Rent Increases from May 2026: Section 13, Form 4A and What's Actually Changed

Until 30 April 2026, most landlords in England raised rent the same way they always had: a clause in the tenancy agreement kicked in once a year, the rent went up by CPI or a fixed percentage, and nobody thought much about it.

That route is dead. From 1 May 2026, Section 6 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 voids every contractual rent review clause in a private assured tenancy. CPI-linked, RPI-linked, fixed-percentage, stepped, formulaic. All of them. The only lawful way to raise rent is the amended Section 13 procedure, using a new prescribed form called Form 4A.

And the tribunal rules have flipped. The First-tier Tribunal can now only confirm or reduce the figure you propose. It can never set a rent higher. The tenant’s fee to challenge? £47.

Quick Takeaways

From 1 May 2026, the only lawful way to raise rent on a PRS assured tenancy is Form 4A under the amended Section 13
All contractual rent review clauses are void, on both existing and new tenancies
Notice period has doubled from one month to two
The tribunal can only confirm or reduce your proposed rent, never raise it, and the tenant pays just £47 to challenge
Rent stays frozen at the old figure during the entire challenge period, with no backdating

How do rent increases work under the amended Section 13?

One increase per 52 weeks. Two months’ written notice. Form 4A only. No contractual alternatives. The statutory route is now the only route for every private landlord in England.

Section 6 of the Act amends Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 and removes subsection 13(5), which previously allowed contractual rent reviews to override the statutory procedure.

The new rules at a glance

Rule	Before 1 May 2026	From 1 May 2026
How to increase	Section 13 (Form 4) or contractual review clause	Section 13 (Form 4A) only
Notice period	1 month	2 months
Frequency	Once per 52 weeks	Once per 52 weeks (unchanged)
First increase	Varies by agreement	Not in first 12 months
Tribunal outcome	Could confirm, reduce, or raise	Can only confirm or reduce
Rent during challenge	Could be backdated	Frozen at old figure until decision
Tenant challenge fee	£114 + £227 hearing = £341	£47, no hearing fee

The 52/53-week anti-drift rule

Form 4A includes a detail most guides miss. Note A3 on the form explains that the proposed new rent date can’t fall more than six days before the anniversary of the date in Question 4.4 (the first rent increase after 11 February 2003).

If it would, you need to wait 53 weeks, not 52. This stops rent-increase dates creeping earlier each year.

What is Form 4A and how do you complete it?

Form 4A is the new prescribed form for all PRS rent increases from 1 May 2026. It replaces the old Form 4 and must be used exactly as published. A letter, email, or landlord-drafted document isn’t valid.

Download it from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page. The form runs to nine pages and has five sections.

Section by section

Section	What it covers	Watch out for
1. Tenant details	Names of all tenants + property address	Every named tenant must be included
2. Landlord details	Name, address, phone, email	If you supply an email, the tenant and tribunal can serve documents to it
3. Agent details	If applicable
4. The rent	Current rent, tenancy start date, last increase date, proposed new rent, start date, included charges	This is where most errors happen (see below)
5. Tenant information	Explains the tenant’s right to challenge at tribunal	Explicitly tells the tenant the tribunal can’t raise the rent above your figure

Section 4 in detail

Question 4.5 is the most important box on the form. The figure you put here is your ceiling at tribunal. If the tenant challenges, the tribunal can confirm it or reduce it. It can’t go higher.

Question 4.6 (start date for new rent) must satisfy three conditions simultaneously: at least two months after service, at least 52 weeks since the last increase, and falling on the first day of a new rental period. Get any of these wrong and the notice is defective.

Question 4.7 asks you to break down included charges (council tax, water, fuel, communications, fixed service charges). Variable service charges under Section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 are excluded.

Common completion errors to avoid

Serving with only one month’s notice (now needs two)
Getting the start date wrong (not aligned to rent period start)
Missing the Q4.4 anniversary date (invalidates the 52/53-week calculation)
Using an old Form 4 after 1 May 2026
Serving by WhatsApp, text, or informal email (not valid for prescribed notices)
Leaving the charges breakdown blank where charges are included in the rent

What's the difference between Form 4 and Form 4A?

Form 4 is the legacy form, valid only for notices served before 1 May 2026. Form 4A is mandatory from 1 May. The two forms operate under different tribunal rules.

The critical difference isn’t the layout. It’s what happens if the tenant challenges.

A Form 4 notice served before 1 May is governed by the old rules: the tribunal can confirm, reduce, or raise the rent, and the new rent backdates to the notice date. A Form 4A notice served from 1 May is governed by the new rules: the tribunal can only confirm or reduce, rent is frozen during the challenge, and there’s no backdating.

