How to Increase Rent Legally After the Renters' Rights Act 2025

If you want to know how to increase rent legally in 2026, the answer is shorter than it used to be: in England there is now only one lawful route, a Section 13 notice served on the current prescribed form on GOV.UK. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, swept away rent-review clauses, “rent increase by agreement” shortcuts written into tenancy agreements, and the old fixed-term renewal trick of bumping the rent at the start of a new term. Every assured tenancy is now periodic, and rent on a periodic assured tenancy can only be increased through the statutory Section 13 process under the Housing Act 1988.

Get the process wrong and the increase simply does not take effect. The tenant keeps paying the old rent, you lose the months you waited, and you cannot try again until the next window opens. This guide walks through the legal route step by step, with a worked example, a comparison of the old and new rules, and the mistakes that most often void an increase.

Why the rules changed

Before 1 May 2026, landlords had several ways to raise rent. Many tenancies were fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) with a rent-review clause, so the rent could be stepped up automatically or at renewal. Where there was no clause, a landlord could often agree an increase informally, or serve a Section 13 notice on a periodic tenancy.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished fixed terms and converted every assured tenancy to a single periodic tenancy. With no renewal point and no enforceable rent-review clauses, Parliament needed one consistent mechanism for raising rent, and that mechanism is Section 13. The Act deliberately closes the side doors so that every increase follows the same transparent, challengeable process.

If you are unclear on why fixed-term renewals no longer exist, read our explainer on what a periodic tenancy is and on why Section 21 was abolished.

The one legal route: Section 13

Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, the only way to raise rent on an existing tenancy is to serve a Section 13 notice of increase, formally, a notice proposing a new rent under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. The key points:

• Use the prescribed form. You must use the current prescribed form on GOV.UK. A letter, email or WhatsApp message proposing a higher rent is not legally binding, even if the tenant verbally agrees. Always download the latest version, because the form has been updated to reflect the post-RRA rules.
• Rent-review clauses are banned. Any clause in your tenancy agreement that purports to set automatic, stepped or index-linked rent increases is unenforceable. You cannot contract out of Section 13, and you cannot draft around it.
• No “agreed” increases outside Section 13. Even a friendly mutual agreement to pay more does not lawfully vary the rent unless it follows the statutory process. If the tenant later changes their mind, you have no enforceable increase.

This is the single most important shift for landlords: there is now one door, and it is the prescribed Section 13 form. Everything else is window dressing.

The two big limits: once a year and minimum notice

The Renters’ Rights Act tightened two crucial restrictions that sit at the heart of a valid increase.

Once every 12 months

You can only increase the rent once in any 12-month period. The clock runs from the date the last increase took effect, or from the start of the tenancy if you have never increased it. Serving a second Section 13 notice inside that window is invalid, and the tenant can safely ignore it.

This is a hard limit. There is no exception for inflation spikes, mortgage-rate rises or a change of tenant within the same tenancy. Plan your increases around it.

At least two months’ notice

You must give the tenant at least two months’ notice before the new rent takes effect. The increase cannot begin before the date stated on the notice, and that date must align with the beginning of a period of the tenancy.

For a tenancy that runs monthly, a “period” is one month, so the start date needs to fall on the day each rental period begins. Get the date even one day wrong and the notice can be challenged as invalid.

The old rules vs the new rules

Step-by-step: serving a compliant Section 13 notice

1. Check the 12-month window. Confirm at least 12 months have passed since the tenancy began, or since the last increase took effect. If you are even a few weeks early, wait.
2. Decide a defensible figure. The rent you propose should reflect the open-market rent for a comparable local property. A figure you can evidence is far easier to defend if the tenant challenges it. Our free rent increase calculator helps you benchmark a fair, defensible amount.
3. Download the current prescribed form. Get the latest Section 13 form from GOV.UK, never reuse an old PDF you saved last year, as outdated forms are a common reason notices fail.
4. Complete every field accurately. Tenant name(s) exactly as on the tenancy agreement, the property address, the current rent, the proposed rent and the date the new rent starts. The start date must be at least two months ahead and align with the start of a tenancy period.
5. Serve it correctly. Serve on all named tenants. Use a method permitted by your tenancy agreement (post, hand delivery, or email if expressly agreed) and keep dated proof of service. If you serve by post, allow extra days for deemed delivery when you calculate the two-month notice.
6. Wait for the start date. If the tenant neither agrees nor refers the notice to the tribunal, the new rent takes effect automatically on the stated date.

For the full mechanics and more worked examples, see our deep dive on Section 13 rent increases explained.

A worked example

Priya lets a two-bedroom flat in Leeds. The tenancy began on 1 March 2025 at £950 per calendar month, paid on the 1st. She has never increased the rent. By June 2026 comparable flats nearby are letting at £1,025–£1,075, so she decides to propose £1,025.

