LandlordAudit

How to increase rent under the Renters' Rights Act — Form 4A, step by step

Updated September 2026 · Based on official gov.uk guidance · General information, not legal advice

Since 1 May 2026 there is exactly one lawful way to raise the rent on an assured tenancy in England: a Section 13 notice served on Form 4A. The rent-review clause in your agreement is void. The "we agreed it by text" method is void. An informal letter is void. If you use any of those, your tenant can simply keep paying the old rent — and there's nothing you can do about it except start again, properly.

Searching for “Form 4”? Check you've got the right one. Gov.uk's assured tenancy forms page lists both, and they are easy to mix up. Form 4A — “landlord's notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector” — is the one a private landlord uses. Form 4 is the older form for social housing (registered providers), and does not apply to a private tenancy. Serving the wrong one is exactly the kind of mistake that voids the notice and sends you back to the start.

The five rules

  1. Once a year at most. No increase can take effect within 12 months of the last one.
  2. The official form. Form 4A, downloaded fresh from gov.uk (search "assured tenancy forms" — old versions void the notice).
  3. At least two months' notice, and the new rent must start on the first day of a rent period.
  4. Open-market ceiling. The figure should be defensible against comparable local lettings.
  5. The tenant can challenge — free. Before the start date, they can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal, which can confirm or reduce the figure but never increase it.

Step by step

  1. Check your dates. Confirm 12+ months will have passed since the last increase (or since the tenancy began) by the date the new rent starts.
  2. Gather comparables. Screenshot 3–5 current listings for similar properties within a mile — same size, similar condition. This is your evidence if the tribunal gets involved, and your sense-check that the figure is realistic.
  3. Complete Form 4A. Property, parties, current rent, proposed rent, start date at least two months out and landing on a rent-period boundary.
  4. Serve it with a covering letter. A courteous letter explaining the figure — and inviting conversation — dramatically reduces the odds of a tribunal referral. Serve by email and post; keep proof.
  5. Diary the start date. No tribunal referral by then? The new rent applies automatically.
Mistakes that void the notice: using a letter instead of Form 4A · an out-of-date form version · less than two months' notice · a start date mid-rent-period · increasing within 12 months of the last rise · relying on a rent-review clause. Any one of these sends you back to the start, months lost.

Should you fear the tribunal?

Mostly, no — if your figure is genuinely market-rate and you can show comparables, tribunals confirm sensible increases. The landlords who lose are the ones who picked a number from hope rather than evidence, or botched the process. The real cost of a referral is delay. So send a covering letter setting out how you arrived at your figure, and offer to talk it through — most tenants who understand the figure don't refer it.

A row of English brick terraced houses at dusk

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More guides

Missed the 31 May deadline? · Written statement of terms · Are fixed-term agreements void? · The 28-day pet rule · Section 8 rent arrears: Grounds 8, 10 and 11 · Ground 1A and the 12-month re-letting ban · Missed the 31 May 2026 deadline?