Form 4A and the New Section 13 Rules for Rent Increases

With fixed-term tenancies phased out under the Renters’ Rights Act, the informal rent increase is gone. Every increase for an assured periodic tenancy now runs through a Section 13 notice on the prescribed Form 4A.

Why Section 13 is the only route

Landlords with fixed terms used to build a rent-review clause into the agreement and raise rent at renewal, never touching Section 13. With fixed terms abolished and every tenancy periodic from day one, that route has closed. An increase not agreed informally with the tenant has to go through Form 4A, whether the tenancy started last month or ten years ago. A rent-review clause in an old agreement will not survive challenge.

The notice period doubled

A Section 13 notice used to need one month’s notice. It now needs a minimum of two months before the new rent takes effect, with the effective date falling on the tenant’s usual rent day. Serve too close to your target and the increase simply cannot take effect until two full months have passed. There is also a hard rule at the start of a tenancy: rent cannot be increased at all in the first 12 months.

Once every 52 weeks

Frequency is the other trap. An increase can take effect only once every 52 weeks (a strict 364-day gap), counted from when the last increase took effect, not when it was served. If the last one landed in March, the earliest a new one can take effect is the following March, whatever date you serve. Where the 52-week rule and the two-month notice point to different dates, the later governs. Our Section 13 calculator resolves both from your planned service date.

The tenant’s right to challenge

A tenant who considers the proposed rent excessive can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal before it takes effect. The Tribunal assesses it against comparable local market rents, and crucially cannot set a rent higher than the figure you proposed, so there is no downside to proposing a genuine market rent and letting it be tested. Base the figure on comparable listings, not an arbitrary percentage, because that evidence is what a tribunal asks for.

What Form 4A must contain

The form is short but every field carries validity: the property address exactly as on the tenancy, the current rent, the proposed rent, the effective date, and the service date. Keep evidence of how and when it was served, whether a witnessed hand delivery, recorded post, or a dated email where the tenancy permits electronic service.