There are five Rent Assessment Panels (RAPs) that cover England to which the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government appoints the senior officers, known as presidents and vice-presidents. These appointees are judicial office holders and not members of the civil service.
The RAPs have pools of chairpersons, appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and members appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The president of the RAP will convene a leasehold valuation tribunal where leasehold cases require a hearing and will appoint a chairperson and two members to the tribunal.
RAPs are part of the Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS). The RPTS is headed by a senior president, appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who is responsible for the quality and consistency of the panels' work across the country.