Increasing rent
Landlords can no longer rely on rent review clauses in tenancy agreements to increase rent. Instead, they must follow the formal Section 13 process.
How rent increases must work
If a landlord wants to increase the rent, they must:
- use the official Section 13 notice process.
- give the tenant at least two months' notice.
- wait at least 12 months between rent increases.
The proposed rent should be in line with the market rent for similar properties in the local area.
Find more information about the Section 13 process on the Government website.
If a tenant disagrees with the increase
A tenant does not have to accept a rent increase simply because it has been proposed.
If a tenant believes the proposed rent is higher than the market rent for comparable properties, they may be able to challenge the increase through the first-tier tribunal.
The tribunal will consider evidence about the property and local rental market before deciding what rent should apply.
Find out more about challenging a rent increase on the government website.
Protections around rent payments and advertising
The new rules are intended to make renting fairer and more transparent for tenants.
Landlords and letting agents must not:
- ask for or accept more than one month's rent in advance.
- encourage tenants to bid against each other for a property.
- invite or accept offers above the advertised rent.
These requirements are designed to ensure that advertised rents are clear, transparent and consistent for all prospective tenants.
If the rules are broken
The council has powers to investigate breaches of the legislation and may issue financial penalties where appropriate.
Financial penalties of up to £7,000 may be issued for a range of offences, including rent advertising breaches, rent bidding offences and failures to follow the correct rent increase process.
More serious or repeated breaches can attract significantly higher penalties.
Report an issue to us
To report a tenancy breach to us, please email our housing enforcement team.
