Since 1 May 2026 a landlord can put the rent up only by serving a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. The notice must give at least two months, no increase can start in the first year, and a tenant who thinks the new rent is above the open market rate can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide it. This article goes through the mechanics, a tenant’s challenge and a dated example. Our Renters’ Rights Act guide covers the rest of the reforms.
The short version
- Rent can rise only through a Section 13 notice, a tribunal decision, or an agreement, made after a notice, on a rent lower than the one proposed. A clause that allows other rises is of no effect.
- You must use Form 4A and give at least two months before the increase is to start, even if your tenant already agrees.
- The first increase cannot start before 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began, except for a statutory periodic tenancy. After that, 52 weeks must pass between increases, or 53 in some cases.
- A tenant who disagrees must apply to the tribunal before the new rent starts. The tribunal can set a lower rent but not a higher one than you proposed.
How the notice works
GOV.UK’s landlord guidance sets out the steps. You should first discuss the rise with your tenant. You then complete Form 4A, “Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent”, and give it to your tenant at least two months before you want the increase to start. You can give it in person, by post or by email if the tenancy agreement allows email. The guidance does not say how the two months are counted for a posted or emailed notice, so if timing is tight, take advice or hand it over in person.
The Act adds detail. The notice proposes a new rent to take effect at the beginning of a new period of the tenancy, so the start date must be a rent day, not a date in the middle of a month. That period must begin not earlier than two months after you serve the notice.
Two timing rules sit on top of that:
- The first year. Except for a statutory periodic tenancy, the new period must begin not earlier than 52 weeks after the first period of the tenancy began. GOV.UK puts this as no increase in the first year.
- Later increases. If the rent has already been raised, by notice or by the tribunal, the next one cannot start earlier than 52 weeks after the last one took effect. Section 13(3B) makes it 53 weeks in some cases, so check the date before you commit to it.
The rule counts from the last increase even if that increase took effect before 1 May 2026. GOV.UK’s example is a rise from 1 February 2026: the next cannot take effect before 1 February 2027.
What changed
Where the sources say so, here is the difference between the old rules and the new:
| Point | Before 1 May 2026 | From 1 May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Notice period | A “minimum period” linked to the tenancy’s period: one month for a monthly tenancy, six months for a yearly one, and one month where the period was shorter than a month. | At least two months. |
| Rent review clauses | Section 13 did not apply to a periodic tenancy that had a binding clause allowing rises. | A term allowing rises other than through a notice, tribunal decision or agreement following a notice is of no effect. |
| Challenging a rise | The tenant referred the notice to the tribunal. | The tenant applies to the tribunal under section 14. |
| Agreeing a different rent | Section 13(5) preserved the parties’ right to vary any term, including the rent, by agreement. | An agreement after a notice can only set a rent lower than the one proposed. |
| When a tribunal rent starts | Normally from the start date in the notice, even if the decision came later. | If the decision comes after that date, from the first new period beginning on or after the decision (section 14ZB(3)(b)). |
Check the notice is valid
The tribunal’s guidance says a tenant can ask it to decide whether your notice is valid. We have not found the statutory wording that gives it that power, so check before relying on it for an earlier notice. The guidance says a valid notice must:
- give a notice period of at least two months;
- not increase the rent within 52 weeks of the last increase, or during a fixed-term tenancy;
- start the increase on the correct date;
- carry the tenant’s correct name and address;
- be on the correct form and be signed by the landlord.
If the tribunal decides a notice is invalid, it does not determine the rent and the tenant does not need to pay the proposed rent.
If your tenant challenges the rise
The tenant must apply before the start date in your notice. The application fee is £47 for a tenant (not charged in some cases, such as notices dated before 1 May 2026).
You can respond using form MR2 within 28 days if you want to, and the tenant can reply. The tribunal’s guidance says the decision is often made on the papers alone, though it may inspect or hold a hearing. The guidance says actual agreed lettings are stronger evidence than asking prices on property websites.
The legal test is the rent the property might reasonably be expected to let for on the open market, by a willing landlord, under an assured tenancy with the same periods and the same terms, other than the rent. The tribunal must disregard three things:
- any effect on the rent from the tenancy being granted to a sitting tenant;
- an increase in value from certain improvements the tenant carried out;
- a reduction in value caused by the tenant failing to comply with the tenancy.
