Since 1 May 2026, every rent increase on an assured periodic tenancy in England has to go through one route: a Section 13 notice on the prescribed form, Form 4A.
A lot of landlords and agents are still working from the old playbook. These are the mistakes I see most.
1. Relying on a rent review clause, however well drafted
A clause that says the rent rises each April by RPI, or by CPI plus two per cent, no longer works. Contractual rent review clauses, escalators and fixed percentage uplifts cannot be enforced from 1 May 2026. That applies to existing tenancy agreements as well as new ones, however clearly the tenant agreed. The Act voids the mechanism, so the quality of the drafting doesn't matter.
2. Giving less than two months' notice
The notice must give the date the new rent takes effect, and that date must be at least two months after the notice is served. A notice served on 1 March for a new rent from 15 April is liable to be invalid. Two months is a floor, and longer is fine.
3. Increasing the rent twice in twelve months
There is a limit of one increase in any twelve-month period, and the parties can't agree their way around it. The twelve months runs from the date the previous increase took effect, not from when the notice was served. If the rent has never been increased, the clock starts at the tenancy start date.
4. Re-papering the tenancy to reset the clock
Issuing a new tenancy agreement at a higher rent doesn't start a new twelve months. The underlying periodic tenancy carries on whatever the paperwork says, and the statutory rules carry on with it.
5. Setting the figure too high
Under the old system, a high opening figure was a fairly safe negotiating tactic. Now a tenant can challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal, and the tribunal can't set the rent above what you asked for. If it sets a lower rent, that applies from the date of its decision, so you lose the uplift for the period in between. A figure the tribunal would cut is a bad figure to propose.
A related trap: the informal agreement
If a tenant says they are happy to pay more, it is tempting to skip the notice. An increase agreed without a Section 13 notice sits outside the statutory route. The safer course is to serve Form 4A anyway. It costs nothing extra and removes the risk of a later dispute.
What to do instead
Use the official prescribed form, make sure the new rent starts at least two months after the date you serve it, check the date of the last increase, and serve the notice on the right person at the right address.
If you'd rather not work the dates out by hand, Bracton's Section 13 notice generator fills in Form 4A from your tenancy details and calculates the two months' notice. There is a full explainer on the Section 13 process and a step-by-step guide to increasing rent under the Act.
