How to Raise the Rent: The Section 13 Process

If you have ever used a rent review clause, a line in your tenancy agreement that allows you to increase rent annually by a fixed percentage or by reference to CPI or RPI, that clause became legally void on 1 May 2026.

Since the same date, the only valid mechanism for increasing rent on any assured tenancy in England is the statutory Section 13 notice, using the Form 4A. There was no grace period and there is no workaround.

This affects every private landlord in England. If you were relying on contractual review clauses, or informally agreeing rent increases with tenants without formal notice, that route has closed and Section 13 is the process you now use.

Why Rent Review Clauses Are Being Abolished

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 converted all existing fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancies into periodic Assured Periodic Tenancies on 1 May 2026. Because fixed-term tenancies no longer exist, contractual rent review clauses, which were written to operate within the fixed-term framework, have no legal basis.

The government's stated policy goal is a simpler, standardised rent-increase process that tenants understand and can challenge. Section 13 achieves this by:

• Requiring formal advance notice with a prescribed form
• Limiting rent increases to once per 12 months
• Giving tenants a clear statutory route to challenge increases at the First-tier Tribunal

Any clause in a tenancy agreement that defines how rent will be increased, whether by reference to CPI, RPI, a fixed percentage, or any other method, has been null and void since 1 May 2026. The Independent Landlord, Gowling WLG, and the NRLA all confirm this.

The Section 13 Process: Step by Step

Step 1, Check When You Can Serve

You can only increase rent once every 12 months using Section 13. This means:

• You cannot serve a second Section 13 notice within 12 months of the previous rent increase taking effect
• You cannot increase the rent at all in the first 12 months of a tenancy
• Any Section 13 notice served on or after 1 May 2026 must use Form 4A, the prescribed form

⚠️ Use the right form. Form 4 and Form 4A are different documents. The old Form 4 no longer works and using it invalidates the notice. Form 4A is available from gov.uk.

Step 2, Complete Form 4A

Form 4A requires you to state:

• The address of the tenanted property
• The tenant's name(s)
• The current rent and the proposed new rent
• The date the new rent is to take effect (this must be the start of a rent period and must be at least two months after the date of service)

The proposed rent must be a specific figure, not a percentage increase or formula.

Step 3, Serve the Notice With at Least 2 Months' Notice

You must give the tenant at least two months' written notice before the new rent takes effect.

The notice must be served in writing. Best practice is to serve it:

• By hand with a signed receipt, or
• By first-class post to the property address, keeping proof of posting, or
• By email if the tenancy agreement explicitly authorises email service

Keep a record of how and when it was served. If a tenant challenges the increase and it reaches the Tribunal, your proof of service will matter.

Step 4, Wait for the Notice Period to Expire

Once served, the notice period runs for at least two months. During this time, the tenant can:

1. Accept the increase, rent changes automatically on the effective date
2. Challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal, see below
3. Do nothing, the increase takes effect as stated if no challenge is lodged before the effective date

You cannot withdraw a Section 13 notice once served, unless you and the tenant agree in writing to a different figure.

The Tribunal Challenge: The Risk Landlords Are Underestimating

Under the Renters' Rights Act, tenants have nothing to lose by challenging a Section 13 notice at the First-tier Tribunal. The Tribunal will assess the market rent, and critically:

• The Tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the figure you proposed. It can match your figure or reduce it, nothing more. The old risk that deterred tenants from challenging is gone
• If the Tribunal sets a lower rent than you proposed, that lower figure becomes the new rent
• The increase cannot be backdated. Where a challenge is made, the new rent takes effect no earlier than the date of the Tribunal's decision, not the original notice date

That last point is the trap. If a tenant lodges a challenge shortly before your notice was due to take effect, the new rent is delayed until the Tribunal decides, which can take weeks or months. The tenant pays the old rent throughout.

The fee for a tenant to challenge a Section 13 notice is small, around £47 at the time of writing, so tenants have a strong financial incentive to challenge any increase they consider unreasonable, especially as the increase is delayed either way. Check the current figure on gov.uk before relying on it.

Practical implication: Pitch your increase at demonstrably market rent, backed by comparable lettings in your area. A well-evidenced, market-rate increase is far less likely to be challenged, and if it is, more likely to be upheld quickly.

Recovering EPC Upgrade Costs Through Rent Increases

Many landlords planning EPC upgrades, whether to clear the band E minimum that has applied since 1 April 2020 or to get ahead of the band C standard government has proposed for October 2030, ask whether they can recover those costs by increasing rent. The honest answer: yes, but within the constraints of the Section 13 process.

Under Section 13:

• You can only increase rent by the market rate, you cannot add a "cost recovery surcharge" to an above-market rent
• The Tribunal will assess the proposed rent against comparable market rents, not against your cost base
• If your proposed rent is within the market range, the fact that you have spent money on EPC improvements is entirely consistent with justifying an increase

The most defensible strategy is to make your EPC improvements, then reassess the market rent for a freshly upgraded property (which may genuinely command more) and serve a Section 13 notice for that amount.

For guidance on which EPC improvements qualify as tax-deductible expenses, see our EPC upgrade tax relief guide.

Quick Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still increase rent by mutual agreement with my tenant? Not in the same informal way as before. The Act allows a tenant and landlord to agree a different rent figure, but the Section 13 notice must still be served first. The tenant can agree in writing to a rent different to what you initially proposed, but the formal process cannot be bypassed.

What if I never used rent review clauses, do I need to change anything? If you have always relied on Section 13 for rent increases, the process is broadly the same, you simply use Form 4A instead of Form 4, and the two-month notice requirement is now universal.

Can I serve a Section 13 notice during a fixed-term tenancy that's currently running? Fixed-term assured tenancies no longer exist. Every AST became periodic on 1 May 2026, so you can serve a Section 13 notice regardless of whether the tenancy was originally fixed-term, subject to the 12-month rules.

My letting agent handles rent reviews, do they use the right form? Ask your agent to confirm they are using Form 4A. Legal responsibility for serving the correct notice remains with you as the landlord, not the agent. An agent who serves an invalid Form 4 does not relieve you of liability.

I want to increase the rent to cover a boiler upgrade, can I mention that in the notice? No. Form 4A records only the current and proposed rent, not the justification. If challenged at Tribunal, you may provide evidence of comparable market rents. Your upgrade costs are not a justification the Tribunal will consider independently.

What's Next: RRA Phase 2

Section 13 was one of several changes that landed on 1 May 2026. For what the Renters' Rights Act changed then versus what follows in the phases after it, see our RRA Phase 2 guide.

For the broader landlord to-do list, see our compliance checklist.