Rent Increase Rules UK 2026: New Limits for Landlords

Rent Increase Rules UK 2026: What Every Landlord Needs to Know

Rent increase rules uk 2026 have changed fundamentally. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, the way private landlords can raise rents is now tightly regulated. Rent controls — in the traditional sense of government-set caps — have not been introduced. But the process for increasing rent has been made more structured, the frequency is limited to once per year, and tenants now have a meaningful right to challenge increases at an independent tribunal without risk of the award exceeding the landlord's original ask.

This guide explains everything landlords need to know about the new rent increase regime: what you can charge, how to serve a valid notice, what evidence supports a market rate claim, and how the tribunal process works.

For the full context on the wider Act, see our complete Renters' Rights Act 2026 guide for landlords.

What Has Changed: Old vs New Rent Increase Rules

The most significant practical changes for day-to-day landlords are:

1. Rent review clauses are gone. If your tenancy agreement contains a clause allowing annual or periodic rent increases by a set percentage or formula, that clause will have no legal effect from the Act's commencement date.
2. One increase per year, maximum. You cannot increase rent more frequently than once every 12 months.
3. Section 13 is the only route. Every rent increase must follow the prescribed notice process.

How to Increase Rent Lawfully Under the New Rules

Step 1: Check Your Eligibility to Increase

Before serving a Section 13 notice, confirm:

• At least 12 months have passed since the tenancy started (or since the last rent increase)
• You are not within any period of restriction (e.g., your tenancy was subject to a previous Section 13 notice)
• The increase you are proposing is to market rate — not above it

Step 2: Determine Market Rate

Market rate is defined in the Act as the rent the property would achieve if newly advertised to let. This is the ceiling — you cannot lawfully propose a rent increase to a level above what the open market would support.

Evidence for establishing market rate:

• Comparable property listings — Rightmove, Zoopla, and OnTheMarket listings for similar properties in the same street, postcode, or area. Look at properties of the same size, condition, and facilities.
• Rental valuation letter from a RICS-accredited or ARLA-registered local letting agent on headed paper
• Rental market data from property portals' published reports (Rightmove Rental Trends Tracker, Zoopla Rental Market Report)
• Recent new tenancy rents achieved in the same building (if applicable)

Keep this evidence. If a tenant challenges the increase at the First-tier Tribunal, you will need to produce it.

Step 3: Serve a Section 13 Notice

The Section 13 notice is a prescribed form available from gov.uk. It must:

• Be in the current prescribed form (do not use old templates — the form is updated by statute and using an out-of-date form invalidates the notice)
• State the proposed new rent
• State the date on which the new rent is to take effect — this must be at least 2 months after the date of service
• Be served on the tenant — ideally by recorded post or email (if the tenancy agreement permits email service), with proof of delivery retained

Step 4: Await the Tenant's Response

Once the notice is correctly served, you do not need to take further action:

• If the tenant accepts the new rent — they simply pay the new amount on the first relevant rent date after the effective date
• If the tenant disputes the rent — they must apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the effective date stated in the notice

Step 5: If the Tenant Applies to the Tribunal

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) will determine what the market rent for the property should be. Under the new rules:

• The Tribunal cannot award a rent higher than the amount the landlord proposed
• The new rent takes effect from the date of the Tribunal's determination — not the date the notice was originally served
• If the Tribunal finds the proposed rent is at or below market rate, the landlord's proposed rent is confirmed
• In cases of undue hardship, the Tribunal can defer the increase taking effect for up to 2 additional months

The no-upward-adjustment rule is a significant tenant protection — tenants who challenge loses nothing, which removes the disincentive to challenge inflated rents.

What Is Market Rate and How Do You Evidence It?

"Market rate" sounds simple but is frequently contested at the Tribunal. Understanding what it means and how to evidence it is essential.

Definition

The rent the property would achieve if it were newly advertised to let, at the time of the Section 13 notice. This means:

• It is current market rate — not what you could have achieved 18 months ago or what you hope to achieve next year
• It reflects the specific property — its condition, facilities, size, and location matter
• It includes furnished or unfurnished conditions matching the current tenancy

What Tribunals Look At

The First-tier Tribunal considers:

Common Evidencing Mistakes

• Using national averages — Tribunal will dismiss national or regional data in favour of local comparables
• Using portal estimates — automated rental estimates (e.g., Zoopla estimates) are not the same as actual listed rents; they are indicative only
• Using properties in different condition — comparing a refurbished flat to an unrenovated one weakens your case
• Printing screenshots without context — include the full listing URL, date accessed, and highlight the relevant comparable details

Can Landlords Increase Rent More Than Once a Year?

No. Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent can only be increased once every 12 months via the Section 13 process. The 12-month clock runs from:

• The date the current tenancy started (for the first increase), or
• The date the last rent increase took effect

You also cannot use any other mechanism to increase rent more frequently. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are no longer legally effective.

Rent Increases on Converting Tenancies

When existing fixed-term assured tenancies convert to periodic tenancies on the Act's commencement date:

• Any rent increase that was validly agreed before the commencement date remains valid — there is specific statutory provision for this
• Going forward, all rent increases must follow the Section 13 process
• If a fixed-term tenancy included a rent review clause, that clause will cease to have effect for any increases after the commencement date

This means landlords who have properties with regular contractual rent reviews scheduled for post-commencement dates will need to use Section 13 instead.

Rent Increases and Possession

Under the Act, rent increases by any other means than Section 13 are not permitted. The Act specifically prohibits using rent increase clauses or other mechanisms outside the statutory process. This is partly designed to prevent "backdoor evictions" — where landlords propose an extreme above-market rent increase to force a tenant to leave voluntarily.

The connection to possession: A landlord cannot serve a valid possession notice if they are in breach of the rent increase rules. Keeping your Section 13 process clean and well-documented is part of maintaining your overall compliance position.

This connects directly to your wider compliance obligations. See our landlord compliance renewals guide for the full picture of what must be in order before taking any possession action.

Section 13 Notice: Practical Tips

Timing

Serve early. The notice requires at least 2 months before the new rent date. If you want the new rent to take effect on 1 September, the notice must be served no later than 1 July. Serving even earlier gives the tenant time to budget and reduces the chance of a Tribunal application.

The Effective Date

The new rent date must be the first day of a period of the tenancy. For a monthly tenancy paid on the 1st of the month, the effective date must be the 1st. Selecting a mid-period date invalidates the notice.

Multiple Grounds in One Notice

You can only have one active Section 13 notice at a time. If you serve a second notice before the first has taken effect (or been determined by Tribunal), the status of the first notice becomes complicated. Serve one notice, wait for the outcome, then begin the next cycle.

Keep a Copy

Obvious but often neglected: keep a signed copy of the notice, proof of service (recorded delivery slip, email delivery confirmation), and a note of the date of service. If a tenant disputes whether they received the notice, this documentation is your defence.

What If the Tenant Refuses to Pay the New Rent?

If a tenant does not apply to the Tribunal before the effective date, the new rent takes effect and they are legally required to pay it. A tenant who simply refuses to pay the increased rent — without mounting a Tribunal challenge — falls into arrears.

• Arrears of 3 months or more trigger mandatory Ground 8 possession proceedings
• Persistent late payment or smaller arrears may support Ground 10 or Ground 11 proceedings

The rent increase process and the possession process are separate. A landlord who has followed the Section 13 process correctly has a clean position when pursuing arrears arising from a refused rent increase.

For the full eviction process under the new rules, see our Section 21 ban UK guide.

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