Here is how she keeps it lawful:

• 12-month window: The tenancy began on 1 March 2025 and she has never increased the rent, so the earliest the new rent could take effect is 1 March 2026. By June 2026 she is well clear of the once-a-year limit.
• Form: She downloads the current prescribed Section 13 form from GOV.UK rather than reusing an old template.
• Notice period and date: She serves the notice on 20 June 2026. Two months’ notice would land on 20 August, but the rent period begins on the 1st. So she sets the start date to 1 September 2026, the first period beginning at least two months after service.
• Figure: She proposes £1,025, supported by three comparable local listings she has screenshotted and dated. That evidence matters if the tenant challenges.

The tenant could accept and start paying £1,025 from 1 September, negotiate, or refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal before that date. Because Priya proposed a figure squarely within the market range and kept evidence, she is in a strong position whichever way it goes.

What the tenant can do

When a tenant receives a Section 13 notice they have three options:

• Pay the new rent from the start date, no further action needed.
• Negotiate informally, though any agreement still relies on the served notice taking effect on its stated date.
• Challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the start date.

The Renters’ Rights Act made one change strongly in the tenant’s favour: the First-tier Tribunal can no longer set the rent higher than the figure you proposed. Under the old rules the tribunal could occasionally determine a market rent above the landlord’s ask; that is gone. The tribunal will set the rent at either the open-market rent or your proposed figure, whichever is lower.

In practice this removes any downside for a tenant in challenging an increase, so expect referrals to be more common. The lesson is simple: propose a figure you can genuinely evidence, because there is no upside in aiming high and a real risk of being knocked back to market.

How much can you increase the rent?

There is no fixed statutory cap or percentage limit in England, but the increase must not exceed the open-market rent for a similar property. The First-tier Tribunal is the backstop, and it will only ever set the rent at the lower of the market rent or your proposed figure.

So the practical “cap” is the local market, backed by comparable evidence:

• Similar listings. Current adverts for comparable properties in the same area, bedroom count and condition.
• Recent lettings. What similar homes actually let for in the last few months, not just asking prices.
• Property condition. A well-maintained, recently improved property can command more than a tired one, but be realistic.

Propose well above market and you simply hand the tenant an easy tribunal win that resets you to market or to your figure, whichever is lower, while costing you goodwill. For more on the numbers and how challenges play out, see how much a landlord can increase rent in England.

Common mistakes that void an increase

• Using a letter or email instead of the prescribed form.
• Reusing an out-of-date Section 13 form.
• Giving less than two months’ notice (or forgetting to allow for postal delivery time).
• A start date that does not align with the beginning of a tenancy period.
• Trying to increase rent twice in 12 months.
• Relying on a rent-review clause (now unenforceable).
• Backdating the increase, or stating a start date in the past.
• Misspelling a tenant’s name or omitting a joint tenant.

Any of these can render the notice invalid, meaning the tenant lawfully continues paying the old rent and you have to start again. We cover these in detail, and how to avoid them, in the errors that void your rent rise.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still use a rent-review clause in my tenancy agreement?

No. Since 1 May 2026, rent-review clauses in assured tenancies are unenforceable. Even if your agreement contains one, including index-linked or stepped increases, you cannot rely on it. The only lawful route to raise rent is a Section 13 notice on the current prescribed form on GOV.UK.

How often can I increase the rent?

Once in any 12-month period. The clock runs from the date the last increase took effect, or from the start of the tenancy if you have never increased it. A second Section 13 notice served within that window is invalid.

Do I have to use the official form, or can I just write to the tenant?

You must use the current prescribed Section 13 form from GOV.UK. A letter, email or message, however clearly worded, does not lawfully increase the rent, even if the tenant agrees to pay more. An informal agreement is not enforceable as a rent variation.

What happens if the tenant challenges my increase at the tribunal?

The tenant can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the start date. The tribunal will set the rent at the open-market rent or your proposed figure, whichever is lower. Crucially, it can no longer set the rent above what you proposed, so there is no risk of the figure rising, but you should still propose an amount you can evidence.

Can I increase the rent if my tenant just signed up a few months ago?

Not yet. You must wait until at least 12 months have passed since the tenancy began before the new rent can take effect, and then give at least two months’ notice. A mid-tenancy change of circumstances, rising costs, for example, does not create an exception.

Is there a maximum percentage I can increase rent by?

No. England has no statutory percentage cap. The practical limit is the open-market rent for a comparable local property, because the tribunal will not allow more. Benchmark against current listings and recent lettings, and keep dated evidence.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot is launching soon, and our rent increase notice generator will let you produce a fully compliant Section 13 notice on the current prescribed form in minutes, automatically checking your 12-month window, calculating the earliest lawful start date that aligns with a tenancy period, and helping you benchmark a defensible figure before you serve. No old templates, no invalid dates, no guesswork. It will sit alongside deadline alerts that remind you when each property’s next increase window opens.

Join the waitlist to be first to issue a compliant rent increase the moment we launch.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The law changes and individual circumstances differ. Always check the latest guidance on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, and consult a qualified solicitor before serving any rent increase notice.