Rent Increase Checker

The short answer

• In England, private rents can only go up through a section 13 notice, once a year, with at least 2 months’ notice.
• Wales needs 2 months’ notice; Scotland and Northern Ireland need 3. All four nations allow one rise a year.
• There is no fixed cap on the size of a rise in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but the rent should not go above the market rate.
• In England you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide the market rent before the new rent starts. It cannot set more than the landlord asked.
• A notice that breaks the timing rules is not valid: keep paying your current rent and say so in writing.

What changed in England in May 2026

On 1 May 2026 assured shorthold tenancies were replaced by assured periodic tenancies. Fixed terms became rolling tenancies, section 21 “no-fault” evictions ended, and the way rent goes up changed:

• every private rent increase now uses the statutory section 13 process;
• rent review clauses in tenancy agreements no longer work;
• the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the landlord proposed;
• a rise decided by the tribunal starts from the date of its decision, not the date in the notice, and it can be put back by up to 2 more months in cases of hardship.

The aim is to stop rent rises being used as a back-door eviction, while still letting landlords charge the market rate.

The section 13 notice

The notice is a short government form that sets out the new rent and the date it starts. It must be served on you in a way your tenancy allows, often by post, by hand or by email if you have agreed to that. A letter or text saying the rent is going up is not enough on its own.

If you are happy with the rise, you do nothing: just pay the new amount from the start date. If you are not, you can negotiate with your landlord or apply to the tribunal before the start date.

Notice and the once-a-year rule

Two dates decide whether a rise can start when the notice says:

1. Notice period. The start date must be at least 2 months after you get the notice in England and Wales, or 3 months in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
2. Once a year. In England the new rent cannot start until 52 weeks after the last increase or the start of the tenancy. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it is 12 months.

The calculator checks both and gives the earliest start date that would be valid.

Worked examples

If the same notice arrived on 15 October, the earliest valid start would be 15 December 2026. If the last rise had been on 1 March 2026, the earliest would be 28 February 2027. In Scotland, with 3 months’ notice, a notice received on 1 October 2026 could not take effect before 1 January 2027.

What a market rent means

The market rent is what your home would let for if it were advertised today, on the same terms, in its current condition. It is not your rent plus inflation, and it ignores improvements you have made yourself.

To judge whether a rise is fair:

• look at homes of the same size and type advertised within a mile or two;
• adjust for differences: parking, a garden, condition, furnishings, energy rating;
• keep screenshots of the listings with dates, in case you need evidence.

Challenging a rise at the tribunal

1. Before the start dateApply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)

   Tell your landlord you have applied. Keep paying the current rent.

2. A few weeks laterEvidence

   Both sides can send evidence of local rents. The tribunal may inspect the property.

3. DecisionThe tribunal sets the market rent

   It cannot be more than your landlord asked for.

4. From the decisionThe new rent starts

   Not backdated. It can be delayed by up to 2 more months for hardship.

Challenging a rise is not a reason for eviction, and section 21 no-fault evictions have ended. If you fall into serious rent arrears, though, the landlord may have grounds for possession, so keep paying the rent you owe now.

Wales

In Wales, private tenants have occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. For a periodic standard contract, the landlord must give at least 2 months’ notice using the prescribed form (RHW12), and can only raise the rent once a year. If you think the new rent is too high, you can apply to the Residential Property Tribunal before it starts.

Scotland

Private residential tenancies allow one rise in any 12 months, with at least 3 months’ written notice on the prescribed form. You can ask a rent officer at Rent Service Scotland to look at it within 21 days of getting the notice; this goes up to 30 days from 1 April 2027, when rent officers will also be unable to set a rent above the landlord’s figure.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 lets councils and Scottish Ministers set up rent control areas. Inside one, rents in existing tenancies can rise by no more than CPI plus 1%, up to 6% a year. The framework started on 1 April 2026, but no area has been designated yet.

Northern Ireland

Under the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, from 1 April 2025 rent cannot go up within 12 months of the start of the tenancy or the last increase, and you must get 3 months’ written notice. An increase made too early has no legal effect, so you do not have to pay it. Housing Rights can advise if your landlord insists.

The four nations side by side

If you cannot afford the new rent

• Talk to your landlord early. Many prefer a smaller rise to an empty home.
• Check whether you can get help with rent through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. Private rents are limited to the Local Housing Allowance.
• If you already get help with rent, ask your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment to cover a shortfall.
• Report the new rent to the DWP or council straight away so your award is updated.
• If you decide to move, you must give the notice your tenancy requires: at least 2 months in England.

For landlords

To raise the rent in England, serve a section 13 notice with at least 2 months’ notice, no sooner than 52 weeks after the last increase. Set a rent you could justify with local evidence. A rise above the market rate is likely to be cut by the tribunal, and the delay means you may not get the new rent for months.

Negotiating with your landlord

Many rent rises are settled without any tribunal. Landlords know that an empty home, a new letting fee and a few weeks without rent can cost more than a smaller increase. Before you reply:

• gather two or three listings for similar homes nearby, with their rents and dates;
• list anything that makes your home less valuable than those, such as outstanding repairs or an old kitchen;
• point out your record as a tenant: rent always paid on time, the home well kept;
• suggest a figure, or a smaller rise now with another in a year’s time.

Put any agreement in writing, including the new rent and the date it starts. Keep it with your tenancy papers, because the next rise is counted from that date.

Council and housing association rents

Social rents follow different rules. In England, council and housing association rents usually go up once a year in April, within a limit set by the government’s rent policy, which links rises to inflation (CPI plus 1%). Landlords must give at least 4 weeks’ notice of the new rent. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own social rent policies.

The calculator is for private tenancies. If you rent from a council or housing association and think a rise is wrong, ask your landlord to explain it and use their complaints procedure; in England you can then go to the Housing Ombudsman.

Rent rises and benefits

If you get help with rent, report the new rent as soon as it starts. Universal Credit and Housing Benefit only cover private rents up to the Local Housing Allowance for your area, which is frozen at April 2024 levels for 2026/27, so a rise may not be covered in full.

A 10% rise on a rent already above the Local Housing Allowance comes straight out of your other income. Check how much is covered with the Local Housing Allowance calculator, and ask your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment if the gap is hard to meet.

Keeping good records

• Keep every rent increase notice, with the envelope or email showing when it arrived.
• Keep a note of every rent change and its start date. The once-a-year rule runs from the last rise.
• Pay rent by bank transfer, not cash, so you have proof of what you paid and when.
• Write down any repairs you have reported and when; they may be relevant to the market rent.

A simple record makes it easy to show that a notice was too early, and gives the tribunal the evidence it needs if you challenge a rise.

Free advice

If you are unsure whether a notice is valid, or how to apply to the tribunal, get free advice before the start date. Shelter and Citizens Advice help tenants in England, Shelter Cymru in Wales, Shelter Scotland in Scotland and Housing Rights in Northern Ireland. Many councils also have a private renting or tenancy relations officer who can speak to your landlord for you.

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