What is a rent review?
A rent review is a contractual mechanism that allows the rent under a commercial lease to be adjusted at agreed intervals — typically every five years on longer leases.
The most common type is an "open market" review, where the rent is reset to whatever the market would currently pay for the property under the same lease terms. Other types include indexation (linked to RPI or CPI) and stepped reviews (fixed increases).
How to prepare
Preparation starts at least six months before the review date. Gather market evidence on comparable properties. Understand the trigger mechanism in the lease. Identify your negotiating position.
Don't wait for the review date to start thinking about it. By then, your tenant will have already prepared their counter-position.
Common pitfalls
The most common rent review mistake is missing the trigger date. Some leases require the landlord to serve formal notice to initiate the review — and missing the deadline can mean the review is lost or capped.
The second most common mistake is failing to gather evidence. Rent reviews are evidence-based negotiations. The party with the better evidence usually wins.
When negotiations stall
If you and your tenant can't agree, most leases provide for an independent expert or arbitrator to determine the rent. This adds cost and time, but is sometimes necessary.
Even at this stage, the strength of your evidence matters. Independent experts make decisions on the basis of what's submitted to them — not on what could have been submitted.