LonRes has launched a new tool aimed at helping letting agents and landlords justify rents ahead of incoming legal changes.
From 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act will limit rent increases to once a year and require them to reflect local market levels. That shift puts greater emphasis on being able to evidence what constitutes a fair “open market rent” – particularly if a tenant challenges a rise at tribunal.
To address this, LonRes has introduced “Rental Checker”, a service designed to provide data-backed rental benchmarks. Initially focused on the prime London lettings market, with plans to expand across the M25, the tool uses achieved rents from the LonRes database rather than advertised asking prices.
Agents input key property details – including postcode, size, bedrooms, bathrooms and proposed rent – and the system returns comparable lettings along with an accuracy indicator showing how closely the figure aligns with the local market.
The resulting data can be incorporated into branded reports for landlords, offering documented support for pricing decisions and a clearer audit trail should a rent increase be scrutinised.
Chris Welch, director of sales at LonRes, said: “Rental Checker helps letting agents advise their clients in setting rent increases so that they comply to the RRA rulings. Importantly the rental comparables draw upon achieved as opposed to asking rents. This allows for a degree of accuracy not matched by some of the wider consumer property portals.
“And because LonRes is independent – it neither lets nor sells property – the Rental Checker report is too. The report is designed for letting agents to forward on to landlords and in turn their tenants as a means of verifying their decision-making process. In essence Rental Checker promotes both transparency and fairness in the sector.”
Anthony Payne, CEO of LonRes, added:“LonRes is uniquely placed to facilitate this service. Rental Checker will help letting agents and their clients in determining true rental values in a fair and transparent manner.”
