[2025] UKUT 237 (LC)

Where a tenant refers a landlord’s notice of increase of rent to the First-tier Tribunal for determination and names their landlord’s managing agent as the only respondent to the reference, is the tribunal entitled to communicate only with the agent named by the tenant and to hear the reference in the landlord’s absence?

That practical question arises in this appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal, Property Chamber (the FTT) following a referral for determination of the rent payable under an assured tenancy of a flat in Barnet in North London. The tenant, Ms Patsovska, had received a notice under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 from her landlords’ managing agents, proposing a new rent £2,300 a month with effect from 30 July 2024 in place of the £1,700 a month she had been paying. She referred the notice to the FTT under section 14 of the 1988 Act and by its decision of 14 November 2024 the FTT decided that the new rent should be £1870.00 a month and that it should only take effect from 1 October 2024.

The landlords, Mr Seng Keong Teoh, Wun Tan, and Belamy Teoh were not notified of the application by the FTT. Instead, the FTT communicated only with their managing agents, Haart, who had served the notice of increase and who had been identified by the tenant as the respondent to the application. Haart made limited submissions but did not attend the hearing. Nor did the landlords.

The landlords now appeal against the FTT’s decision, with the permission of this Tribunal. They say that they were never made aware of the existence of the proceedings and were unable to participate and that the way in which the proceedings were conducted was therefore unfair and the FTT’s decision should be set aside. It has not yet been determined whether the landlords were unaware of the proceedings.