Rent increases via Section 13 only under the Renters Rights Act

The Renters’ Rights Act introduces significant changes to standard rent increase procedures.

UNIFIED RENT INCREASE MECHANISM - After the abolition of ASTs, Section 13 notices will become the only mechanism for increasing rent.

This means rent review clauses, renewed fixed-term agreements, and written agreements between the tenant and the landlord will be things of the past.

EXTENDED NOTICE PERIOD - Landlords must provide tenants with two months’ notice of any proposed rent increase, compared to the current one month requirement.

IMPLICATIONS

TIGHT RENT INCREASE TIMELINES - Under the new system, landlords can only raise rents once per year. As you must give your tenants at least two months’ notice of a rent increase, keeping track of rent review dates is essential. Otherwise, any plans to increase the rent to cover rising costs will be delayed.

INCREASED ADMINISTRATIVE WORKLOAD - Section 13 will become the only way to increase rent, meaning you’ll have to handle a much higher volume of notices than before.

RENT INCREASES MAY BE DELAYED - The Act gives tenants the right to dispute rent increases in tribunals. According to the State of the Lettings industry 2025, 76% of tenants said they would appeal a rent increase they considered unfair, and 23% would appeal ANY rent increase.

“The problem with [the] reforms to rent increases is not that tenants can appeal. It is right that tenants have a form of recourse if they believe their rent is being raised excessively. However, the fact that rent increases will only become effective from the date the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) reaches a verdict is troublesome. Landlords and agents hold legitimate fears that floods of tenants could appeal simply to delay increases."

David Smith Partner, Spector, Constant, and Williams Solicitors

PROTECTION FROM TENANT RENT INCREASE APPEALS

While tenants won’t pay backdated rent, even if the courts judge an increase to be fair, Our rent guarantee insurance pays the difference until a decision is made.

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