Section 13 Rent Reviews Under the Renters' Rights Act Explained

How the Renters' Rights Act Changes Rent Increases

For landlords used to managing rent reviews through contractual rent review clauses or informal agreements with tenants, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces a significant shift. Under the new regime, landlords can only increase rent through the statutory Section 13 process — and only once every twelve months. Understanding how this works in practice is now an essential part of running a compliant tenancy.

What Is a Section 13 Notice?

A Section 13 notice is a formal written notice served on a tenant to propose a new rent. It is the only lawful mechanism for increasing rent under an assured tenancy where the tenancy is periodic — which, under the Renters' Rights Act, is now the standard tenure for most private rented tenancies.

The notice must be served on the prescribed form and give the tenant a minimum of one month's notice (for weekly or monthly tenancies) before the proposed increase takes effect. For yearly periodic tenancies, six months' notice is required. The proposed new rent must take effect at the start of a new rental period.

Critically, landlords can only serve one Section 13 notice in any twelve-month period. There is no mechanism to issue multiple increases in a single year, even if market rents move significantly during that time.

What Happens If a Tenant Disputes the Increase?

If a tenant believes the proposed rent is above the market rate, they can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the effective date. The tribunal's role is to determine the open market rent for the property — it cannot set a rent higher than the landlord has proposed, but it can set it lower.

A charity working in housing access has raised concern that proposed tribunal fees for tenants challenging rent increases could deter lower-income tenants from exercising this right. Whether or not fees are ultimately introduced, the existence of the tribunal route is a meaningful check on rent increases that landlords need to factor into their planning.

From a practical standpoint, this means any Section 13 notice should reflect a genuinely defensible market rent. If your proposed increase is well above comparable local lets, a tribunal referral becomes more likely — and the outcome could be a lower rent than you originally proposed, with no ability to try again for another year.

Why the Once-Per-Year Rule Matters More Than It Sounds

The annual cap on Section 13 notices has a less obvious consequence: timing becomes much more important. If you serve a notice at the wrong point in the tenancy cycle, or use the wrong effective date, the notice could be invalid — and you would need to start the clock again, potentially losing months of a justified increase.

It is also worth noting that contractual rent review clauses in tenancy agreements — common in older fixed-term agreements — no longer operate independently under the Renters' Rights Act framework. Rent can only be increased through Section 13 for periodic assured tenancies. Including a rent review clause in your agreement does not bypass this requirement.

How to Keep Your Rent Reviews on Track

Given the annual restriction and the formal notice requirements, a structured approach to rent review scheduling is more important than ever. A few practical steps:

• Track the anniversary of each tenancy carefully. The twelve-month restriction runs from the date the last increase took effect (or the tenancy start date if no increase has yet been made), so knowing these dates precisely matters.
• Research comparables before serving notice. The tribunal uses open market rent as its benchmark. Checking current listings for similar properties in your area before proposing an increase gives you a defensible basis and reduces the risk of a referral.
• Use the correct prescribed form. Serving an invalid notice — whether through the wrong form or incorrect notice period — wastes your annual opportunity. Double-check the statutory requirements or use a compliant template.
• Give yourself lead time. If you want an increase to take effect at a particular date, work backwards from the minimum notice period to ensure the notice is served in time.

Tenant City's rent tracking tools let landlords log each tenancy's rent review dates and flag when the twelve-month window opens again — helping you avoid the common mistake of serving a notice too early and having it fall outside the permitted period.

The Broader Landscape: Tribunals and Rent Setting

Some landlord groups have expressed concern that a higher volume of tribunal referrals — whether driven by tenant awareness campaigns or, if fees are low or waived, reduced financial barriers — could slow the process significantly. A tribunal referral suspends the rent increase until a decision is reached, which can take weeks or months depending on caseload.

This is not a reason to avoid legitimate rent increases. Market rents have risen substantially in most parts of the UK, and it is reasonable for landlords to keep pace with them. The point is simply that the tribunal route is a genuine constraint on the process, not a theoretical one, and increases should be calibrated accordingly.

For landlords managing several properties, keeping track of where each tenancy sits in its annual review cycle — and whether any Section 13 notices are currently with the tribunal — quickly becomes complex. A portfolio dashboard that surfaces these dates alongside compliance and arrears data can reduce the administrative risk of missing a window or mismanaging the process.

Key Points for Landlords

• Rent increases on periodic assured tenancies must use the Section 13 notice process — contractual clauses alone are not sufficient.
• You can only serve one Section 13 notice per twelve-month period per tenancy.
• Tenants can refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal before the effective date; the tribunal sets the open market rent and cannot exceed your proposed figure.
• A tribunal referral suspends the increase until a decision is made.
• Timing and accuracy matter: an invalid notice or poorly timed service wastes your annual opportunity.

The changes introduced by the Renters' Rights Act do not prevent landlords from achieving fair market rents — but they do require a more deliberate and well-documented approach to rent reviews than many landlords have been used to.