At least two months. Since 1 May 2026, a Section 13 notice in England must be served at least two months before the new rent starts, double the old one-month minimum for monthly tenancies, and the new rent must begin on the first day of a rent period.
Two months is the minimum, not the target. Since 1 May 2026 the notice period is one of three statutory date tests a Section 13 notice has to clear, alongside the 52-week rule and the rent-period start date, and an increase that fails any of them does not lawfully take effect.[1][3] The practical work is choosing a start date that passes all three with margin to spare. For the wider process, see our complete guide to rent reviews under the Act.
What does the law require since 1 May 2026?
The two-month minimum lives in section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by section 6 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025.[1][2] Section 13(2) now requires the proposed new rent to take effect no earlier than two months after the notice is served.[1] It came into force for private assured tenancies in England on 1 May 2026.[3] The notice must be served on prescribed Form 4A, free to download from GOV.UK. A letter will not do.[4]
Form 4A states it plainly: "This notice must be served on the tenant(s) at least two months before the new rent can start."[5]
This is double the old minimum. Before 1 May 2026, one month's notice was enough for a monthly or weekly periodic tenancy.[6] If your templates, diary rules, or CRM reminders still assume one month, they are now wrong.
When can the new rent actually start?
Two months' notice is necessary but not enough on its own. The proposed start date has to pass three statutory tests at once.[1][5]
| Date test | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Notice length | The start date is at least two months after the date of service |
| The 52-week rule | No increase within 52 weeks of the tenancy's first period beginning, or of the last increase taking effect. In some years the anti-drift rule makes this 53 weeks |
| Rent-period start | The new rent must start at the beginning of a rent period |
The third test is the one that trips people up. Form 4A's guidance uses the example of a monthly tenancy that began on the 20th: any increase must also start on a 20th.[5] So a notice served on 7 July cannot propose 7 September, even though that is two months away. The earliest lawful start date is 20 September, the first rent-period day at least two months after service, assuming the 52-week test is also met.
The 52-week rule has its own wrinkle, a 53-week adjustment that stops increase dates drifting earlier each year.[5] We cover it in how often can a landlord increase rent in England?
When does the two-month clock start running?
From the date of service, which is why proof of service matters as much as the date on the form. Form 4A's own guidance says:
You need to be able to evidence that you served the notice on your tenant. If your written tenancy agreement specifies agreed methods of service, use one of those. If it does not you can serve it by handing it over to your tenant in person, leaving it at the tenant's address or sending it by registered post.[5]
The practical rule for agents: work backwards from the rent-period day you want, then serve with time in hand. A few days' margin means a postal delay or a last-minute correction does not push the increase back a full rent period.
What happens if the notice period is too short?
The increase does not lawfully take effect, and the notice is open to challenge. Form 4A tells tenants they can refer a notice to the First-tier Tribunal where there is "another problem with this notice", giving short notice as its example: "if the landlord did not give it to you at least two months before the date of the proposed increase".[5] The tenant must apply before the proposed start date,[7] and the old rent stays payable until the tribunal decides.[5] A determined increase is never backdated once that date has passed, so time lost to a defective notice is rent you cannot recover.[8]
In practice, a short-notice mistake means re-serving on corrected dates and pushing the increase back. Across a book of periodic tenancies, that is a recurring risk worth engineering out. MarketRent checks the statutory date constraints before a Section 13 notice is drafted and blocks invalid dates, covering the 52-week rule, the rent-period start date, and the notice length. The wider process, from evidence to service to outcome, is covered in our complete guide to rent reviews under the Renters' Rights Act. For the notice itself, start with what is a Section 13 notice?, and if you are still framing the figure, the Free Rent Indexation Tool gives an indexed rent reference point from published ONS data.
This article is general information for letting agents in England, not legal advice.
Sources
- Housing Act 1988, section 13 (as amended), legislation.gov.uk
- Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 6, legislation.gov.uk
- The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/421)
- GOV.UK guidance, Assured tenancy forms
- Form 4A, Landlord's notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector (GOV.UK, version 05.26)
- Housing Act 1988, section 13, version in force 30 April 2026 (previous notice periods)
- GOV.UK guidance, Apply for an open market rent determination
- Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 7, legislation.gov.uk