Increase rent lawfully under the new Section 13 process

What changed for landlords

Contractual rent review clauses ceased to be the operating route for new assured-tenancy increases after commencement. The statutory Section 13 process became the standard method. Mutual agreement outside that process should not be treated as a substitute without current advice.

The once-per-year rule means the landlord must know the effective date of the last increase, including a pre-commencement contractual increase. Transitional rules prevent two increases being compressed into one year simply because the legal mechanism changed.

A central rent calendar is therefore a practical control. Record the current rent, last effective date, comparable evidence review date, notice service and proposed effective date. Agents should use the same source rather than separate spreadsheets.

Set a defensible market rent

Start with comparable properties of similar location, size, condition and letting terms. Save dated evidence, noting differences that justify an adjustment. An asking price is evidence of marketing, not necessarily the rent achieved, so use a reasonable set rather than one exceptional listing.

Inspect the property and address outstanding repair or condition issues. A tenant may challenge the proposed figure at the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal determines open-market rent under the statutory process, so an unsupported aspirational increase creates risk without increasing certainty.

Explain the proposal in plain language while keeping the formal notice complete. Good communication can reduce surprise, but it does not replace Form 4A or shorten the minimum notice.

Serve Form 4A and diary the dates

Use the current prescribed form and complete the landlord, tenant, property, present rent, proposed rent and effective date accurately. Check how the tenancy rent period interacts with the proposed date and ensure the full notice is given.

Retain the served form and proof of delivery. If the tenant applies to the tribunal, preserve the market evidence and property records used for the decision. Do not retaliate against a lawful challenge or combine the rent process with possession threats.

Where a notice was served before commencement but took effect later, transitional rules may preserve aspects of the earlier law. Review the dates rather than issuing a second notice automatically.

Connect rent reviews to broader risk control

A rent review is also an opportunity to reconcile the account, check contact information, diarise certificates and ask whether repairs are outstanding. Keep that management review separate from the legal basis of the increase so the tenant understands what is changing.

Do not advertise a future tenancy at one price and then invite or accept bidding above it. The Renters’ Rights Act introduced rental-bidding restrictions alongside rent reforms. Onboarding, advertising and in-tenancy increases should use one compliance checklist.

Where affordability is a concern, discuss payment timing early. The law limits rent in advance for new tenancies, so financial-risk management should rely on lawful referencing, guarantor arrangements where suitable and accurate ongoing records rather than informal upfront demands.

Your practical action checklist

Use this checklist to organise the next review. It is not a substitute for checking the current ground, form and facts of a particular tenancy.

• Confirm the last effective increase date
• Collect balanced market comparables
• Check property condition and repairs
• Use the current Form 4A
• Give at least two months' notice
• Keep service and valuation evidence

Questions landlords ask