Withdrawn or settled cases do not appear.
- Cut-rate figures use only decisions that state both the proposed and the decided rent. Short summary notices without the proposed rent are kept but excluded from those figures.
- Fair rents set under the Rent Act 1977 follow a different formula and are excluded.
- Past decisions describe what happened. They do not predict the outcome of a future case.
This is general information drawn from past tribunal decisions. It is not legal advice.
Licence
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Changelog
- 30 Oct 2026 · First public release: 3,030 verified market rent decisions.