If you want to serve one final Form 4 under the old rules, the absolute cut-off is 30 April 2026. If you’re posting it rather than hand-delivering, the safe last-posting date is 27 April to allow for deemed service.

Are rent review clauses still valid?

No. Section 6 of the Renters’ Rights Act voids all contractual rent review clauses in PRS assured tenancies from 1 May 2026. CPI-linked, RPI-linked, fixed-percentage, formulaic. On both existing and new tenancies.

This isn’t a gradual phase-out. The amendment operates on the tenancy itself. Any existing agreement still in force on 1 May has its review clause rendered void from that date.

The transitional trap

A review clause triggered before 1 May, but with the increase taking effect after 1 May, is void. The GOV.UK guidance is explicit: the effective date controls, not the trigger date.

This catches landlords who calculated a CPI increase in March 2026 expecting it to bite in June. That increase won’t apply. The landlord needs to serve Form 4A instead, which means two months’ notice from the earliest valid date after 1 May, subject to the 52-week rule.

What to do with existing agreements

Don’t bother amending them. The statute overrides any inconsistent term. The void clause doesn’t void the rest of the agreement. For new agreements from 1 May, drop review clauses from the template entirely.

Can a tenant challenge a rent increase?

Yes, at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for £47 with no hearing fee. The tribunal can only confirm or reduce your proposed rent. Rent stays frozen at the old figure until the decision, with no backdating.

This is the change that reshapes the landlord’s calculus.

Three structural shifts that favour the tenant

Change	What it means
Tribunal cap	The tribunal can only confirm or reduce the Form 4A figure. It can never set a rent higher. (New s.14ZB(5) HA 1988)
Frozen rent	Rent stays at the old figure until the tribunal decides. No backdating. (s.14ZB(3); s.7(11) RRA omits old backdating provisions)
Hardship deferral	If paying from the decision date would cause “undue hardship,” the tribunal can defer by up to two months (s.14ZB(3)(c) and (4))

The tenant’s fee dropped from £341 (£114 application + £227 hearing) to £47 with no hearing fee. The Help with Fees scheme covers low-income tenants. Section 21 retaliation (historically a real deterrent) is gone from 1 May.

Early polling from Goodlord suggests around 22% of tenants plan to challenge rent increases regardless of fairness. The old base rate was roughly 0.5%.

What the tribunal actually assesses

The open-market rent test under Section 14(1) of the Housing Act 1988: the rent a willing landlord might reasonably expect on the open market, on the same terms, disregarding tenant improvements and tenant-caused disrepair.

Tribunals make explicit line-item deductions. In a recent Banbury case (87 Dover Avenue, January 2026), the panel deducted £20 each for tenant-provided white goods, carpets, and wants of repair, reducing the landlord’s proposed £1,400 to £1,290. In a Marylebone case (31 Daventry Street, February 2026), the panel applied a 10% deduction for dated kitchen and bathroom fittings.

Can tenants challenge the initial rent on a new tenancy?

Yes, within the first six months, under the same open-market test. The old “significantly higher” threshold is gone. The tribunal can only reduce, never raise.

Section 7 of the Act inserts a new Section 14(A1) into the Housing Act 1988. Any tenant can challenge the starting rent within six months of the tenancy beginning. One application per tenancy.

The old AST-specific route (Section 22) required the rent to be “significantly higher” than local comparables. The new test is the standard open-market assessment.

Combined with the £47 fee and the rental bidding ban (which locks the advertised figure as the starting rent), setting an initial rent above defensible market evidence is now pure downside.

What does tribunal-grade comparable evidence actually look like?

Matched comparables of achieved lettings (not asking rents), within a tight radius, current within six months, adjusted for the statutory disregards. A RICS Registered Valuer’s market rent letter meets this standard. A Rightmove screenshot doesn’t.

This is the section no lettings blog or law firm covers properly. The RICS Professional Standard on comparable evidence sets out a three-tier hierarchy that the tribunal implicitly follows.

The RICS evidence hierarchy

Category	What it is	Weight at tribunal
A (direct comparables)	Completed lettings of near-identical properties with full accurate data	Highest
B (general market data)	Published indices, database averages, portal listing data	Moderate
C (other sources)	Different property types/locations, economic indicators	Lowest

The RICS standard is direct on asking prices: they “do not provide reliable evidence of value and should be treated with caution.” GOV.UK’s own guidance echoes this: evidence from agreed lettings is stronger than portal listings.

What a proper comparable needs

Not “a two-bed flat nearby.” More like: a purpose-built two-bed flat in the same EPC band, similar tenure, comparable parking and outdoor space, let within the last six months, within a tight geographic radius (typically 0.5 to 1 mile in urban areas).

You need 3 to 5 comparables at minimum, ideally 5 to 8. Each one adjusted for differences in condition, specification, furnishing, and the Section 14(2) statutory disregards (tenant improvements stripped out, tenant-caused disrepair disregarded).

