Section 13 · Form 4A · England 2026
How do you raise the rent in 2026? Section 13 + Form 4A.
Rent-review clauses stopped working on 1 May 2026. Every rent increase on an assured periodic tenancy in England now runs through a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, with two months’ notice and no more than once a year. Get a date wrong and the increase simply never takes effect.
Draft and serve the notice in LetCompliance · GOV.UK Form 4A
Earliest valid date
2-month notice, start of a period
52-week gap check
Since the last increase took effect
Tribunal deadline
When the tenant can still refer
Not legal advice. Download the current Form 4A from GOV.UK and verify dates and service rules before serving. The wrong form or a bad date voids the increase.
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Quick answer
What is a Section 13 notice?
A Section 13 notice is the statutory notice an English landlord serves under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 to propose a new rent on an assured periodic tenancy. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 it is the only lawful way to raise the rent: you serve the prescribed Form 4A, give at least two months’ notice, and may do so only once every 52 weeks (never in the tenancy’s first year). Rent-review clauses in the agreement can no longer be used. The tenant may refer the proposed rent to the First-tier Tribunal before it takes effect, and the tribunal may determine a higher or lower open-market rent, but the tenant can never be required to pay more than you proposed and cannot backdate it.
Source: GOV.UK rent increase guidance and Housing Act 1988, s.13. Work out your earliest valid date, free.
Why Section 13 is now the only route
The rent-review clause in your agreement stopped working.
Before May 2026 most landlords raised rent using a rent-review clause written into the tenancy agreement: a fixed percentage each year, an RPI ladder, or a simple “rent may be reviewed annually” line. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 ended that. On an assured periodic tenancy in England, those clauses can no longer be relied on, and the fact that one is still printed in your agreement does not make it usable.
What replaces it is the statutory route that has existed all along: section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. You propose a new rent on the prescribed form, give the tenant proper notice, and the tenant gets a right to have the figure tested against the open market by the First-tier Tribunal. It is more procedural than a clause, but it is also more predictable: the tribunal cannot come back with a number higher than the one you asked for.
The catch is that section 13 is unforgiving on form and dates. There is no “substantially complied” safety net. An out-of-date form, a start date that lands mid-period, or an increase served eleven months after the last one, and the new rent simply does not take effect. You re-serve and wait another two months, having lost the difference in the meantime.
The Section 13 rules at a glance
England, assured periodic tenancies, 2026
Swipe horizontally to see both columns.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Prescribed form | Form 4A from GOV.UK. The old Form 4, or a letter setting out the new rent, does not comply. |
| Minimum notice | At least 2 months between serving the notice and the new rent starting. |
| Start date | The new rent must begin on the first day of a new period of the tenancy, not mid-period. |
| Frequency | Once every 52 weeks, measured from the date the last increase took effect — 53 weeks where the new date would fall more than six days before the anniversary of your first post-2003 increase. |
| First increase | No increase can take effect until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began. |
| Rent-review clauses | No longer usable on an assured periodic tenancy. Section 13 is the only route. |
| Tenant challenge | The tenant may refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent takes effect. |
| Payment cap | The tribunal decides the open-market rent, which may come out higher or lower than your figure — but the tenant can never be required to pay more than you proposed, and pays nothing extra until the decision. |
| No backdating | A tribunal-determined rent applies from the date the tribunal sets, and can be delayed for hardship. |
Read the Renters' Rights Act 2025 checklist for the duties that now sit alongside rent increases, and the step-by-step Section 13 guide for the long-form walkthrough.
How to serve a Section 13 notice
Seven steps, about half an hour.
Check the tenancy and the 52-week clock
Confirm the tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy in England, that at least 52 weeks have passed since it began, and that at least 52 weeks have passed since the last increase took effect.
Work out the earliest lawful start date
Use the free Section 13 rent increase calculator to get the earliest date the new rent can begin (two months' notice, landing on the first day of a new period) and the tenant's tribunal referral deadline.
Download the current Form 4A
Take Form 4A from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page. Do not reuse a saved copy or the pre-reform Form 4.
Complete the notice accurately
Enter landlord and tenant names exactly as on the tenancy, the full property address, the current rent, the proposed rent, and the start date you calculated.
Serve it in a way you can prove
Hand delivery with a witness or receipt, or first-class post with proof of postage. Serve by email only where the tenancy agreement expressly allows notice by email.
Keep the evidence and diarise the challenge window
Store the served notice, the proof of service and the date of service. Note the date before which the tenant can refer the rent to the First-tier Tribunal.
Be ready to evidence open market rent
If the tenant refers the notice, gather comparable local lets that support the proposed figure. The tribunal cannot award more than you proposed, so a well-evidenced, realistic figure is the whole game.
Skip the date maths
The free calculator applies the two-month notice, the start-of-period rule and the 52-week gap for you, then gives you the tenant’s tribunal deadline.
The 52-week gap is the single most misquoted rule in UK letting: almost every guide calls it twelve months. Why that is wrong, with the source.
If the tenant goes to tribunal
A referral caps your downside, it does not raise it.
