The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 did not cap rents, but it changed the route to an increase. From 1 May 2026 every private assured tenancy in England is periodic, and section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 is the only door. This guide sets out the rules, works through examples, and explains what happens when a tenant challenges.
In force as of 25 October 2026 Housing Act 1988, section 13 (as amended by Renters’ Rights Act 2025, s.6)
Quarterday is a date calculator and checklist, not legal advice.
The rules in one table
| Rule | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed notice | Use Form 4A (05.26) for private tenancies | Section 13(2); Form 4A |
| Two months’ notice | Served at least two months before the new rent starts | RRA s.6(4)(a); Form 4A note A2 |
| First increase | Not before 52 weeks after the first period of the tenancy began | Section 13(2)(b) |
| Later increases | Not before 52 weeks after the last increase took effect; 53 weeks where the drift rule applies | Section 13(2)(c), (3A), (3B) |
| Period start | New rent must begin on the first day of a rent period | Section 13(2); Form 4A note A4 |
| No other route | Rent review clauses and other increase terms have no effect | Section 13(4A) |
GOV.UK puts the first-year rule simply: “You will not be able to increase the rent in the first year of the tenancy.”
Worked example: a monthly tenancy
A tenancy began on 1 March 2021. The rent rose under a rent review clause on 1 March 2026, before the Act came in. That increase stands, and under regulation 7(2) of SI 2026/421 you cannot propose a new rent to take effect before the end of 52 weeks from it.
- 1 March 2026 + 52 weeks (364 days) = 28 February 2027.
- The next rent day on or after that is 1 March 2027.
- Two months before 1 March 2027: serve by 1 January 2027.
If you serve on 5 January 2027 instead, two months takes you to 5 March, so the earliest start becomes 1 April 2027. Serving late never invalidates the plan; it pushes the start to the next rent day that is far enough away.
Worked example: a weekly tenancy
A weekly tenancy started on Monday 4 May 2026, with no increase since. Fifty-two weeks later is Monday 3 May 2027, which is also the first day of a weekly period, so the earliest new rent date is Monday 3 May 2027. Serve by 3 March 2027. Form 4A note A4 gives the same pattern: if a weekly tenancy started on a Monday, the new rent must begin on a Monday.
The section 13 calculator handles both cases, plus fortnightly and four-weekly periods and tenancies that start on the 29th, 30th or 31st.
The 52 or 53 week question
Because 52 weeks is a day or two short of a calendar year, sections 13(3A) and 13(3B) add a correction. If the rent has gone up under section 13 or a tribunal decision since 11 February 2003, compare the 52-week date with the anniversary of the first such increase. If the 52-week date falls more than six days before that anniversary, wait 53 weeks.
Example: the first increase after February 2003 took effect on 1 April 2004. Your last increase took effect on 20 March 2026. 52 weeks later is 19 March 2027, thirteen days before the 1 April anniversary, so the earliest date is 53 weeks after the last increase: 26 March 2027 (then rounded up to a rent day). This is why Form 4A asks for that date at question 4.4.
Converted tenancies and older notices
Existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. For the rent, three transitional points matter:
- Clause increases that took effect before 1 May 2026 stand, and start the 52-week clock (SI 2026/421, reg 7(2); RRA Schedule 6, para 6).
- Clause increases agreed before 1 May 2026 but due to take effect after it do not apply. GOV.UK: “If the increase was agreed before 1 May 2026 but takes effect after 1 May 2026, the increase will not apply.”
- Section 13 notices served before 1 May 2026 on the old Form 4, with a new rent starting on or after that date, continue under the old rules for challenges (reg 8). A tenant challenging one of those pays no tribunal fee.
One wrinkle: section 13(2)(b) still carves out “a statutory periodic tenancy” from the first-year rule. How that applies to tenancies that converted on 1 May 2026 is not spelled out in the guidance we have checked. Quarterday applies the 52-week rule to every tenancy, which is the safer reading.
What happens if the tenant challenges
Your tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) on form MR1. The application costs £47 and must be made before the start date in your notice. The tribunal then decides the rent the property “might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a willing landlord” (section 14(1)).
Three protections now favour the tenant, and you should plan around them.
The rent cannot go above your figure
Under section 14ZB(5) the new rent is the open-market rent “if lower than the proposed rent”, otherwise your proposed rent. A challenge can only hold the rent where you set it or bring it down.
No backdating
Under section 14ZB(3) the new rent starts:
- on your proposed date, if the decision is made on or before it; or
- at the beginning of the first rent period on or after the decision, if it comes later.
Example: you proposed 1 March 2027 for a monthly tenancy that runs from the 1st. The tribunal decides on 10 April 2027. The new rent starts on 1 May 2027. The months in between are at the old rent.
Hardship deferral
If either start date “would cause undue hardship”, the tribunal can direct a later date, but it must fall before the end of the two months beginning with the date of the decision (section 14ZB(4)). For a 10 April 2027 decision, that is no later than 9 June 2027.
Your reply
The tribunal notifies you of the application. You can reply on form MR2 within 28 days, copying the tenant; the tenant can respond on MR3. Most decisions are made on the papers. Our guide to the MR2 reply covers what to include.
Challenging the starting rent
Separately, under section 14(A1)–(A2) a tenant can ask the tribunal to decide the rent fixed at the start of a new tenancy, but not once more than six months have passed since the tenancy began. If they do, the decided rent cannot take effect before the date of their application.
Rent in advance and bidding
Two related rules sit alongside section 13. You cannot ask for or accept rent before the tenancy agreement is signed (Tenant Fees Act 2019 as amended), and once it is signed, terms making rent due in advance are of no effect except for “initial rent” paid between signing and the start of the tenancy (new section 4B of the Housing Act 1988). When you advertise, you must state a specific rent and must not invite or accept offers above it (RRA s.56). See the periodic tenancy changeover for both.
Building your evidence before you serve
Nothing in section 13 requires evidence with the notice, but a tenant can challenge any increase for £47 with no risk of paying more than you proposed. A modest, well-evidenced increase is less likely to be referred and easier to defend. Before serving:
- log three or more comparable lettings near the property;
- check the ONS average rent for your council and bedroom count on the rents by council pages, remembering they include existing tenancies and so run below asking rents;
- note the property’s condition and any improvements since the last increase.
The Form 4A evidence pack keeps all of this together and prints a summary you can attach to an MR2 reply. Then fill in Form 4A and put the serve-by date in the tracker.