Form 4A: the section 13 rent increase notice explained

Which rent increase form should you use?

Form 4A is the form for raising the rent on a private assured periodic tenancy in England. Its full name is ‘Landlord’s notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector’, and it is the notice required by section 13(2) of the Housing Act 1988. Since 1 May 2026 it has replaced Form 4 for private landlords. Form 4 is now for social housing.

The form is free. Download the current version, marked 05.26, from the GOV.UK assured tenancy forms page. You can complete and sign it electronically or by hand. TenancyDesk’s Form 4A generator fills in the official wording and works out the earliest start date for you, but paying for software is not a requirement.

Form 4A applies because almost every private tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy. Assured agricultural occupancies use Form 5A instead. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules.

Sources: GOV.UK: assured tenancy forms · GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26)

How much notice does a Form 4A rent increase need?

At least two months. The notice must be served on the tenant at least two months before the new rent starts, and the start date must also pass two further tests set out in Note A of the form. A date that fails any one of the three does not meet section 13.

The 53-week rule stops increase dates drifting earlier each year, because 52 weeks is slightly less than a calendar year. It matters most for weekly and fortnightly tenancies. The tenancy period, meaning how often the rent is paid, must be a month or less.

For every other notice that now applies to a tenancy, see our guide to tenancy notice periods in England.

Sources: GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26) · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies · Legislation: Housing Act 1988, section 13

Is there a section 13 notice template?

The template is Form 4A itself. The form is prescribed by regulations, so a home-made letter or an old Form 4 is not the notice section 13 asks for. What you add is the detail of your own tenancy.

The form asks for the names of the tenants (every joint tenant), the address, the landlord’s name and contact address, any agent, the current rent and how often it is paid, the date the tenancy started, the date of the most recent increase, the proposed rent and the date it will start. Question 4.7 is a table of any council tax, water, fuel, communication services or fixed service charges included in the rent, before and after. Enter ‘nil’ where nothing is included and leave out variable service charges.

Joint landlords either each sign in the additional signature boxes or agree that one signs for all. An agent can sign instead of the landlord.

Sources: GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26) · GOV.UK: assured tenancy forms

How to serve a section 13 notice, step by step

Work through these in order and keep the evidence for each. The form itself tells landlords they need to be able to evidence that the notice was served on the tenant.

• Find the tenancy start date and the rental period in the agreement or your records.
• Find the date the last increase took effect, including any increase before 1 May 2026 made on Form 4 or under a rent review clause.
• Decide the proposed rent by comparing similar homes locally, because the tribunal test is the open market rent. Our guide on how much a landlord can increase rent explains that test.
• Work out the earliest start date that passes all three date rules.
• Complete every question on Form 4A, including the charges table, then sign and date it.
• Serve it by a method your written tenancy agreement specifies. If it specifies none, the form says to hand it to the tenant in person, leave it at the tenant’s address or send it by registered post. GOV.UK says email is allowed only if the tenancy agreement allows it.
• Keep a copy of the completed notice and separate proof of how and when it was served.
• Do not treat the new rent as payable until the start date has passed without a tribunal application.

Sources: GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26) · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies

Can you raise the rent any other way?

No, not for a tenancy covered by section 13. Since 1 May 2026 the Housing Act says the rent for a period cannot be higher than for the previous period except through a section 13 notice, an agreement that follows one, or a tribunal decision. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements no longer have effect.

GOV.UK adds that an increase agreed under a rent review clause before 1 May 2026 does not apply if it was due to take effect after that date. For new tenancies, the written statement of terms must say that any proposal to increase the rent will be made by a section 13 notice.

A tenant can agree with you in writing to change or delay an increase after a notice has been served. A rise agreed informally, with no notice, is not the section 13 process.

Sources: Legislation: Housing Act 1988, section 13 · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies · GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26)

What if the tenant disagrees?

A tenant who thinks the proposed rent is above the market rate, or that there is a problem with the notice, can apply to the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal must receive the application before the start date in the notice. If the tenant does nothing by then, the new rent starts on that date.

The tribunal decides what rent the home could reasonably fetch on the open market on the same terms, and it can take the condition of the property into account. Its figure may be higher or lower than yours, but the tenant will not be required to pay more than the rent you proposed. The tenant does not have to pay the new amount until the tribunal has decided.

Under the Renters’ Rights Act the decided rent is not backdated. It applies from the date in your notice if that has not yet passed, or otherwise from the start of the first rental period on or after the decision. Where that would cause the tenant undue hardship, the tribunal can direct a later date, which must fall within two months of its decision. Keep the proposed rent, your comparables and all correspondence together, and get advice if an application arrives.

Sources: GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26) · Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, section 7 (challenging a rent increase) · GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies

Common Form 4A mistakes

Most problems come from dates and delivery, not the rent figure. The common ones are using the old Form 4, choosing a start date that is not the first day of a rental period, proposing an increase inside the first 52 weeks of the tenancy or less than 52 weeks after the last one, leaving a joint tenant off the notice, and having no proof of service.

A second group comes from treating the notice as a formality. Relying on a rent review clause, emailing the form when the agreement does not allow email, or collecting the higher rent while a tribunal application is open all create disputes that are harder to fix than a late notice.

If you find a mistake after serving, do not quietly edit and reissue the same document. Get advice on whether a fresh notice with a new date is needed. Unpaid rent is a separate matter with its own process, covered in our guide to rent arrears and a tenant not paying rent.

Sources: GOV.UK: Form 4A and its guidance notes (05.26)

Form 4 notices served before 1 May 2026

GOV.UK says that if you used Form 4 to give notice of a rent increase before 1 May 2026, the notice period and the increase stated in it still apply. Do not replace an earlier notice just because the form number changed.

The one-year gap counts from that increase. You cannot raise the rent again until at least a year after the last increase took effect, even if it took effect before 1 May 2026. The wider changes are in our Renters’ Rights Act guide for landlords.

Sources: GOV.UK: rent increases for assured periodic tenancies

Common questions