The Section 13 rent increase notice: the form, the notice period and what makes it invalid

In England, a Section 13 rent increase is now the normal route for increasing rent on an assured private tenancy, using Form 4A and the post-Renters’ Rights Act 2025 rules. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate rent-increase regimes, so this article deals with England unless a contrast is stated.

What is a Section 13 notice?

A Section 13 notice is the landlord’s formal Housing Act 1988 notice proposing a new rent for an assured tenancy, now usually the Section 13 rent increase notice on Form 4A for private rented homes in England. Section 13 says the landlord may serve “a notice in the prescribed form proposing a new rent to take effect at the beginning of a new period of the tenancy”, and GOV.UK describes this as “the ‘section 13 process’.” It is not a possession notice, not a new tenancy agreement and not something the tenant signs to make the rent rise valid. Its job is to give the tenant the proposed rent, the start date and the statutory information needed to accept, negotiate or challenge the increase. Form 4A itself is marked “For use in the private rented sector in England only”, because Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different notice systems.

Can you increase the rent without serving a Section 13 notice?

In England, a landlord normally cannot increase rent on an assured private tenancy without using the Section 13 process, even if the tenant says they agree. GOV.UK states: “You need to follow the section 13 process every time you increase the rent, even if you have already agreed the increase with your tenants.” The Act is stricter than the old market practice of renewals, rent-review clauses and informal agreements: it now says “The rent for a period of an assured tenancy to which this section applies may not be greater than the rent for the previous period except by virtue of” the statutory routes. That means a landlord asking whether they can increase rent without Section 13 should assume no unless a specific statutory exception applies. A tenant can still agree a lower increase or no increase, but the landlord’s proposed increase must be put through the statutory notice route.

Do you have to use the prescribed form, or will a letter do?

In England, use Form 4A for a private Section 13 rent increase; a rent-increase letter is risky unless it is genuinely a form “substantially to the like effect.” The 2026 Regulations prescribe “Form 4A in the Schedule” for a Section 13 notice proposing a new rent for an assured tenancy, and GOV.UK warns: “Do not change the wording of these forms unless the form says you can.” That means a casual letter saying the rent is going up is not the safe Form 4A process, even if it names the old rent, new rent and date. A document does not fail merely because it is not a PDF downloaded from GOV.UK if it has the same statutory effect, but a landlord who writes their own tenant rent increase letter takes on the validity argument. For practical purposes, download the current Form 4A and complete that.

Where do you get Form 4A, and how do you fill it in?

Get Form 4A from GOV.UK’s assured tenancy forms page and fill in the prescribed boxes rather than using an old Word template or a copied Section 13 rent increase form PDF. GOV.UK says: “Use this form if you are a landlord of a privately rented property and want to propose a new rent.” The form itself contains the completion guidance: GOV.UK says “The form includes guidance on how to use it to tell your tenant you’re increasing the rent.” Put in the tenant, property, current rent, proposed new rent, the date the new rent is to start, the tenancy-period details and the previous-increase information requested by the form. Do not use Form 4A for social housing or outside England, because the form says “For use in the private rented sector in England only.” Abodient can store the completed notice against the tenancy so the rent record and notice document sit together if the date or form is later challenged.

What do you put for the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003?

On Form 4A, put the actual date the first Section 13 rent increase took effect after 11 February 2003; if there has not been an increase since then, the form says to leave the box blank. The Form 4A note is direct: “If there has not been an increase since 11 February 2003, leave blank.” Box 4.4 asks: “Give the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003.” If you simply do not keep records going back that far, do not invent a date; use the best tenancy and rent records you have, and if there is no known post-2003 Section 13 increase, leaving the box blank is the position the form expressly gives for no such increase. The reason the date matters is that Section 13’s later timing rules refer to whether rent has previously been increased by “a notice under this section or a determination under section 14”.

How much notice do you have to give for a Section 13 rent increase?

In England from 1 May 2026, a Section 13 rent increase needs at least two months’ notice before the new rent can start. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 amended Section 13 by substituting “two months” for the old minimum-period wording, and Form 4A repeats the rule: “this notice must be served at least two months before the new rent can start.” The new rent also has to start on the correct tenancy-period date, not just any day two months later. GOV.UK’s simple wording that “You can only increase the rent once a year” is useful shorthand, but the Act uses 52-week and sometimes 53-week timing rules for the first and later increases. In Wales, the comparable Renting Homes notice is also at least two months; in Scotland and Northern Ireland, ordinary private-tenancy rent increases generally require three months’ notice.

When can you serve a Section 13 notice, and how often can you raise the rent?

