How to Raise the Rent Properly Under the New Rules
If you are a private landlord in England trying to understand how rent increases work under the Renters' Rights Act, this piece covers why the Section 13 process is now the only lawful route to raising rent, what the process requires step by step, why procedural errors make increases unenforceable, what the First-tier Tribunal does and when tenants can use it, and what landlords who self-manage need to do differently from 1 May 2026.
The conversation I keep having
Of all the changes in the Renters' Rights Act, rent increases generate the most confusion in the conversations I have with landlords. Not because the rules are particularly complicated. Because landlords who self-manage have often been doing this informally for years, and the gap between what they have been doing and what the Act now requires is larger than they realise. The most common scenario I encounter goes something like this. A landlord has a tenant who has been in a property for three or four years. The rent has not increased since they moved in. The landlord wants to bring it closer to market rate. They send a message, the tenant agrees, and the rent goes up. Everyone's happy. No paperwork, no process, no problem. Under the Renters' Rights Act, that approach does not work anymore. An informally agreed rent increase, without the correct Section 13 notice, is not enforceable. The tenant can agree to it in a message and then revert to the old rent with no legal consequence. The landlord has no recourse. That is not a hypothetical risk. It is a practical one that self-managing landlords need to understand before May.What the Act changes about rent increases
Before 1 May 2026, there were two common ways landlords raised rent. The first was through a rent review clause in the tenancy agreement, which set out agreed terms for increases at specified intervals. The second was the Section 13 process, which allows landlords to propose a new rent by serving the correct statutory notice. From 1 May 2026, only one of those routes remains available. Rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements become void from that date. It does not matter what the clause says, how clearly it was drafted, or whether both parties agreed to it when the tenancy started. From May, those clauses have no legal effect. Any rent increase, for any tenancy, must go through the Section 13 process. This catches landlords out for a straightforward reason. Many tenancy agreements, particularly those based on older templates, contain rent review clauses that landlords have been relying on quietly in the background. From May, relying on them is relying on nothing.What Section 13 actually requires
The Section 13 process sounds more bureaucratic than it is. In practice, it has four components. The right form. A Section 13 notice must be served using the prescribed form - Form 4, available from the government website. It cannot be a letter, a message, or an adapted version of the form. It must be the correct statutory form, completed accurately. The correct notice period. For periodic tenancies running month to month, at least one month's notice is required. For periodic tenancies running week to week, at least one week's notice. For annual periodic tenancies, six months' notice. The notice period must be observed in full before the new rent takes effect. Once per year maximum. Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent can only be increased once in any 52-week period. If a Section 13 notice is served too soon after the last increase, it is invalid. Keep a clear record of when each increase took effect. A proposed start date. The notice must specify the date from which the new rent is proposed to take effect. That date must fall on the first day of a new rental period, not mid-period. Getting the date wrong is a common error and it invalidates the notice. That is the process. Correct form, correct notice period, correct timing, correct proposed start date. Done properly, it is straightforward. Done incorrectly, the increase is unenforceable and the landlord has to start again.Serving the notice correctly
How you serve the Section 13 notice matters almost as much as what it contains. The safest approach is recorded or tracked delivery, with proof of postage retained. Email is acceptable if the tenancy agreement specifies that email service is valid, but it is worth checking that explicitly rather than assuming. Hand delivery is acceptable but leaves no proof of receipt unless accompanied by a signed acknowledgement. The date of service affects the notice period calculation. If you are serving by post, build in sufficient time for the notice to arrive before the notice period begins running. Landlords who cut this too fine and then try to enforce an increase before the notice period has fully expired will find the increase challenged. Keep everything. The completed form, the proof of postage or delivery, and a record of the proposed start date and the new rent amount. This documentation is what you fall back on if the increase is questioned.The First-tier Tribunal
