Property expert tells Martin Lewis how tenants can challenge rent rises - but it comes with a warning

Martin Lewis was joined by a panel of experts for a spin-off of his usual podcast. The ‘Not The Martin Lewis Podcast' is a brand new offshoot of The Martin Lewis Podcast, where the difference is Martin asks specialists his listeners' questions instead of answering them himself.

This is because The Money Saving Expert founder admits that there are some subjects which are outside of his realm and he can't answer questions on due to regulations. This particular episode, released on June 10, heard Martin joined by a panel of property experts for a special dedicated to renting.

The specialists addressed some of Martin’s listeners' burning questions about the private rental sector, after he admitted he heavily focuses on mortgages and homeowners because it’s 'easier' to advise when the system is controlled by financial institutions like banks rather than third-parties like landlords.

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The episode tackled queries of renters' rights, from costs and repairs to damp, pets and disputes. One of the first questions that the financial guru asked the experts was about rent rises. He asked: "Please confirm that there is absolutely nothing a renter can do to stop their private landlord hiking their rent by 10 percent a year like mine did, other than move from the place they've lived in for 10 years."

Ben Leonard, a policy officer at ACORN, responded: "So there's not quite nothing that can be done, you can challenge rent rises via a tribunal so that's the good news. The bad news is that the system really doesn't work that well for renters."

He continued: "There are two reasons really, first is that it takes a long time and landlords can