By the end of this guide you will have added PIPR indexation to a rent review's evidence pack in MarketRent and set a default index for every property manager in your agency.
PIPR is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, the UK's official measure of private rent prices. The ONS has published it monthly since March 2024, down to local-authority level in England.[1][2] MarketRent uses PIPR as its default rent index. Add it to a review and the evidence pack your landlords and tenants see carries an indexed view of the current rent, next to your comparables. This guide covers adding it to one review and setting the default for your whole agency.
Steps
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Open the review in the Rent Reviews tab
Find the property by address search or the postcode filter, then open its review. If the review is mid-cycle, the Next Steps tab shows what is still missing.
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Check the tenancy details behind the calculation
The indexed figure is calculated from the current rent and the date it took effect, so confirm both on the tenancy details screen first. A wrong rent or start date produces a wrong indexed figure.
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Add PIPR indexation to the evidence pack
Indexation is part of building the evidence, and the Next Steps tab links you straight to where it is added. PIPR is the index MarketRent applies by default.
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Review the indexed figure in context
MarketRent calculates the indexed figure from ONS data for the property's local authority, the finest level the ONS publishes in England.[1] Treat it as context, not a valuation. The statutory benchmark is the open market rent for that property.[3]
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Add it before you propose
Once you send the proposal to the landlord, the evidence pack is locked, so check the indexation is in place before the proposal goes out. The lock is deliberate. It keeps the evidence behind each proposal on record.
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Set the agency-wide default in Settings
In Settings, set the default rent indexation method so every property manager starts from the same index with less manual setup each time. PIPR is the default until you change it.
Good to know
- PIPR tracks the whole private rented stock, sitting tenants and renewals as well as new lets, so it usually reads lower than asking-rent indices in a rising market.[1]
- The latest two months of ONS figures are provisional and revised monthly, so treat the indexed figure as a reference point, not a final answer.[1]
- An average cannot see the property's condition, street, or features. Pair the index with comparables. The evidence pack holds both.
For what the index can and cannot tell you about a rent, read What is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents?, or try the Free Rent Indexation Tool, no account needed. Once the evidence is in, the next step is usually serving the Section 13 notice; the full statutory process is covered in our rent reviews guide.
Next in the setup path: How to run a rent review from start to finish.
This article is general information for letting agents in England, not legal advice.