In England, a Section 13 notice can be served only early enough to give two months’ notice, and the first increase cannot start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began. Form 4A says: “The first rent increase cannot start until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began.” For later increases, Section 13 normally points to “the date that falls 52 weeks after the date on which the increased rent took effect,” with a 53-week rule in the specific case where subsection 3B applies. The everyday answer is once a year, but the safer legal answer is 52 or 53 weeks, because a one-day error can matter if the tenant challenges the notice. In Scotland there is no Section 13 and the statutory rule is that rent “may not be increased more than once in a 12 month period”; Northern Ireland also restricts increases within 12 months.

Can you serve a Section 13 notice by email?

In England, serve a Section 13 notice by email only if the tenancy agreement’s service clause allows that method for statutory notices; otherwise Form 4A’s default methods are personal delivery, leaving it at the tenant’s address or registered post. Form 4A says: “If your written tenancy agreement specifies agreed methods of service, use one of those.” If the agreement does not specify a method, the form says the landlord can serve by “handing it over to your tenant in person, leaving it at the tenant’s address or sending it by registered post.” Shelter’s practical guidance is consistent: “They could send it by email if your tenancy agreement says they can.” Email is therefore not automatically invalid, but it is a bad default unless the contract clearly permits it. Scotland expressly treats post or email as usable for its different rent-increase notice, allowing two days for receipt; Northern Ireland guidance also accepts electronic written notice.

What invalidates a Section 13 notice?

Perotti v Amboh Properties is the key correction: the Upper Tribunal held that stating a monthly rent figure on a quarterly tenancy did not invalidate the Section 13 notice. The tribunal said, “the notice was valid,” rejecting the view that the monthly figure was fatal. A Section 13 notice is more likely to be invalid because it uses the wrong prescribed form, gives the wrong effective date, fails to give the required notice, is served by a method not authorised by the tenancy or law, or proposes a start date that is not the beginning of a tenancy period. In Mooney, the Court of Appeal gave the classic date rule: “for a weekly tenancy beginning on a Monday, the notice must specify a Monday as the date from which the new rent will take effect.” Since 1 May 2026, the tribunal can decide validity because it “may determine whether a notice served on the tenant under section 13(2) or 13A(2) is valid.”

How does a tenant challenge the increase at the tribunal, and how long does it take?

In England, a tenant challenges a Section 13 rent increase by applying to the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent start date and paying the £47 application fee. Section 14 says: “A tenant under any assured tenancy may make an application to the appropriate tribunal for the purpose of challenging a new rent proposed in a notice under section 13(2) or 13A(2).” GOV.UK is explicit on timing: “You must apply before the start date of the new rent given in the notice,” and “This application costs £47.” The landlord then gets 28 days to respond: “They have 28 days if they want to respond.” Nobody publishes an average tribunal processing time for rent-increase appeals; LandlordZONE reports that the Ministry of Justice “doesn’t hold data on the average time it takes” to process and rule on them. The only published timing is that the written decision after a hearing is usually sent “within 6 weeks.” Scotland starts with a rent officer, not the tribunal.

What rent does the tenant pay while a tribunal challenge is pending?

In England, if the tenant applies to the tribunal before the Section 13 start date, the proposed new rent does not take effect while the challenge is pending. Section 13 says the new rent takes effect as stated “unless, before the beginning of the new period specified in the notice” the tenant makes the statutory application. For post-1 May 2026 notices, if the tribunal decides after the proposed start date, the rent determined by the tribunal usually starts from the next tenancy period after the determination, not backdated to the landlord’s notice date. GOV.UK says: “If the tribunal’s decision is after the new proposed new rent date has started, any new rent will usually start from the next payment date after the tribunal’s decision.” That is a major difference from the old regime. Wales and Scotland have separate rules, and Wales converted-contract cases can produce a rent effective from the notice date.

The council has offered a lump sum if you withdraw the notice - what is that?

A council lump sum offered to withdraw a Section 13 notice or stop possession action is a homelessness-prevention grant, not Discretionary Housing Payment. The legal basis is the council’s prevention duty: the authority must take “reasonable steps to help the applicant to secure that accommodation does not cease to be available for the applicant's occupation.” Homelessness guidance says this can include “making one-off grant payments which would prevent an eviction.” No statute prices the payment; the guidance says “There is no limit set on the amount of financial assistance that can be provided,” but councils must act reasonably and local schemes set their own caps. Mid Devon’s 2026 scheme, for example, caps assistance at “up to two months worth of rent” and makes the landlord sign to “withdraw possession proceedings.” The catch is that the council is buying a housing outcome, so expect conditions, paperwork and no guarantee that another council will match the same amount.

Universal Credit says the notice needs the tenant's signature - how do you get the increase recognised?

