What is Form 4A?
Form 4A is the prescribed form for a Section 13 rent increase on an assured tenancy in the private rented sector in England. Its full title is “Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector”. It is made under section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988, which says the notice must be “in the prescribed form”.
The form says it is for the private rented sector in England only. Social landlords use Form 4. Assured agricultural occupancies use Form 5A (private) or Form 5 (social).
Download the current form from the GOV.UK page Assured tenancy forms. This guide follows the Form 4A PDF marked (05.26) at the foot of each page. If the version on GOV.UK has changed, follow the form you download.
Since 1 May 2026 a rent review clause in the tenancy agreement cannot put the rent up. Section 13(4A) says the rent for a period may not be more than the rent for the previous period except through a Section 13 notice, a tribunal determination, or the agreements that section lists. So Form 4A is the route.
What does each section of Form 4A ask?
The form has five numbered sections, a signature page, two sets of notes (Note A and Note B) and an extra sheet. The landlord fills in sections 1 to 4 and signs. Section 5 is information for the tenant. Leave it as it is.
Page 1: the warning and the service note
The front page has nothing to fill in. It tells the tenant the notice “must be served on the tenant(s) at least two months before the new rent can start”. The note to the landlord says you need to be able to evidence that you served it. If the written tenancy agreement sets out agreed ways of serving notices, use one of those. If not, the note says you can hand it to the tenant in person, leave it at the tenant’s address, or send it by registered post.
| Box | What the form says | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Name(s) of tenant(s) | Every tenant on the tenancy. For a joint tenancy, each tenant’s name (note 1.1). |
| 1.2 | Address of premises to which the tenancy relates | The address of the rented home, with the postcode. County is optional. |
| 2.1 | Name (landlord) | The landlord’s name. Note 2.1: the tenant must be able to contact someone about the increase. |
| 2.2 | Contact address (landlord) | An address where the landlord can be contacted. |
| 2.3 | Contact details (landlord) | Phone and email are recommended but optional. If you give an email, you agree the tenant and the tribunal may serve documents on you there. |
| 3.1–3.3 | Details of the agent (if applicable) | The agent’s name, address and contact details. The same email rule applies. Leave blank if there is no agent. |
| 4.1 | Current rent, and frequency | The rent now, and how often it is paid: per week, fortnight, four weeks or month. This is the tenancy period. It must be a month or less. |
| 4.2 | The tenancy started on | The date the tenancy began. |
| 4.3 | The most recent rent increase (if applicable) was on | The date the last increase took effect. Leave blank if the rent has not gone up since the tenancy started. |
| 4.4 | Give the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003 | Only if there has been one. Leave blank if there has been no increase since 11 February 2003. |
| 4.5 | The landlord is proposing a new rent of | The new amount, and the same frequency as the tenancy period. |
| 4.6 | The new rent will start on | The start date. It must pass the three tests in Note A. This is the box most notices get wrong. |
| 4.7 | Payments for certain bills or charges included in your rent | Existing and proposed amounts for council tax, water, fuel, communication services and fixed service charges, only where they are part of the rent. Write ‘nil’ where none. |
| Signed | Landlord or Landlord’s Agent, print name, date | Tick who is signing. Joint landlords each sign in the additional boxes, or agree one signs for all. |
Section 1. The tenant(s) details
Question 1.1 asks for the name of each tenant. On a joint tenancy, name every tenant (note 1.1). Question 1.2 asks for the address of the rented home.
Section 2. Details of the landlord
Questions 2.1 to 2.3 ask for the landlord’s name, a contact address, and a phone number and email. Phone and email are optional. Note 2.3 warns that if you give an email address, the tenant and the tribunal may use it to serve documents on you.
Section 3. Details of the agent (if applicable)
Questions 3.1 to 3.3 ask the same for a letting agent. Leave the section blank if there is no agent. The same email warning applies to the agent (note 3.3).
Section 4. The rent
This is the section that decides whether the notice works.
- 4.1 Current rent. The amount and how often it is paid. Note 4.1 calls this the tenancy period. It must be a month or less.
- 4.2 The tenancy started on. The start date of the tenancy.
- 4.3 The most recent rent increase (if applicable). The date it took effect. Leave blank if there has been none since the tenancy started.
- 4.4 The date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003. Leave blank if there has not been one. Note 4.4 explains it shows whether 52 or 53 weeks must pass since the last increase. See the next section.
- 4.5 The new rent. The amount and the frequency. The frequency is the tenancy period again.
- 4.6 The new rent will start on. The start date. Note A sets the rules.
- 4.7 Bills and charges included in the rent. A table for council tax, water charges, electricity, gas or other fuel, communication services (landline, internet, cable and satellite TV) and fixed service charges, with the existing and proposed amount for each. Note B says to include a charge only if it is part of the rent and the tenant does not pay it to someone else, or to the landlord on top of the rent. Write ‘nil’ where there is none. Do not include variable service charges.
The signature
Tick “Landlord” or “Landlord’s Agent”, sign, print the name and date it. Joint landlords either each sign in the additional signature boxes (signature, full name, address and capacity) or agree that one landlord signs for all of them. The form can be completed and signed electronically or by hand.
Section 5. What you (the tenant) should do next
This section tells the tenant how to accept the new rent (5.1), what they must do before the date in 4.6 if they do not accept it (5.2), and where to get advice (5.3). There is nothing for the landlord to fill in.