A tenant who believes the proposed rent is above open market level can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), but they must apply before the new rent is due to take effect. Miss that window and the proposed rent simply starts on the date in your notice.
Two reforms make a referral much less frightening than it used to be. First, the tribunal may determine a higher or lower open-market rent, but the tenant can never be required to pay more than the figure you proposed, so the worst realistic outcome is the rent you asked for, or less. Second, the old power to backdate the increase to the notice date is gone: the rent the tribunal sets applies from the date in its decision, and where paying from that date would cause the tenant undue financial hardship the tribunal can push the start date back further.
Practically, that means your job is evidence, not bravado. Gather three or four comparable local lets of similar size, condition and location, dated close to your notice, and propose a figure you can defend. An ambitious number invites a referral that can only reduce it; a well-evidenced one usually is not challenged at all.
Seven ways a Section 13 notice goes void
Each one costs you at least another two months.
- 1
Serving the old Form 4, a stored PDF from an earlier year, or a plain letter instead of the current Form 4A.
- 2
Giving less than two full calendar months before the new rent starts.
- 3
Picking a start date that falls mid-period rather than on the first day of a new period of the tenancy.
- 4
A second increase inside 52 weeks, or any increase taking effect inside the first 52 weeks of the tenancy.
- 5
Relying on a rent-review clause in the tenancy agreement instead of serving Section 13.
- 6
Serving by email where the tenancy agreement does not expressly permit notice by email.
- 7
Ambiguous or inconsistent dates and rent figures between the notice and your rent records.
Get the date right, then serve it properly
The calculator is free and needs no account. Drafting the notice, serving it and keeping a timestamped record sits inside LetCompliance, free for your first property.
Frequently asked questions
Section 13 notice, England 2026
What is a Section 13 notice?
A Section 13 notice is the statutory notice a landlord in England serves under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 to propose a new rent on an assured periodic tenancy. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 it is the only lawful way to increase the rent: you serve the prescribed Form 4A, give at least two months’ notice, and can do so only once in any 52-week period.
Is it Form 4 or Form 4A?
Both exist, and picking the wrong one invalidates the notice. GOV.UK publishes Form 4A for the private rented sector and Form 4 for social housing, so a private landlord needs Form 4A. The same split applies to possession: Form 3A is the private-sector Section 8 notice, Form 3 is the social-housing one. Serving the wrong version, or a plain letter setting out the new rent, does not comply with section 13 and the increase does not take effect. Always download the current form from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page rather than reusing a stored PDF.
How much notice do I have to give for a rent increase?
At least two months. The new rent cannot start earlier than two months after the notice is served, and it must begin on the first day of a new period of the tenancy (so for a monthly tenancy, a rent day). Giving less than two months’ notice, or picking a start date mid-period, makes the notice invalid.
How often can I increase the rent?
Once every 52 weeks — not once every calendar year. A first increase cannot take effect until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began, and each later increase must be at least 52 weeks after the previous one. There is one refinement: if the new date would fall more than six days before the anniversary of your first increase after 11 February 2003, you must wait a 53rd week. The clock runs from the date the last increase took effect, whether that came from a Section 13 notice, a term in the tenancy agreement or a First-tier Tribunal determination.
Can I use the rent review clause in my tenancy agreement instead?
No. Rent-review clauses (fixed percentage uplifts, RPI ladders and similar) in assured periodic tenancy agreements can no longer be relied on to raise the rent in England. Section 13 is the only lawful mechanism, regardless of what the agreement says. Many pre-2026 agreements still contain these clauses; the clause being there does not make it usable.
Can the tribunal set a higher rent than I proposed?
No. If the tenant refers the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), the tribunal decides the open market rent but cannot set it higher than the figure you proposed in the notice. A referral therefore caps your downside rather than raising it. You should still be ready to evidence the proposed rent with comparable local lets.
Can the tribunal backdate the rent increase?
No. Under the pre-2026 rules a tribunal could backdate an increase to the date in the notice. That power was removed. The rent determined by the tribunal applies from the date the tribunal sets in its decision, and where paying from that date would cause the tenant undue financial hardship the tribunal can delay the start date further.
When can the tenant challenge the increase?
The tenant must apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the date the new rent is due to take effect. If they do not apply in time, the proposed rent takes effect on the date in the notice. Once a tribunal has determined a rent, the 52-week clock restarts from that determination.
Does this apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. This page covers assured periodic tenancies in England under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each run separate housing law, notices and tribunals. Do not use an England Section 13 notice outside England.
Is the Section 13 calculator free?
Yes. The rent increase calculator runs in your browser with no account and no signup: enter the tenancy details and it returns the earliest lawful start date, the two-month notice window and the tenant’s tribunal referral deadline. Drafting, serving and keeping a timestamped record of the notice itself sits inside a LetCompliance account, which is free for a single property.
Is this legal advice?
No. LetCompliance provides software and educational summaries only. Verify the current prescribed form, dates and service rules on GOV.UK, and take advice from a qualified adviser where the tenancy type, the rent history or a tribunal referral is disputed.
Work out the rent-increase dates, the notice period for a possession ground and what the new rent does to your tax. No login, runs in your browser.
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