Rent reviews are no longer a routine administrative task. In 2026, they sit at the intersection of income planning, resident retention, documentation and legal compliance. For landlords with rising finance, insurance, repair and regulatory costs, a well-timed review may be commercially necessary. For residents, the same decision can materially affect household budgets. The strongest approach is therefore neither to avoid rent reviews nor to chase an arbitrary percentage. It i

Ask ten landlords how much they can put the rent up by and you will get ten different answers. Some will confidently quote 5%. Others will insist the cap is 12%. A few will tell you there is no limit at all and they can charge whatever they like. All three answers are wrong—or at least incomplete. Here is the uncomfortable truth: the landlords losing money on rent reviews are rarely the ones being too greedy. They are the ones being too vague. They pick a percentage, send an