The only way to increase the rent on a private assured tenancy in England is a Section 13 notice on official Form 4A, served at least two months before the new rent starts and no more than once a year. Your letting agent can prepare, sign, and serve the notice for you. If the tenant refers the figure to a tribunal, the rent can be held or lowered but never raised above the notice, and the increase is never backdated.

This guide is written for landlords whose property is managed by a letting agent, and agents are welcome to forward it. It explains how rent increases on private tenancies in England work now, what happens after a notice is served, and what your agent handles on your behalf. The rules changed on 1 May 2026, and some of what landlords remember about renewals and review clauses no longer applies.[1]

Why has the rent increase process changed?

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 brought its main tenancy reforms into force for private tenancies in England on 1 May 2026.[1] Every private assured tenancy now runs as a periodic tenancy: fixed terms are gone, and existing agreements converted to the new system automatically.[2] That removed the renewal moment at which a new rent used to be agreed.

The Act also closed the other routes. Government guidance is explicit that "rent increases by any other means – such as rent review clauses – will not be permitted".[2] A review or indexation clause in your tenancy agreement has no effect, even if the agreement was signed years before the Act.[3][2] What remains is one statutory process: a Section 13 notice, served on official Form 4A.[3][4]

These rules cover the private rented sector in England.[4] Wales and Scotland run separate systems; our comparison of rent increase rules in England, Wales and Scotland sets out the differences.

How does a rent increase work now?

Your agent serves a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, the government form for the private rented sector.[4] Three timing rules decide when the new rent can start, and all three must be met [3]:

  • At least two months between serving the notice and the new rent starting.
  • At least 52 weeks since the last increase took effect, or since the tenancy began. In practice, once a year, and 53 weeks in the occasional year where 52 would fall more than six days before the anniversary date.
  • The new rent must start at the beginning of a rent period.

A worked example. The rent is paid monthly on the first of the month and last went up more than a year ago. If your agent serves the notice on 10 August, two months takes you to 10 October, and the first rent period beginning after that starts on 1 November. So 1 November is the earliest date the new rent can take effect.

Your agent can run the whole process for you. Form 4A has a dedicated agent section, and the notice can be completed and signed electronically, by you or by your agent.[5] Accuracy matters more than speed here: GOV.UK's guidance on the tenancy forms warns that changing the wording of a prescribed form can make it invalid.[4] Our explainer on what a Section 13 notice is walks through the form field by field.

What can your tenant do after the notice is served?

One of three things.

  1. Accept. The tenant pays the new rent from the start date on the notice. No further step is needed; a valid notice takes effect automatically.[3]
  2. Agree a change. Once a notice has been served, landlord and tenant can agree in writing to vary what it proposed: a rent lower than the figure on the notice, no change at all, or a later start date, never a higher figure. The agreement has to be recorded in writing, or the rent on the notice takes effect regardless.[3] A good agent puts any such agreement in writing.
  3. Refer the figure to the First-tier Tribunal. The application must reach the tribunal before the start date on the notice and costs £47, with help available for tenants on low incomes.[6]

If the tenant refers the notice, three rules shape the outcome, and they are worth understanding before a figure is set:

  • The tribunal cannot go above your figure. It determines the open market rent, and the rent it sets is the lower of that determination and the rent proposed on the notice.[7]
  • The increase is never backdated. The existing rent stays payable while the case is decided, and if the decision comes after the proposed start date, the new rent runs from the first rent period on or after the decision.[7][6]
  • Hardship can defer it further. Where the start date would cause the tenant undue hardship, the tribunal can push it back, up to two months from the date of its decision.[7][6]

The practical effect: a referral costs you time at the old rent, not the right to increase. That waiting time is the real exposure, which is why the figure itself needs to be built to hold. The tribunal route is covered step by step in what happens if a tenant challenges a rent increase.

Why does the evidence behind the figure matter?

Because a challenged rent is tested against a defined benchmark: the open market rent, the rent the property might reasonably be expected to be let for in the open market by a willing landlord.[8] Official guidance points challenging tenants at exactly that standard, telling them to gather "evidence from similar nearby properties (similar size, features and location)" showing how much they were rented for.[6]

The strongest position is a figure built the same way before the notice goes out: recent lettings of similar nearby properties first, official rent-index context second, and a written record of the reasoning. There is no fixed cap or formula on the amount; the benchmark is the market rate, described in government guidance as the price the property would achieve if it were newly advertised to let.[2] A rent pitched above what the evidence supports invites a referral and months of delay at the old rent. An evidenced figure is either accepted or holds up when tested.

How much can a landlord increase rent? covers the amount question in full, and what evidence supports a rent increase shows what a strong evidence pack contains.

What does a good agent process look like?

A well-run review is visible from your side of it. Six things to expect from your agent:

  • Dates checked before anything is proposed. The 52-week rule, the two months' notice, and the rent-period start date, all verified against the tenancy's actual history.[3]
  • A figure with evidence behind it. Comparable lettings, index context, and the property's condition, not a round number.
  • The right form, completed in full. Form 4A, carrying the tenancy details and rent history it asks for, signed by your agent or by you.[5]
  • A record of service. Proof of how and when the notice reached the tenant.
  • Any agreement in writing. If a different figure is agreed after service, it is documented, not left on a phone call.
  • A documented outcome. Accepted, agreed, or referred, the file shows what happened and when the new rent took effect.

That record is not paperwork for its own sake. If a notice is referred, the file your agent kept is the case they present.

Letting agents using MarketRent run rent reviews as exactly this kind of documented workflow: statutory date checks on every notice, an evidence pack of comparables and official index context behind every figure, and a record of each review from proposal to outcome. For the full statutory picture, see the complete guide to rent reviews under the Renters' Rights Act.

This article is general information for letting agents in England, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/421)
  2. Guide to the Renters' Rights Act (MHCLG, GOV.UK)
  3. Housing Act 1988, section 13, as amended (rent increase notices)
  4. Assured tenancy forms (GOV.UK)
  5. Form 4A, landlord's notice proposing a new rent for private rented sector tenancies (GOV.UK, version 05.26)
  6. Apply for an open market rent determination (GOV.UK guidance)
  7. Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 7 (challenging amount or increase of rent)
  8. Housing Act 1988, section 14, as amended (determination of rent by tribunal)