Universal Credit does not need the tenant to sign Form 4A to make a valid England Section 13 rent increase, but DWP can ask for evidence of the claimant’s housing costs before it recognises the change. The Universal Credit Regulations say the Secretary of State may require “information or evidence in connection with the claim,” and Form 4A tells the tenant: “If you are claiming Universal Credit, you should tell the Department for Work and Pensions once the rent increase starts.” If UC staff reject the notice because it lacks a tenant signature, supply the Form 4A plus a landlord or agent letter confirming the current rent, service charges and occupation; DWP’s landlord guide says it may accept “a letter from their landlord or letting agent confirming the current rent and service charges.” For a change of circumstances, DWP staff guidance says evidence is due within “14 days.” Even when accepted, private-sector UC housing costs remain capped at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Housing Act 1988 s.13 — “a notice in the prescribed form proposing a new rent to take effect at the beginning of a new period of the tenancy” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy agreements: rent increases — “the ‘section 13 process’.” Source
• Form 4A — “For use in the private rented sector in England only.” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy agreements: rent increases — “You need to follow the section 13 process every time you increase the rent, even if you have already agreed the increase with your tenants.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.13 — “The rent for a period of an assured tenancy to which this section applies may not be greater than the rent for the previous period except by virtue of” Source
• Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) Regulations 2026 reg.3 — “Form 4A in the Schedule” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy forms — “Do not change the wording of these forms unless the form says you can.” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy forms — “Use this form if you are a landlord of a privately rented property and want to propose a new rent.” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy agreements: rent increases — “The form includes guidance on how to use it to tell your tenant you’re increasing the rent.” Source
• Form 4A — “If there has not been an increase since 11 February 2003, leave blank.” Source
• Form 4A — “Give the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.13 — “a notice under this section or a determination under section 14” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.6 — “two months” Source
• Form 4A — “this notice must be served at least two months before the new rent can start.” Source
• GOV.UK, assured tenancy agreements: rent increases — “You can only increase the rent once a year.” Source
• Form 4A — “The first rent increase cannot start until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.13 — “the date that falls 52 weeks after the date on which the increased rent took effect” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.19 — “may not be increased more than once in a 12 month period” Source
• Form 4A — “If your written tenancy agreement specifies agreed methods of service, use one of those.” Source
• Form 4A — “handing it over to your tenant in person, leaving it at the tenant’s address or sending it by registered post.” Source
• Shelter England — “They could send it by email if your tenancy agreement says they can.” Source
• Perotti v Amboh Properties Ltd — “the notice was valid” Source
• Mooney v Whiteland — “for a weekly tenancy beginning on a Monday, the notice must specify a Monday as the date from which the new rent will take effect.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.6 — “may determine whether a notice served on the tenant under section 13(2) or 13A(2) is valid.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.14 — “A tenant under any assured tenancy may make an application to the appropriate tribunal for the purpose of challenging a new rent proposed in a notice under section 13(2) or 13A(2).” Source
• GOV.UK, apply for an open market rent determination — “You must apply before the start date of the new rent given in the notice” Source
• GOV.UK, apply for an open market rent determination — “This application costs £47.” Source
• GOV.UK, apply for an open market rent determination — “They have 28 days if they want to respond.” Source
• LandlordZONE — “doesn’t hold data on the average time it takes” Source
• GOV.UK, taking part in a rent issue tribunal application — “within 6 weeks.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.13 — “unless, before the beginning of the new period specified in the notice” Source
• GOV.UK, apply for an open market rent determination — “If the tribunal’s decision is after the new proposed new rent date has started, any new rent will usually start from the next payment date after the tribunal’s decision.” Source
• Housing Act 1996 s.195 — “reasonable steps to help the applicant to secure that accommodation does not cease to be available for the applicant's occupation.” Source
• Homelessness code of guidance, chapter 16 — “making one-off grant payments which would prevent an eviction.” Source
• Homelessness code of guidance, chapter 16 — “There is no limit set on the amount of financial assistance that can be provided” Source
• Mid Devon Housing Assistance Policy Annex A — “up to two months worth of rent” Source
• Mid Devon Housing Assistance Policy Annex A — “withdraw possession proceedings” Source
• Universal Credit Regulations 2013 reg.37 — “information or evidence in connection with the claim” Source
• Form 4A — “If you are claiming Universal Credit, you should tell the Department for Work and Pensions once the rent increase starts.” Source
• GOV.UK, Universal Credit and rented housing guide for landlords — “a letter from their landlord or letting agent confirming the current rent and service charges.” Source
• DWP Private Rented Sector Guidance — “14 days” Source
• GOV.UK, Universal Credit and rented housing guide for landlords — “For private rented sector tenants, their Universal Credit additional amount for housing costs will be whichever is lower out of their actual costs or the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate.” Source