Under the Renters' Rights Act, tenants who receive a Section 13 notice have the right to challenge the proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) if they consider the new rent to be above market rate. This is the part that makes some landlords nervous. It should not, provided increases are grounded in reality. The Tribunal's role is not to rubber-stamp whatever the landlord proposes, nor to automatically side with the tenant. It assesses what a reasonable market rent for the property would be, based on comparable properties in the area. If the proposed increase is in line with the local market, the Tribunal will generally confirm it. If it is significantly above market rate, the Tribunal can set a lower figure. There are two things worth understanding about the Tribunal process. First, the tenant must make the application before the proposed start date for the increase. If they do not apply in time, the new rent takes effect as proposed. Second, in a small number of cases, the Tribunal has the power to set a rent lower than the current rent if the evidence supports it. This outcome is rare, but it is a reason to make sure increases are proportionate and defensible rather than aspirational. In practice, most straightforward, well-evidenced rent increases will not be challenged. Tenants who are happy in a property and paying a fair rent are not queuing up to go to the Tribunal. The risk is highest when increases are large, sudden, or clearly above what comparable properties in the area are achieving.What this means for self-managing landlords
If you manage your own properties, the shift to mandatory Section 13 notices requires a change in how you think about rent reviews. Informality is no longer an option. The process is not onerous, but it does need to happen correctly every time. The practical steps are these. Set a reminder in your calendar for each tenancy, noting the earliest date you can serve a new Section 13 notice based on when the last increase took effect. Build the notice period into your timeline so that the new rent starts from the correct date. Download and use Form 4 rather than improvising. Serve it in a way that generates proof of delivery. Keep everything on file. If you have never used the Section 13 process before, it is worth running through it once on paper before you need it. A single procedural error - the wrong form, the wrong date, a notice period miscalculated by a week - means starting the process again, with a delay of at least another month before the increase can take effect. Over time, across a portfolio, that adds up. One more thing. If your current tenancy agreements contain rent review clauses, make a note that those clauses are void from 1 May 2026. Do not serve a rent review notice under an existing clause after that date and expect it to hold. The clause is gone. Section 13 is the mechanism. Make sure your practice reflects that.What does this actually mean for landlords?
The move to mandatory Section 13 notices is part of a wider pattern in the Renters' Rights Act. The Act does not prevent landlords from doing the things they need to do. It requires them to do those things through defined processes, with proper documentation, and with rights for tenants to challenge where the process is not followed correctly. For landlords who have been managing informally, the adjustment is real. For landlords who have been managing properly, the shift is largely one of formalising what good practice already looks like. Rent increases are a normal, legitimate part of managing a rental portfolio. The costs of running a property go up. Markets move. Keeping rents in line with the market is reasonable and the Act does not prevent it. What it does is require that it happens through the right process. That is a manageable ask, provided you know what the process is. Now you do.
Frequently asked questions
How do rent increases work under the Renters' Rights Act?
From 1 May 2026, all rent increases must go through the Section 13 notice process using the prescribed Form 4. Rent can only be increased once in any 52-week period. Rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements become void from that date and can no longer be used to implement increases.What is a Section 13 notice?
A Section 13 notice is the statutory mechanism for proposing a rent increase on a periodic tenancy. It must be served using the correct prescribed form, with the appropriate notice period and a proposed start date that falls on the first day of a rental period. If any of these requirements are not met, the increase is unenforceable.How much notice does a landlord have to give for a rent increase?
For monthly periodic tenancies, at least one month's notice is required. For weekly periodic tenancies, at least one week. For annual periodic tenancies, six months. The notice period must be fully observed before the new rent can take effect.Can a tenant refuse a rent increase?
A tenant can challenge a Section 13 notice at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) if they consider the proposed rent to be above market rate. The application must be made before the proposed start date for the increase. The Tribunal will assess a reasonable market rent for the property based on comparable evidence.What happens at the First-tier Tribunal for rent increases?
The Tribunal assesses what a reasonable market rent would be for the property based on comparable properties in the area. It can confirm the landlord's proposed increase, set a lower figure, or in rare cases set a rent below the current level. Most well-evidenced, market-rate increases are confirmed.Are rent review clauses still valid after May 2026?
No. Rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements become void from 1 May 2026. Any increase after that date must go through the Section 13 process regardless of what the tenancy agreement says.Can a landlord increase rent more than once a year?
No. Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent can only be increased once in any 52-week period. A Section 13 notice served before 52 weeks have elapsed since the last increase is invalid.What form do landlords need to use for rent increases?
Form 4, the prescribed form for Section 13 notices, available from the government website. Using a letter, a message, or an adapted version of the form does not meet the statutory requirement and makes the increase unenforceable.Download the Renters' Rights Act 2026: Complete Landlord Guide
"*" indicates required fields