Form 4A is free to download as a PDF from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page. It is the prescribed form for proposing a rent increase on a private assured tenancy in England. Complete every section, then serve it at least two months before a start date that falls on the first day of a rent period, signed by the landlord or their agent.

Form 4A lives on one GOV.UK page: Assured tenancy forms. It is a free nine-page PDF, current version 05.26, and it is the only form that lawfully proposes a rent increase on a private assured tenancy in England.[1][2][3] This article covers where to get it, what every question asks for, and the errors that make a notice invalid. For the notice itself and the law behind it, start with what is a Section 13 notice?

Where do you download Form 4A?

From the GOV.UK guidance page "Assured tenancy forms", under the heading for properties rented out privately. The page hosts every current assured tenancy form for England, and it describes Form 4A as the landlord's notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector.[1] Do not pay for it anywhere: the PDF is free.

Check you are downloading the right form. The same page hosts Form 4, which looks similar but now applies to social housing only; GOV.UK is explicit that privately rented property needs Form 4A instead.[1] Assured agricultural occupancies in the private rented sector use Form 5A.[1][2] The current private-sector edition is marked version 05.26 on every page, in force since the Renters' Rights Act reforms commenced on 1 May 2026.[2][7]

Because the form is prescribed, a letter or email proposing a new rent is not a Section 13 notice, however clearly it is written.[3][4]

How do you complete Form 4A, section by section?

The form can be completed and signed electronically or by hand.[2] Work through it in order.[2]

Section 1, the tenants and the property. Question 1.1 takes the tenant names; on a joint tenancy, name every joint tenant. Question 1.2 takes the address of the premises the tenancy relates to.[2] A Section 13 notice proposes a new rent under one tenancy, so rooms let on separate tenancies each need their own form.[3] We cover that setup in Section 13 for HMO room rents.

Sections 2 and 3, the landlord and the agent. Section 2 takes the landlord's name and contact address, and section 3 mirrors it for the agent where one is acting. Phone and email are optional in both, but the form warns that entering an email address is an agreement that the tenant and the tribunal may use it to serve documents, so use a monitored inbox.[2]

Section 4, the rent and the dates. This is where notices go wrong, so slow down here.[2]

  • 4.1: the current rent and how often it is paid. The frequency is the tenancy period and must be a month or less.
  • 4.2: the date the tenancy started.
  • 4.3: the date of the most recent rent increase, left blank if there has never been one.
  • 4.4: the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003. This anchors whether 52 or 53 weeks must pass between increases; leave it blank if there has been no increase since that date.
  • 4.5: the proposed new rent and its payment frequency.
  • 4.6: the date the new rent starts. Three statutory rules govern this date; they are covered below.
  • 4.7: a table of charges included in the rent, current and proposed: council tax, water, fuel, communication services, and fixed service charges. Enter nil where nothing applies. Only include charges the tenant pays within the rent, not bills paid directly to a supplier, and leave out variable service charges that move with costs.[2]

The signature block. The landlord or the landlord's agent signs, prints their name, and dates the form; tick the box that says which you are. Joint landlords either each sign, using the additional signatures box, or agree that one signs on behalf of all. Any continuation sheets must be signed and dated too.[2]

What are the rules for the start date in question 4.6?

The date must pass three tests at once, set out in section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988 and restated in the form's own Note A.[3][2]

  1. It is at least two months after the date the notice is served.
  2. At least 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy's first period began, or since the last increase took effect. If the proposed date would fall more than six days before the anniversary of the date in question 4.4, wait an extra week: 53 in total. This stops review dates drifting earlier each year.
  3. It falls at the beginning of a rent period. On a monthly tenancy that started on the 20th, the new rent must start on a 20th; on a weekly tenancy that started on a Monday, it must start on a Monday.

Work backwards from the rent-period day you want and serve with margin. The timing rules are covered in depth in how much notice must a landlord give? and how often can a landlord increase rent?

Which errors invalidate a Section 13 notice?

Tribunal guidance lists what a valid notice must get right, and each item maps to a common completion error.[5]

  • The wrong form. Form 4 instead of Form 4A, an out-of-date edition, or a letter. The private-sector form has been Form 4A since 1 May 2026.[1][7]
  • Short notice. A start date less than two months after service.[5][3]
  • The wrong start date. Inside the 52-week window, or not at the start of a rent period.[5][3]
  • Wrong or missing party details. The tenant's correct name and address must be on the form.[5]
  • No signature. The notice must be signed by the landlord, and tribunal guidance names an unsigned form as a validity defect. Form 4A also accepts the agent's signature on the landlord's behalf.[5][2]

The tenant can challenge validity at the First-tier Tribunal using the same MR1 application that challenges the rent, and Form 4A itself tells tenants they can refer a notice where there is a problem with it, giving short notice as its example.[5][2] A defective notice does not lawfully increase the rent, so the fix is to serve again on a corrected form with a fresh start date at least two months out. Because a determined increase is never backdated, every week lost to a defective notice is rent the landlord does not recover.[6]

What happens after you serve it?

Serve the form in a way you can evidence: a method agreed in the tenancy agreement, by hand, left at the tenant's address, or by registered post.[2] The options are compared in ways to serve a Section 13 notice. Then one of three things happens.[2][3]

  1. The tenant accepts and pays the new rent from the start date.
  2. You agree a change in writing. Once a notice has been served, landlord and tenant can agree 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]
  3. The tenant refers the rent to the First-tier Tribunal. The application must be received before the start date in question 4.6 and costs £47.[5] The tribunal determines the open market rent, cannot set a figure above the one on your notice, and the old rent remains payable until the decision.[6][2]

If nothing is agreed and no application arrives, the proposed rent applies from the date in question 4.6.[3]

MarketRent prepares the Section 13 notice inside a documented rent review workflow, fills it from your tenancy data, and blocks dates that fail the notice length, the 52-week rule, or the rent-period start test. The workflow is walked through in how to serve a Section 13 notice, and if you are still settling the figure for question 4.5, see how much can a landlord increase rent?

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

Sources

  1. Assured tenancy forms, GOV.UK
  2. Form 4A, landlord's notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector (GOV.UK, version 05.26)
  3. Housing Act 1988, section 13 (as amended), legislation.gov.uk
  4. The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Prescribed Forms and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/354)
  5. Apply for an open market rent determination, GOV.UK
  6. Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 7, legislation.gov.uk
  7. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/421)