Your landlord has sent a letter saying your rent is going up. You have rights, and you can act on them before the new amount kicks in.
Since May 2026, landlords in England have one legal route to raise your rent, a valid Section 13 notice. An increase that skips that process has no effect, and one above market rate can be challenged.
You must apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent starts, and for a notice served since 1 May 2026 the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one your landlord proposed.
What makes a rent increase unlawful in England?
Your landlord cannot simply send a text message saying rent is going up next month.
They must serve a formal Section 13 notice using the prescribed government form (Form 4A since 1 May 2026). Since the Renters' Rights Act came into force, that notice must give you at least 2 months' notice before the new rent takes effect, and the new rent can only start at the beginning of a rent period, at least 52 weeks after the tenancy began or after the last increase.
Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements are no longer valid for private tenancies. If your tenancy agreement contains a clause allowing the landlord to raise rent by a fixed percentage each year, that clause has no effect. The Section 13 route is now the only lawful path.
An increase is also challengeable even when the notice is formally correct, if the proposed rent exceeds the open market rate for a comparable property in your area. Strictly, a notice served the wrong way makes an increase unlawful, and a rent above the market makes it excessive. You can go to tribunal over either, but the outcomes differ. A defective notice has no legal effect, and the tribunal can rule on whether it is valid. An excessive rent gets brought down to the market rate.
How the Section 13 notice rent-increase process works
Once your landlord serves the notice, you have until the day before the proposed increase takes effect to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Miss that deadline and a valid notice's new rent takes effect, and your right to challenge the amount is gone.
This guide covers England. In Wales, rent increases follow the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 instead, and the tribunal route below does not apply.
The tribunal works out the open market rent from comparable local homes, the condition of yours and the evidence both sides send. For a private tenancy where the notice was served on or after 1 May 2026, the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the figure your landlord proposed (section 14ZB), so challenging cannot leave you paying more than the notice asked.
Your landlord has 28 days to respond on Form MR2, and the tribunal often decides on the documents alone, arranging an inspection or a hearing (in person or online) only if it needs one. If you think either is needed for a fair decision, say why in your application. You do not need a lawyer to apply.
What evidence do you need to challenge a rent increase at tribunal?
You need to show that the proposed rent is above what a similar home nearby would let for. Gather the Section 13 notice, your tenancy agreement, and 3 to 5 comparable homes in the same area that are advertised or recently let, screenshotted with dates, addresses and asking rents. If your home has disrepair that isn't your fault, or lacks features the comparables have, add dated photographs, because a home in poor condition commands a lower market rent.
How to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent increase dispute
You challenge a rent increase by applying to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for an open market rent determination, using Form MR1, online or on paper. There is an application fee unless an exemption applies, so check the current amount on GOV.UK. HMRC's Valuation Office was announced on 9 September 2026 as taking these decisions over, but no date is set, so the tribunal is still the route.
If you apply online, the tribunal sends your landlord a copy of your application. If you apply by email or post, you should send your landlord a copy of the application and attachments yourself, or the tribunal will send it if you cannot. Your landlord can respond, and you can reply on Form MR3.
Our guides on how to fill in Form MR1 step by step and appealing a rent increase at the tribunal walk through the application and what happens next.
If the notice has an error, you can write to your landlord pointing out the defect and asking them to reissue it correctly, but that does not pause the deadline. If the start date is close, apply to the tribunal as well. The MR1 application lets you challenge the notice's validity and the rent together.
What the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes for rent increase challenges
The Renters' Rights Act, in force since 1 May 2026, changed how a challenge works as well as how an increase is proposed.
First, if you apply in time, the tribunal's rent is not backdated. On a notice served since 1 May 2026, any new rent starts no earlier than the first rent period on or after the tribunal's decision (or the notice's start date, if later), and if the usual date would cause you undue hardship, the tribunal can set a later date, up to 2 months after its decision.
Second, it abolished Section 21 no-fault eviction on 1 May 2026.
That is not a ban on retaliation. A landlord can still seek possession on a legal ground, such as selling (Ground 1A) or moving in (Ground 1). These need 4 months' notice, the date in the notice must be at least a year after your tenancy began, and challenging the rent is no defence if the ground is proved. What protects you is that the landlord must prove the ground in court. A landlord who knowingly or recklessly relies on a ground that cannot succeed commits an offence under section 16J of the Housing Act 1988 if you give up your home within 4 months without a court order.
What happens if your landlord raises rent without a valid Section 13 notice?
If your landlord tells you rent is going up without serving a valid Section 13 notice, the increase has no legal effect. You are entitled to continue paying your current rent until a valid notice is served and the process followed correctly.
Write to your landlord, saying that no valid Section 13 notice has been received and that you will keep paying the existing rent until the correct process is followed. Keep a copy. A clear letter citing Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 can resolve it without the tribunal.
If your landlord then treats the unpaid increase as arrears or threatens eviction over it, reply in writing straight away. Without a valid Section 13 notice, a tribunal decision or a qualifying written agreement, the rent cannot lawfully go up (Housing Act 1988 section 13(4A), added by the Renters' Rights Act 2025), so the unpaid increase is not rent you owe. That only protects you if the notice is invalid, so keep paying your current rent in full and get the notice checked before its start date.
If you're unsure whether your notice is valid or the rent is above market, Remedy can check your notice, help you draft a letter to your landlord and prepare your tribunal application.
