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Is my rent increase notice valid?

A Section 13 rent increase must be on the official form, give at least two months’ notice, start on a rent day and come at least 52 weeks after the last increase. If any of that is wrong, the rent does not change. If it is right, you can still ask the tribunal to decide the rent — and it cannot set more than the notice.

Post box on a front door

Example dates are filled in. Replace them with the dates from your notice and your tenancy; the answer updates as you type. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

The day it was handed over, posted or emailed — not the date printed on it.
Leave empty if the rent has not gone up since the tenancy began.

Enter the dates from the notice and your tenancy.

The four rules a rent increase notice must meet

  1. The official form. A Section 13 notice is on the prescribed form (Form 4A). A text, email or letter asking for more rent is a request, not a notice.
  2. Two months’ notice. Counted from when you are treated as receiving it, not the date written on it.
  3. 52 weeks since the last increase. Or since the tenancy began, if the rent has never gone up.
  4. A rent day. The new rent starts at the beginning of a rent period — the day your rent is due.

If the notice is valid: the tribunal

You can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) at any time before the new rent starts. The fee is £47. The tribunal works out the open-market rent for your home as it is, ignoring improvements you paid for. It cannot go above the landlord’s figure. It can go below it, and below what you pay now. Most cases are decided on paper.

See what the tribunal has decided near you: rent tribunal decisions by area.

Get advice

This checker reads the dates you enter. It cannot see the notice itself, so it is not legal advice.

Questions tenants ask

Do I have to pay the new rent if the notice is invalid?

A notice that does not meet the rules does not change the rent. Keep paying your current rent and tell your landlord or agent in writing which rule the notice breaks. Paying the higher rent can be taken as agreeing to it, so get advice first.

How do I challenge a rent increase?

Apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the new rent starts. The fee is £47. The tribunal decides what the home would let for on the open market.

Can the tribunal put my rent up more than the notice?

No. Since 1 May 2026 the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one in the landlord’s notice. It can set that figure or less, even less than you pay now.

When does the new rent start if I apply?

Not until the tribunal decides. Then it starts from the date in the notice or the first rent day after the decision, whichever is later. There is no back rent. If paying would cause you undue hardship, the tribunal can delay the start for up to two months.

What evidence helps a tenant?

Rents actually agreed for similar homes nearby — not asking prices — and photos or reports of anything wrong with your home. Improvements you made yourself are ignored when the rent is set, and so is damage you caused.

Not legal advice. England only. These tools apply the rules as we read them on 12 October 2026. Check the current guidance on gov.uk, and take advice from a housing solicitor on a specific case.

Abide.Rent keeps this record for you: when your landlord or agent uses it, your notices and safety records sit in a free tenant login.