Section 13 notice

A Section 13 notice is the formal legal mechanism under Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 by which a landlord proposes a rent increase on a periodic assured tenancy in England. From 1 May 2026, it is the only lawful way to increase rent, Section 6 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 amended Section 13 to make it the exclusive route, rendering all contractual rent review clauses, index-linked uplifts, stepped rent provisions, and informal agreements of no legal effect. Section 13 applies to assured periodic tenancies (APTs), the only form of private residential tenancy in England from 1 May 2026, and to any tenancy that was already running as a periodic assured tenancy before that date.

Form 4A: the prescribed notice

To increase rent using Section 13, the landlord must complete and serve Form 4A, "Landlord's notice proposing a new rent under an Assured Periodic Tenancy of premises situated in England", available from GOV.UK. Before 1 May 2026, the prescribed form was Form 4; Form 4A is the updated version required for all notices served from that date onwards. Any notice served on or after 1 May 2026 that uses the old Form 4 is invalid.

The form must include: the tenant's name and property address; the landlord's name and contact details; the current rent amount and payment frequency; the proposed new rent; and the proposed start date for the new rent. Every field matters, errors on the form, including an incorrect current rent figure or a start date that does not fall on the right day of the tenancy period, can invalidate the notice entirely and require the process to begin again.

Frequency and timing rules

Section 13 can only be used once every 52 weeks. The new rent cannot take effect within the first 12 months of the tenancy. The landlord must give at least two months' written notice before the proposed start date, this increased from one month under the pre-RRA regime and applies to all notices served on or after 1 May 2026. The new rent must start on the same day of the month (or week) that the rent is normally due, and it must be at least two full months after the notice is served.

A useful way to think about the timing: the notice can be served before the 12-month anniversary of the last increase, but the new rent cannot take effect until at least 52 weeks after the last increase took effect. For a tenant paying monthly, serve the notice approximately ten weeks before you want the new rent to start, to be safe. August's rent increase calculator checks whether a proposed effective date satisfies the two-month notice requirement and the 12-month frequency rule.

One nuance landlords inherited from the pre-RRA period: if rent was last increased by informal agreement, for example, a signed addendum or an email exchange, before 1 May 2026, the landlord must still wait 52 weeks from that increase before a Section 13 notice can take effect. If the last increase was via Section 13 before May 2026, the same 52-week rule applies.

How to serve a Section 13 notice

The notice can be served in person, by first-class post, or by email if the tenancy agreement explicitly permits email service. Whichever method is used, the landlord should retain proof of service, a post office receipt for recorded delivery, a read receipt for email, or a signed acknowledgement if delivered by hand. If serving by post, the two-month notice period runs from the date the tenant is deemed to have received it, typically two working days after posting, not from the date of posting.

From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, August finds that notice period errors and date calculation mistakes are the most common reasons a Section 13 notice is challenged or invalidated. The most frequent mistake is calculating the start date from the date of serving rather than the date of receipt, which can push the effective date by two days and invalidate the notice.

What the proposed rent must reflect

The proposed rent must be in line with the open market rent for the property, what the property would reasonably achieve if re-let on the open market at the time the notice is served. A landlord cannot use Section 13 to impose an arbitrary increase. The proposed amount does not need to be formally evidenced in the notice itself, but a landlord who has researched comparable rents locally is in a far stronger position if the tenant challenges. Our step-by-step guide to how to increase tenants' rent covers how to complete Form 4A, how to calculate the correct effective date, and how to serve the notice.

Use the rent increase calculator to work out the correct notice date and new monthly rent for a Section 13 increase.

If the tenant challenges at tribunal

A tenant who believes the proposed rent is above the open market rate can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the proposed start date. The tribunal fee is £47, payable by the tenant. The tribunal will assess what the property would achieve on the open market and set a rent accordingly. Under the post-RRA rules, the tribunal can set the same rent as the landlord proposed or reduce it, it cannot set a higher rent than what the landlord proposed. This is a change from the pre-RRA position, where a tribunal could sometimes set a rent above the landlord's proposal.

If the tribunal finds the notice is invalid, for example, because the start date is wrong or the form is incorrectly completed, the increase does not take effect at all. The tribunal also has the power to delay the start of the new rent by up to two additional months from the date of its decision if paying from the notice date would cause undue hardship to the tenant.

Importantly, a landlord cannot serve a Section 21 notice in retaliation for a tenant challenging a Section 13 increase, Section 21 no longer exists. The tenant's right to challenge carries no risk of retaliatory no-fault eviction.

Statutory basis

Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Section 6) governs rent increases on periodic assured tenancies in England. The prescribed form, Form 4A, is issued under the Assured Tenancies (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026. GOV.UK maintains landlord guidance on rent increases and the Form 4A download. Section 13 applies in England only; Scotland and Wales have separate rent increase procedures.

For a full breakdown of the timing rules and what landlords can and cannot do, see when can landlords increase rent?

Frequently asked questions

Can a landlord increase rent by informal agreement instead of using Section 13?

Not for new increases from 1 May 2026. The Renters' Rights Act makes Section 13 the exclusive route for rent increases on periodic tenancies, and any term in a tenancy agreement purporting to allow a different method is void. However, if a rent increase was agreed informally before 1 May 2026 and the tenant started paying the higher amount, that increase is treated as having taken effect, but the next increase must still use Section 13 and cannot take effect within 52 weeks.

What makes a Section 13 notice invalid?

The most common reasons are: using the old Form 4 rather than Form 4A; proposing a start date that does not fall on the correct day of the tenancy period; giving less than two months' notice; proposing a start date within 52 weeks of the last increase; or leaving fields on the form incomplete or incorrect. An invalid notice has no legal effect, the rent does not increase and the landlord must start the process again.

Can the tribunal set a higher rent than the landlord proposed?

No. Under the post-RRA rules, the First-tier Tribunal can set the same rent as proposed or lower it to the open market rate, but it cannot award a rent above what the landlord asked for in the Form 4A. This is a change from the pre-May 2026 position.

Does Section 13 apply during a fixed-term tenancy?

No. Section 13 only applies to periodic tenancies. Fixed-term ASTs could only have rent increased via a contractual rent review clause during the fixed term. Since fixed-term ASTs were abolished on 1 May 2026, this is now a moot point for new tenancies, all tenancies are periodic from the outset and Section 13 is the sole mechanism.

Last reviewed: May 2026 by the August editorial team. Reflects the law in England as at 1 May 2026, including the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules.

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