Section 13 rent increase calculator

A Section 13 notice is a landlord’s notice under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 proposing a higher rent for an assured tenancy. Private landlords in England use Form 4A. The new rent takes effect on the date in the notice unless, before then, the tenant applies to the First-tier Tribunal or you both agree a lower rent (s.13(4)). On paid plans, LetCompliance fills the Form 4A from your tenancy records and dates it for you.

At least two months. The new rent must start at the beginning of a period of the tenancy that falls at least two months after the notice is served (Housing Act 1988 s.13(2)(a)), and no sooner than 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase took effect. Before 1 May 2026 it was usually one period of the tenancy, so one month on a monthly let.

First, find the earliest date: 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase (53 in one case), at the start of a rent period at least two months away. Second, fill in Form 4A with the current rent, the proposed rent and that date. Third, serve it on the tenants and keep proof of service. The new rent then takes effect on that date unless the tenant applies to the First-tier Tribunal first or you agree a lower rent. The calculator above does the first step.

Not by private landlords. Since 1 May 2026 a private landlord in England proposes a new rent on Form 4A, which GOV.UK titles “Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector”. Form 4 is now for social housing. Download the current version from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page rather than reusing an old copy. The notice must be in the prescribed form or one substantially to the same effect, so an ordinary letter asking for more rent does not work.

At most once every 52 weeks. The new rent cannot start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began, or 52 weeks after the last Section 13 or tribunal increase took effect (Housing Act 1988 s.13(2)(b) and (c)). 52 weeks is 364 days, and a 53rd week is added where the 52-week date would fall more than six days before the anniversary of the first such increase after 11 February 2003 (s.13(3A) and (3B)). A notice that names a date too early does not take effect.

Not until 52 weeks after that increase took effect. A Section 13 notice served on or after 1 May 2026 cannot make a new rent start earlier (S.I. 2026/421, regulation 7). Enter that date as the last increase.

By applying to the First-tier Tribunal before the start date in the notice (Housing Act 1988 s.13(4) and s.14(A3)). The tribunal decides the open-market rent for the home, and the tenant then pays the lower of that and the rent in the notice (s.14ZB(5)). If the decision comes after the start date, the new rent runs from the first period of the tenancy beginning on or after the decision, not from the date in the notice.

No. For notices served from 1 May 2026 the tribunal decides the open-market rent, and that becomes the new rent only if it is lower than the rent you proposed; otherwise your proposed rent stands. If the tribunal decides after the start date in your notice, the new rent starts at the beginning of the first rent period on or after the decision, not backdated. Where that would cause the tenant undue hardship, the tribunal can direct a different date, no later than two months after its decision.

On 1 May 2026, the date the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 and converted every assured shorthold into a periodic assured tenancy. Before then a landlord could raise rent at a fixed-term renewal by issuing a new AST. Since that date the renewal route has gone, and a clause that raises the rent any other way has no effect (Housing Act 1988 s.13(4A)), so Section 13 is the only route.

No. The new rent takes effect on the date in the notice unless, before that date, the tenant applies to the First-tier Tribunal or you both agree a lower rent (Housing Act 1988 s.13(4)). If the tenant stays and does not pay it, the unpaid difference is rent arrears, which you can claim, and which can support a Section 8 claim on the rent arrears grounds (8, 10 or 11) if they build up.

Look at rents actually being asked and achieved for comparable homes nearby, and adjust for the property’s condition and features. A tenant who thinks the proposed rent is above market can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, so a figure you can support with comparable evidence is the one least likely to be challenged. Keep that evidence with the notice.

You can use an index to choose the figure, but not to set it. A clause that raises the rent by RPI or CPI no longer has any effect on a private assured tenancy in England (Housing Act 1988 s.13(4A)). Any increase goes on Form 4A, and the tenant can ask the tribunal whether it is above the open-market rent.

No. A “fair rent” applies to regulated tenancies, which usually began before 15 January 1989, and the Valuation Office sets the maximum. This calculator is for assured tenancies under Section 13. GOV.UK explains fair rents.

Yes. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal about the rent within the first six months of the tenancy (Housing Act 1988 s.14(A1) and (A2)). If the tribunal sets a lower rent, it takes effect from the date the tribunal directs, which cannot be earlier than the date of the application (s.14ZA(5)).