Extra sheets
If something does not fit, continue on the extra sheet. Give the section and question number, and sign and date it.
When can the new rent start?
Note A on the form sets out three requirements from section 13(2). The date in question 4.6 has to meet all three. The two-month period was put into section 13(2)(a) by section 6 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
- Two months’ notice. The notice must be served at least two months before the new rent starts (A2).
- 52 weeks. The first increase cannot start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began. A later increase must be at least 52 weeks after the previous one took effect (A3).
- The start of a rent period. The new rent must start at the beginning of a tenancy period (A4). If a monthly tenancy started on the 20th, the new rent starts on a 20th. If a weekly tenancy started on a Monday, it starts on a Monday.
When is it 53 weeks? 52 weeks is a little less than a year, so dates could drift earlier each year. Note A3 and section 13(3A) and (3B) stop that. Where the rent has gone up by a Section 13 notice or a tribunal decision at least once since 11 February 2003, the new date cannot be more than six days before the anniversary of the date in question 4.4. If it would be, wait an extra week: 53 weeks in total. That is why question 4.4 exists.
Our Section 13 rent increase calculator works out the two-month, 52-week and rent-day tests for you. If you filled in question 4.4, enter the same date in the calculator and it applies the 53-week rule too.
What goes in each box? A worked example
A monthly tenancy began on Sun 20 July 2025. Rent is £1,400 a month, due on the 20th. It has never gone up. The landlord wants £1,475, an increase of 5.4%. The agent hands the notice to the tenants on Tue 10 November 2026, so it is served that day.
| 1.1 | Both tenants’ full names, as on the tenancy |
|---|---|
| 4.1 | £1,400, per month |
| 4.2 | Sun 20 July 2025 |
| 4.3 | Blank: no increase since the tenancy started |
| 4.4 | Blank: no increase since 11 February 2003 |
| 4.5 | £1,475, per month |
| 4.6 | Wed 20 January 2027 |
| 4.7 | ‘nil’ in each row, if no bills are included in the rent |
Here is how the date in 4.6 is worked out.
- Two months after Tue 10 November 2026 is Sun 10 January 2027.
- 52 weeks after the tenancy began was Sun 19 July 2026, which has already passed. So the two months decide.
- Sun 10 January 2027 is not a rent day. The next 20th is Wed 20 January 2027. That is the earliest valid date.
- The tenants can apply to the tribunal until Tue 19 January 2027, the day before the new rent starts.
Writing Sun 10 January 2027 in 4.6 would give two full months, but it is not the start of a rent period, so it fails the third test. Writing Fri 1 January 2027 fails twice: too soon, and not a rent day.
What are the common mistakes on Form 4A?
- A start date that is not a rent day. In tribunal case LON/00AU/MNR/2026/0375 (decision of 22 July 2026), the notice gave a start date of 22 May 2026. The tenants showed that rent had long been due on the 26th of each month. Section 13(2) needs the new rent to start at the beginning of a period of the tenancy. The landlord accepted the notice was invalid and withdrew it. The tribunal had nothing left to decide, and the rent stayed at the old figure.
- Less than two months. Count from when the notice is served, not from the date you sign it. Allow for the way you serve it. Read the two-month minimum, explained.
- A second increase inside 52 weeks. The rent can go up at most once in 52 weeks. Count from when the last increase took effect, not from when its notice was served.
- Skipping question 4.4. If the rent has gone up since 11 February 2003, the 53-week rule may apply. Leaving 4.4 blank when it should be filled in hides that from you and the tenant.
- Missing a joint tenant. Name every tenant in 1.1.
- Charges in 4.7 that are not part of the rent. Only include bills the rent covers. Leave out variable service charges.
- An old or home-made form. Use the current Form 4A from GOV.UK.
- No proof of service. If you cannot show when the tenant got the notice, you cannot show the two months.
If a date is refused in Abide.Rent, why is my notice date being rejected? explains each message.
What can the tenant do after receiving Form 4A?
Section 5 of the form sets out the tenant’s options. If they accept, they pay the new rent from the date in 4.6. If they do not, they must act before that date: agree a change in writing with the landlord, or apply to the First-tier Tribunal. Section 13(4) says the new rent takes effect unless, before that date, the tenant applies to the tribunal under section 14, or the landlord and tenant agree a lower rent or no change.
The tribunal decides what the home would let for on the open market on the same terms. The form tells the tenant the figure might be higher or lower than the proposal, but they will not have to pay more than the rent in question 4.5, and do not pay the new rent until the tribunal decides. The application is on GOV.UK: apply for a market rent determination.
If you are a tenant with a notice in hand, the rent increase notice checker tests the dates for you. Read can a tenant challenge a rent increase? for more.
How does Abide.Rent help with Form 4A?
In Abide.Rent the notice is prepared inside the app, from an approved rent review. It checks the notice period, the rent period and the 52-week gap before the notice is made, and says which check a date fails. It fills Form 4A with the rent the landlord approved. You serve it, and the app records how and when. See notices and the help guide Section 13 rent increase notices (Form 4A).
Before you choose the figure, read Section 13 notice: how to raise the rent in 2026 or get the free Section 13 rent review playbook.
Not legal advice. England only. Box numbers and wording are from the GOV.UK Form 4A (05.26), checked on Sat 31 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.