Procedure
Procedure is informal and there are few procedural rules. The procedure is governed by the Rent Assessment Committees (England and Wales) Regulations 1971 (SI 1065/1971), which has been amended a number of times since.
The first stage will be for the committee to establish whether it has jurisdiction in the matter. This will often be done by administrative staff. In cases where the administrative staff do not believe that they have jurisdiction they will refer the matter to the RAC to determine this point. The RAC will accept representations either on paper or in person.
Assuming that the Committee accepts that it has the necessary jurisdiction to make a decision it will set down the matter for a hearing. Any of the involved parties can ask that the RAC hears evidence at the hearing to support their case although they are required to do so at least 28 days before the hearing date itself.
In cases where the RAC is being asked to decide on a market rent, and in other cases where it seems appropriate, the Committee members will seek to visit the property in question. They will usually do this on the morning of the day scheduled for the hearing.
Read more about this topic: Rent Assessment Committee