Rent increases in the UK: how often, how much notice, and how to challenge

The four nations at a glance

These rules are for private lets. Social housing rents follow separate rules in each nation.

England: the section 13 procedure since 1 May 2026

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed rent increases for private assured tenancies on 1 May 2026 (Commencement No. 2 Regulations, SI 2026/421). Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended, now says:

• Form and notice. The landlord serves a notice in the prescribed form, Form 4A, proposing a new rent that starts at least two months after the notice is served.
• Once a year. The new rent cannot start earlier than 52 weeks after the tenancy began, or 52 weeks after the last increase.
• No rent review clauses. A term in the agreement allowing the rent to rise automatically (fixed annual rises, indexation) no longer has effect. The rent can only go up through a section 13 notice, an agreement after such a notice, or a tribunal decision. If a rent review clause raised the rent before 1 May 2026, the next section 13 increase cannot take effect until 52 weeks after it (regulation 7 of SI 2026/421).

GOV.UK’s guidance on rent challenges lists what makes a notice valid: at least 2 months’ notice (one month for a notice given before 1 May 2026), no increase within 52 weeks of the last one or during a fixed term, the correct start date, the tenant’s correct details, the correct form and the landlord’s signature.

How a tenant in England challenges the increase

1. Apply before the start date in the notice, even if you are still collecting evidence. The application goes to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), online or on form MR1.
2. Pay the fee: £47, with help with fees available on a low income. No fee applies if the notice is dated before 1 May 2026.
3. Send evidence: photos, room sizes, repairs and, above all, rents agreed for similar homes nearby.
4. The tribunal sets the open-market rent. Under section 14ZB, the new rent is the open-market rent if it is lower than the landlord’s proposal, and otherwise the proposed rent. It can never be higher than the figure in the notice.
5. When it starts. If the decision comes after the proposed start date, the new rent normally starts from the next rent period after the decision, not earlier. GOV.UK’s 9 September 2026 announcement states that a tenant who challenges does not have to pay the higher rent until the tribunal has made its final decision. The tribunal can also delay the start for hardship, by up to two months after its decision.

In the first six months of a tenancy, a tenant can also ask the tribunal to decide whether the starting rent is above the market rent. The tribunal can only lower it.

The same 9 September 2026 announcement says rent determinations will move to HMRC’s Valuation Office in future. No date has been given; until then, challenges go to the First-tier Tribunal.

For the rest of the English regime (periodic tenancies, notice to leave, deposits), see renting in England and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 guide.

Wales: two months’ notice, once a year

Under section 123 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, the landlord of a periodic standard contract can change the rent by giving a notice at least two months before the new rent starts. Each later notice must set a date at least one year after the last rent change. gov.wales adds that a fixed-term standard contract does not usually allow a rent change during the initial fixed term.

There is no cap. The Renting Homes (Rent Determination) (Converted Contracts) (Wales) Regulations 2022 let a contract-holder apply to a rent assessment committee for a rent determination, but only under a “relevant converted contract”: broadly, a tenancy that existed before 1 December 2022 and to which section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 applied. Payotte did not find an equivalent statutory challenge for standard contracts made after that date in the official pages read. Ask an adviser if you are in that situation. See renting in Wales.

Scotland: three months’ notice and a rent officer review

mygov.scot sets out the rules for a private residential tenancy (PRT):

• One increase in any 12-month period, with at least 3 months’ written notice on the official rent increase notice, signed and dated. An increase given any other way does not change the rent.
• To refuse it, return Part 3 of the notice and apply to Rent Service Scotland, which must receive the application within 21 days of the notice. A rent officer sets the rent the landlord could reasonably charge a new tenant for a similar home in the area. Today that rent can be higher or lower than the landlord asked.
• You can ask for a review within 14 working days, then appeal free of charge to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber), form H, within 14 working days of the review.

What the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 changes, and when

More on the tenancy itself in private residential tenancy in Scotland.

Northern Ireland: once a year with three months’ notice

Since 1 April 2025, section 7 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 stops a landlord increasing the rent within 12 months of granting the tenancy or of the last increase, and requires three months’ written notice. The Department for Communities says a second increase within 12 months has no legal effect: the tenant does not have to pay it and the landlord cannot enforce it in court. These limits do not apply where the Rent Officer controls the rent (protected and statutory tenancies, and homes found unfit).

There is no cap on the amount. The Act gave the Department a power to freeze or cut rents, but the Department states that the power expired on 28 October 2023. See renting in Northern Ireland.

What to check when you receive a rent increase

• The form. Form 4A in England, the Scottish rent increase notice in Scotland, written notice in Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The dates. Count the notice period and the 12 months since the last rise.
• The deadline to challenge. In England, before the new rent starts; in Scotland, 21 days.
• Market evidence. Asking rents for similar homes nearby, ideally rents actually agreed.
• Keep paying the current rent while a challenge is pending. Arrears can give the landlord grounds for possession.

Which professional to consult

An independent housing adviser, or a solicitor specialising in housing law, can check whether a notice is valid and whether a challenge is worth making. Check yourself that any adviser is regulated. A landlord should check registration duties in landlord registration.