I arrive at the London Rent Assessment Panel near Goodge Street for a 9:30am hearing. The building is shiny and new-looking, with light created by the glass-walled offices and hearing rooms. On the wall of the waiting room is an old ward boundary map of the area around the City of London, a reminder that many more people used to live in central London until the end of the 19th century. One of five Rent Assessment Panels in England, the quasi-judicial body aims to settle disputes between private landlords and tenants in London. The hearing room itself is intimate setting with two panellists and the involved parties sitting at tables.
The first case is from a tenant contesting a rise in her current rent, which is just over £600 per month for a two-bed flat near Goodge Street. Like much of the property in the area, the lower floors have been shops and workshops, with the top floor remaining as a flat for some exhausted Victorian or
Edwardian shopkeeper to retire to.
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