Under the Renters' Rights Act, the rules around rent increases have changed significantly. Landlords can no longer use tenancy agreement clauses to increase rent — all increases must follow the statutory process. This guide explains the new rules and what letting agents need to communicate to their landlords.
How did rent increases work before?
Under the previous AST framework, landlords could increase rent in two ways: by including a rent review clause in the tenancy agreement (allowing increases at set intervals or by a set formula), or by serving a Section 13 notice (the statutory route, which allows tenants to challenge the increase at a First-tier Tribunal). In practice, many landlords used tenancy agreement clauses to implement increases without going through the Section 13 process.
What changes under the new Act?
Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent increase clauses in tenancy agreements are no longer valid. All rent increases must now be implemented via the Section 13 statutory notice process. Landlords must give tenants at least two months' written notice of a proposed rent increase, and the increase can only take effect once per year. Tenants retain the right to challenge any proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which will assess whether the proposed rent is in line with the open market rate.
What does this mean for letting agents?
Agents who manage rent reviews on behalf of landlords will need to update their processes to use the Section 13 notice route for all increases. Any existing tenancy agreements that contain rent review clauses will need to be reviewed — the clauses are not automatically void, but they cannot be used to implement an increase without also serving a valid Section 13 notice. Agents should also be aware that the two-month notice requirement means that rent increases need to be planned further in advance than under the previous framework.
Communicating the changes to landlords
Landlords who are used to implementing rent increases via tenancy agreement clauses will need clear guidance on the new process. Get Rent Ready includes a Rent Increase Advisory Letter in our monthly compliance pack, which explains the Section 13 process to landlords, provides a template Section 13 notice, and sets out the timeline for implementing a rent increase under the new rules.