Why a Registered Valuer’s letter outweighs a Rightmove printout

A RICS Registered Valuer’s market rent letter is signed under Red Book discipline, backed by professional indemnity insurance, and produced under RICS regulatory monitoring. It uses achieved rents, not asking rents. It applies line-item adjustments the tribunal expects to see.

A Rightmove screenshot shows what other landlords are hoping to get. It doesn’t show what tenants are paying. It doesn’t adjust for differences. And it doesn’t survive the first question from a tribunal surveyor.

The cost-benefit calculation

A residential market rent letter typically costs £300 to £800 plus VAT for a standard property (more for London prime or expert-witness-grade reports). If your Form 4A figure is wrong by just £50 a month, you’ve lost £600 in the first year alone, and the 52-week clock restarts from the tribunal determination date, compounding into year two.

The valuation pays for itself if it corrects an error of £25 to £50 a month. Most rent disputes involve significantly larger differentials than that.

What should you do before serving Form 4A?

Commission a market rent appraisal first. Set the Form 4A figure from evidence, not aspiration. Then serve correctly with proof.

Step by step

Check eligibility. At least 52 weeks since tenancy start or last Section 13 increase. Gas Safety Certificate current. EICR current. Deposit protected. Information Sheet 2026 served.
Instruct a RICS Registered Valuer. Do this before deciding the Form 4A figure. Specify a Red Book market rent opinion under Section 14 HA 1988, with a comparables schedule and adjustment analysis. Allow 2 to 3 weeks.
Set the figure from evidence. The valuer’s figure is your ceiling. Consider pitching slightly below (a “sensible landlord discount”) to incentivise tenant acceptance and provide a cushion if the tribunal takes a marginally lower view.
Complete Form 4A. Use the live version from GOV.UK. Cross-check the start date against the two-month notice, 52-week rule, and rent-period alignment.
Serve with proof. Recorded or signed-for delivery. Dated copy retained. If posting, check your tenancy’s service-of-notices clause. First-class post is deemed served two business days after posting.
Prepare for challenge. Retain the signed market rent letter, comparables, inspection notes, and property photos. Keep the surveyor’s contact details in case oral evidence is needed at hearing.

What happens if the tenant challenges at the First-tier Tribunal?

The tenant applies before the new rent takes effect. Rent freezes. The tribunal determines open-market rent, applies it from its decision date, and can defer by a further two months for hardship.

The challenge process step by step

Tenant applies via the GOV.UK market-rent-determination page. Fee: £47. Must apply before the Form 4A start date.
FTT acknowledges (roughly 10 working days) and registers the case.
Directions issued. Deadlines for evidence exchange. Possible case management conference.
Paper determination or hearing. The tribunal decides the format; either party can request a hearing. The panel may inspect the property.
Decision. Rent confirmed or reduced. Written decision typically within 4 to 6 weeks of hearing.
New rent takes effect from the determination date (or up to two months later if hardship deferral applies). No backdating.
Appeal on a point of law to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) within 28 days.

Current average wait times run 18 to 27 weeks. Caseload is widely expected to increase from 1 May.

That means a challenged increase could be suppressed for 4 to 9 months, and the next Form 4A can’t take effect until 52 weeks after the tribunal’s determination date. Effective cadence: closer to 22 months, not 12.

What are the most common mistakes landlords make with rent increases?

Using void review clauses, underestimating the challenge incentive, relying on portal screenshots, and serving with insufficient notice. All of them avoidable.

What landlords assume	What’s actually true
“My CPI clause still works”	Void from 1 May 2026. Form 4A is the only lawful route.
“The tribunal might raise it above what I asked”	It can only confirm or reduce. Zero upside risk for tenants.
“One month’s notice is enough”	Two months from 1 May. One month = defective notice.
“I can increase twice in 12 months if the tenant agrees”	Once per 52 weeks, no exceptions.
“Rightmove listings are good enough for tribunal”	Asking rents aren’t evidence of achieved rents. RICS: treat with caution.
“Tenants won’t bother challenging”	£47, no hearing fee, frozen rent, no s.21 retaliation risk. 22% plan to challenge regardless.
“I can set the initial rent high and they can’t touch it”	Tenants can challenge the starting rent within 6 months. Same test, same “can only reduce” rule.
“The tribunal will backdate any upheld increase”	No backdating. Effective from determination date only.

Every rent increase from 1 May 2026 is a contained valuation dispute. The landlord who serves Form 4A without defensible comparable evidence is handing the tenant a free option to cut the rent, freeze it for months, and push the next increase to almost two years away.

If you need a market rent appraisal ahead of a Form 4A notice, contact our valuation team.