A service charge is not counted as rent.
When the new rent starts: a dated example
This is an illustration with invented dates and no rent figures. Take a monthly tenancy with rent due on the 1st, which began on 1 January 2027.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 November 2027 | Latest date to hand over a Form 4A for a rise starting on 1 January 2028, giving two months. |
| 1 December 2027 | The tenant applies to the tribunal, before the start date. |
| 31 December 2027 | 52 weeks have passed since the first period began, so 1 January 2028, the next rent day, is the earliest start. |
If the tribunal decides on 20 December 2027, the date in the notice is after the decision, so the new rent starts on 1 January 2028. If it decides on 15 February 2028, the notice date has passed, so the new rent starts on 1 March 2028, the first rent period beginning on or after the decision. Section 14ZB gives no earlier start date, so on our reading the existing rent continues until then.
The new rent can never be higher than the one in your notice. Section 14ZB also lets the Secretary of State change the start date by regulations, which must be approved by both Houses of Parliament.
Opening rent and bidding
A tenant can also use the tribunal in the first six months of a tenancy to challenge the rent payable under it. The tribunal can lower the rent to the open market rent but cannot raise it. Our guide to marketing a rental covers the advert, and a free lettings valuation gives you a local figure to start from.
GOV.UK also says you or your agent cannot ask for, encourage or accept an offer above the advertised rent, and you may be fined up to £7,000 for a first offence.
What the sources do not settle
- Section 13 sets no figure for how large a proposed rise can be. The check on size is the tenant’s right to apply to the tribunal.
- Which date counts as the start of the first period for a tenancy already running on 1 May 2026, for example one that began as a fixed term. Check the notes on Form 4A and take advice if the rent history is unclear.
- Transitional rules for existing tenancies sit in Schedule 6 to the Act and in S.I. 2026/421. We read regulations 7 and 8, which cover rent review clause rises and notices served before 1 May 2026, and did not examine every rule.
- The open market rent depends on the evidence put to the tribunal. We cannot say in advance what it will decide for a given Edmonton home.
If you would like us to prepare and serve a Section 13 notice, get in touch with our lettings team. See also our guide to landlord legislation, and our article on Enfield’s selective licensing scheme, which is a separate rule from rent control.
Questions readers ask
Can I put a rent review clause in a tenancy agreement?
It would not do anything. Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 now says a term that lets the rent be higher than the previous period, other than through a notice, a tribunal determination or an agreement following a notice, is of no effect. GOV.UK also says that a rise agreed under a rent review clause before 1 May 2026 but due to take effect after that date will not apply.
My tenant agrees to the new rent. Do I still need Form 4A?
Yes. GOV.UK says 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.
Can the tribunal set a rent higher than the one in my notice?
No. Under section 14ZB of the Housing Act 1988 the new rent is the tribunal’s open market rent if that is lower than the rent you proposed, and otherwise the rent you proposed. GOV.UK describes the outcome as the same as or lower than the rent in the landlord’s notice.
Does the new rent start on the date in my notice if the tenant challenges it?
Not necessarily. If the tenant applies to the tribunal before that date, the rent is decided first. If the date in your notice is on or after the decision, it starts on that date. If the decision comes later, it starts at the beginning of the first rent period that begins on or after the decision. Where paying from that date would cause the tenant undue hardship, the tribunal can direct a different date within two months of its decision.
Can a tenant challenge the rent I set when they move in?
Yes, within six months. Under section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 a tenant can apply to the tribunal to challenge the rent payable under the tenancy, but not once more than six months have passed since the tenancy began. The tribunal can lower the rent to the open market rent. It cannot raise it.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords, Rent increases, read on 16 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords, Rental bidding, read on 16 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Renters’ Rights Act: an overview for landlords, published 1 May 2026.
- HM Courts and Tribunals Service, Apply for an open market rent determination, published 14 January 2026, last updated 10 August 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 1988, section 13, read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Housing Act 1988, section 14, read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 6 and section 7, read on 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, S.I. 2026/421, regulation 7 and regulation 8, read on 16 October 2026.
