done previously in the administration of house renovation grants. This statutory function ceased in 2000. Maximum Fair Rent Order The Rents Act (Maximum Fair Rent) Order 1999 was introduced in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 6 and came into force on 1 February 1999. The Rent Officer continued to determine a fair rent as previously but was then required to calculate by a formula the maximum rent payable if this was lower than the fair rent. The formula required a comparison between the retail price index at the date of the previous registration and the retail price index for the month immediately preceding the new determination of a fair rent. There was an addition of 0.075 for the first registration after this new order came into force and 0.05 for every subsequent registration. Variable service charges were not included in the calculation of the formula. The Maximum Fair Rent did not apply where there had been a change in the condition of the dwelling house of the common parts as a result of repairs or improvements carried out by the landlord if the new rent determined as a result of these repairs or improvements exceeded the previous registered rent by at least 15%. The Maximum Fair Rent was to be recalculated if the rent registered by the Rent Officer upon an application made on or after 1 February 1999, was referred to a Rent Assessment Committee. Retail Prices Index used by Rent Officers and Rent Assessment committees is the monthly United Kingdom Index of Retail Prices (for all items), which is available from the Office for National Statistics or online. The Rent Officer Service through the Institute of Rent Officers had been consulted in the past about legislative changes and procedures. Suggestions were made through annual reports most of which were eventually incorporated into legislation. One such recommendation was the creation of a nation service either as an executive agency or as a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB). The Rent Officer Service was established as The Rent Service as an executive agency of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on 1 October 1999. Significant opportunities for service improvements were able to be made in line with the government's modernising objectives. The Rent Service became a single, national service with local delivery, building on existing experience to secure better performance and improved customer service. The new organisation focused on