How to raise the rent correctly under the new rules

This article explains how landlords in England must now raise the rent under the Renters' Rights Act, covering the Section 13 process, Form 4A, notice periods and tribunal challenges. It sets out what this means in practice for North London landlords, and how to set an increase that holds up. 

This article will take around 3 minutes to read.

If you are a North London landlord and you have not raised the rent since the Renters' Rights Act came in on 1 May, you are not alone. Plenty of landlords have held off, partly because rents have been rising for years and partly because nobody wants to get the new process wrong. But the old ways of doing it are now closed, and a rent increase done incorrectly does not just fail. It can cost you months. Here is how it works now, in plain English. 

There is only one legal route

Whatever your tenancy agreement says, a rent review clause is no longer enforceable. Informal agreements over text or a renewal conversation no longer do the job either, unless your tenant voluntarily agrees the new figure in writing. For everything else, the only lawful way to raise the rent is a Section 13 notice, served on the government's prescribed form, Form 4A. 

The rules around it are strict. You must give at least two months' notice. You can only increase the rent once in any 12-month period, and for new tenancies the first increase cannot take effect until the tenancy is a year old. Serve the wrong form, get a date wrong, or try to serve it by email without written agreement, and the notice is invalid. You then start again, two months from your next attempt. 

 Your tenant can challenge it, and the maths has changed 

Your tenant has the right to refer the proposed rent to the First-tier Tribunal, the independent body that settles rent disputes, at any point before the increase is due to take effect. Two things about that are worth understanding. 

First, the tribunal can no longer set the rent higher than the figure on your notice. It can only agree your number or bring it down. Under the old rules, a tenant who challenged risked the rent going up further, which put many off. That deterrent has gone, so a challenge is now a free option for the tenant. 

Second, if the rent is challenged, the increase no longer starts from the date on your notice. It starts from the date the tribunal decides, which will be after the hearing, and in cases of hardship the tribunal can delay it by up to two further months. So an ambitious figure does not just risk being reduced. It invites a challenge that delays the whole increase, and every month of delay is money that never arrives. 

The right number is the defensible one 

All of this points the same way. The increase that works is the one backed by evidence: what similar properties in your area are genuinely letting for right now, not what you hope the market might stand. Ask for a defensible market figure, supported by comparable lettings, and a challenge is unlikely to get anywhere. Ask for more, and the process the Act created can now work against you. 

This is where knowing the local market stops being a nice-to-have. We let and manage homes across Crouch End, Enfield, Palmers Green and Haringey, and we can see what properties like yours are actually achieving, street by street. That evidence is what sets the right figure, and it is also exactly what the tribunal wants to see if a challenge ever comes.

Get the process handled for you

For our fully managed landlords, none of this lands on their desk. We track when each tenancy becomes eligible for an increase, set the figure against real local evidence, serve the correct form with the correct notice, and keep the record of it all. The rent moves with the market, and the paperwork never becomes the problem.

If you are managing this yourself and want to know where you stand, whether your rent is behind the market, when you can next increase it, and how to do it without a misstep, come and talk it through. No pressure, and no obligation. 

Book your Landlord Management Review 

FAQs

Q: How do I legally raise the rent in 2026?

A: Serve a Section 13 notice on Form 4A with at least two months' notice, no more than once in any 12-month period. Rent review clauses are no longer enforceable. 

Q: Can my tenant refuse a rent increase?

A: They can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal before it takes effect. The tribunal can only agree your figure or reduce it, never increase it.  

Q: When does a challenged rent increase start?

A: From the date the tribunal decides, not the date on your notice. In hardship cases the tribunal can delay it by up to two further months.