Rent increases have always been one of the most stressful parts of renting. Under the old system, your landlord had multiple ways to raise your rent, such as:
Some tenants saw stepped increases written into 12-month fixed terms, whereas others had RPI or CPI-linked clauses that kicked in automatically. Many just accepted whatever the landlord asked for at renewal, because the alternative was a Section 21 notice.
From May 1st, 2026, there's one way and one way only for your landlord to increase your rent: by using the Section 13 statutory process.
Every contractual rent review clause in every tenancy agreement in England becomes unenforceable on May 1st, 2026, full stop, regardless of when the tenancy began. That includes fixed annual uplifts, RPI-linked increases, CPI-linked increases, stepped rent schedules, and any other mechanism written into your agreement.
In short, if your tenancy agreement says your rent goes up by £50 per month every year, or by inflation, or by any other formula, that clause has no legal effect from May 1st.
This also catches increases agreed before May 1st, but taking effect after it. Guidance released by the government has been incredibly explicit concerning this: any rent increase that was agreed under a rent review clause before May 1st but which takes effect on or after May 1st is not permitted. The only valid route is Section 13.
Under the new rules, your landlord can propose one rent increase in any 12-month period, and that’s it. The tenancy agreement cannot override or shorten this timeline.
The new process is very straightforward: Your landlord serves you with a Section 13 notice on the new Form 4A, stating the proposed new rent and the date it takes effect. That date must be at least two months after the notice is served, and it must fall at the start of a new rent period (monthly under the new rules).
If the form is wrong, the dates are wrong, or the notice period is too short, the increase is invalid, and your rent stays at its existing amount until your landlord serves a valid notice. The rent increase cannot be backdated.
Tenants also don’t have to agree to rent increases under the new rules. If you do nothing, the new rent takes effect on the date stated in the notice. If you think it’s too high, however, you can challenge it.
If you think the proposed increase is above what your property would fetch on the open market, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to have it reviewed. You must apply before the date the increase is due to take effect. If you miss this deadline, the increase stands, and you'll owe the higher amount. There’s a £47 fee for challenging an increase with the Tribunal.
The Tribunal doesn't decide whether the increase is "fair" in a general sense. Instead, it assesses what the open market rent for the property would be, taking into account the property's condition, location, and comparable rents in the area. If your property is in poor repair, that works in your favour: the Tribunal is required to disregard improvements made by the tenant and to factor in any disrepair when assessing market rent.
In making their decision, the Tribunal can only set the rent at or below the amount your landlord proposed; it cannot be set higher. This is a major change from the old system, where challenging a rent increase at the Tribunal was a gamble because the Tribunal could decide your rent should be higher than what the landlord asked for. That risk is now gone.
If the Tribunal determines a lower rent, the new figure takes effect from the next rent payment date after the determination. The Tribunal can also delay the start of the increase by up to two further months if you'd suffer undue hardship.
Notably, there’s no backdating of rent increases. This is also a departure from the old rules under which, if your hearing happened weeks after the proposed increase date, the Tribunal could backdate the increase. That's no longer the case, and the new rent only kicks in from the next payment date after the Tribunal's decision, or later if a hardship delay applies.
The Tribunal determines the open market rent. In practice, that means comparable rents for similar properties in the same area. Both you and your landlord can submit evidence, and the Tribunal will also carry out its own research. Things that work in your favour when challenging:
Things that don't help:
For existing tenancies, the 12-month clock starts from the last rent increase, whether that was a contractual increase, a Section 13 increase, or the start of the tenancy. Your landlord can't serve a Section 13 notice if it's been less than 12 months since the rent was last changed.
If your rent hasn't changed since you moved in two years ago, for example, your landlord can serve a Section 13 notice from May 1st onwards. However, if your rent was increased in January 2026 under a rent review clause, the next increase can't take effect until January 2027 at the earliest.
The Renters' Rights Act also introduces a new right for tenants to challenge the starting rent on a new tenancy within the first six months.
If you believe the rent you agreed to at the start is above the open market rate, you can refer it to the Tribunal using the same process. The test is whether the rent exceeds the open market rent for the property. Previously, tenants could only challenge if the rent was "significantly higher" than the market rate, but that higher bar has been lowered.
This is extremely relevant in a market where tenants are under pressure to accept whatever is offered. Combined with the new rent bidding ban, it gives tenants a route to push back on inflated starting rents after they've moved in and secured the tenancy.
One of the biggest concerns about abolishing Section 21 was that landlords would simply use excessive rent increases to force tenants out. The government acknowledged this risk during the Bill's passage through Parliament and introduced several protections against this.
First, challenging rent increases via the Tribunal has no downside risks for tenants. Rent can only go down or stay the same, never up. This alone is designed to deter above-market proposals. The Tribunal can delay the increase by up to two months on hardship grounds.
Secondly, if a landlord proposes an increase that is clearly above market rate and the tenant leaves as a result, that could amount to a retaliatory eviction. Local authorities have the power to impose civil penalties on landlords who misuse the system.
Finally, the government has also reserved the power to introduce regulations allowing backdated rent increases in the future, if it concludes that tenants are abusing the Tribunal process to delay legitimate increases. That power exists in the Act but hasn’t yet been implemented.
If you've received a Section 13 notice and you think the increase is above market rate, the First-tier Tribunal application costs £47 and can be made online or by post. Shelter's helpline (0808 800 4444) and Citizens Advice can help you understand whether a challenge is worth pursuing and what evidence to gather.
Once per year. Your landlord must use the statutory Section 13 process, serving you with a notice on Form 4A with at least two months' notice. Rent review clauses in your tenancy agreement have no effect from May 1st, 2026.
Yes. You can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for £47 before the increase is due to take effect. The Tribunal determines the open market rent for the property. It can only set the rent at or below what your landlord proposed. It can never raise it higher.
The increase takes effect on the date stated in the notice, and you'll owe the higher amount. The deadline to apply to the Tribunal is before the date the proposed increase is due to take effect.
Yes. The Tribunal must factor in the property's condition when determining the market rent. If your landlord hasn't maintained the property, that works in your favour. A landlord who hasn't fixed the damp can't charge the same rent as one who has.
No. The Renters' Rights Act does not introduce rent controls or caps. Landlords can propose any amount. The protection is the right to challenge at the Tribunal, which now carries no downside risk for the tenant.
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