Rent Review Arbitration

The process

• Application to the RICS Dispute Resolution Service and appointment of an arbitrator
• Preliminary meeting or written directions setting the timetable
• Statements of case, comparable evidence and expert reports exchanged
• Counter-submissions, and a hearing only where the sums justify it
• Reasoned award, usually within weeks of the final submission

Costs risk

The arbitrator's fee and the parties' costs generally follow the event, so a poorly judged position is expensive. Calderbank offers are the standard protection: a well-pitched sealed offer made early shifts costs risk decisively onto the other side.

Arbitration or settlement

Most reviews should settle. Arbitration makes sense where the gap is wide, the evidence genuinely supports your figure, or a point of principle will affect several units in a portfolio. I give a candid view of the range before anyone applies for an appointment.