Commercial Rent Reviews: How They Work
Written by Scott Jones, founder of CommercialPropertyKiln · Last updated
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A rent review adjusts the rent during a lease. How it is done, and which way it can move, has a big effect on your income and the value of the investment.
Types of review
- Open-market review: the rent is reset to the market rent at the review date. Most are upward-only, meaning the rent cannot fall below the passing rent.
- Index-linked review: the rent moves with an index such as RPI or CPI. It can rise or fall, and often has collars and caps.
- Stepped or fixed: pre-agreed increases.
- Turnover rent: common in retail, linked to the tenant's sales.
The upward-only ban
The ban on upward-only rent review clauses is legislated in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. However, the ban is not yet in force, with commencement expected around 2027 to 2028, and it is not retrospective, so existing leases keep their upward-only clauses. See the law reform tracker.
Running a review
Reviews are usually settled by negotiation using comparable evidence. If the parties cannot agree, the lease will provide for an independent expert or an arbitrator to decide. The new rent is normally backdated to the review date, with interest if the lease provides for it.
Model the uplift
Our rent review calculator estimates the reviewed rent, the backdated sum, and the effect on capital value.
What is an upward-only rent review?
A review where the rent is reset to the market level but cannot fall below the passing rent. The ban on such clauses is legislated but not yet in force.
What happens if the parties cannot agree the reviewed rent?
The lease usually provides for an independent expert or an arbitrator to decide, with the new rent normally backdated to the review date.