Nobody enjoys this conversation. You’ve held the rent steady for a year or two, tried to be fair, and now the numbers just don’t stack up anymore. The mortgage has gone up. Insurance has gone up. That emergency boiler repair wasn’t cheap. And yet somehow, telling your tenant the rent is going up still feels awkward — like you’re the villain in a story you didn’t write.
The good news is that most rent increases, handled properly, don’t have to be dramatic. Tenants aren’t naive — they know costs go up. What tends to cause real problems isn’t the increase itself, it’s the way it lands: out of nowhere, with no explanation, leaving them feeling blindsided.
This guide is for self-managing landlords in England. It covers how to raise rent in a way that’s legally sound, reasonably kind, and unlikely to end with your tenant handing in notice. It’s general information, not legal advice.
Don’t announce it — propose it
The rent increases that cause friction are usually the ones that feel like statements rather than conversations. “Rent is going up next month.” Full stop. Even if the figure is completely reasonable, that tone puts people’s backs up.
The better approach is to treat it like a proposal: here’s what I’m thinking, here’s why, here’s the timeline, and I’m open to a conversation about it. That framing does several things at once — it reduces the emotional charge, it gives the tenant time to adjust, and it creates a much cleaner paper trail if anything ever needs to be formalised.
Know which route you’re taking
In England, how you can lawfully raise the rent depends on the type of tenancy you have.
Fixed-term tenancies
If the tenancy agreement includes a rent review clause, you’ll need to follow the process specified. Read it before you do anything else.
Periodic tenancies
For a periodic tenancy (month-to-month or rolling), you have two options: you can agree on a new rent with the tenant in writing, or you can use the formal section 13 process via the government’s prescribed form (Form 4).
Government guidance increasingly points landlords toward section 13 even when the tenant agrees — partly because it creates a clear, unambiguous record. If you want the cleanest possible admin trail, build your process around section 13 from the start.
The process that actually works
Step 1: Check whether the figure is fair
Before you write anything, spend twenty minutes looking at what similar properties in the area are actually letting for. Not the optimistic asking prices — comparable lets, similar size, similar condition, same rough area. Then think honestly about your tenant: do they pay on time? Do they look after the place? If yes, the goal probably isn’t “maximum possible rent” — it’s “reasonable rent that reflects the market without pushing out someone decent.”
Step 2: Give them a heads-up before the formal notice
A quick message before the paperwork arrives makes a real difference. Something like:
“Hi [Name], just a heads-up — I’ll be reviewing the rent this month. Costs have risen, and local rents have moved too. I’ll send the formal proposal shortly, but I wanted to give you early notice and the chance to talk it through first.”
It takes two minutes to write, and it changes the whole dynamic. The formal notice no longer comes as a shock.
Step 3: Make a clear, honest proposal
Your written proposal should cover:
- The current rent and the proposed new rent
- The date the increase would take effect (with proper notice)
- A brief, honest explanation — a couple of bullet points on local comparables and your costs is enough
- An open invitation to discuss it if they want to
The section 13 process: the practical bits
For an assured periodic tenancy in England, the formal route is Form 4 — the prescribed government form for proposing a new rent. You need to give the tenant at least two months’ notice, and you can serve it in person, by post, or by email if the tenancy agreement permits that.
You can only use a section 13 notice once a year, and not within the first year of the tenancy. That’s actually a useful constraint — it encourages you to pick one annual review date and stick to it, which is much less disruptive for everyone than ad-hoc increases.
What if they push back?
If a tenant receives a section 13 notice and thinks the proposed rent is above market, they can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to challenge it. It’s free for them to do, and they don’t pay your costs even if they lose.
This isn’t a sign that you’ve done something wrong — it’s just the system doing what it’s supposed to do. The tribunal’s job is to check whether the proposed rent reflects the open market. If yours does, and your paperwork is clean, you’re in a fine position.
Try not to take it personally. A tenant challenging a rent increase isn’t necessarily being difficult — they may just be worried, or working with Citizens Advice, or following advice they’ve been given. Keep the tone measured and don’t let a procedural step become a relationship problem.
How to keep a good tenant through a rent rise
If you’ve got someone reliable — pays on time, looks after the place, doesn’t bother you unnecessarily — a rent increase is worth handling with a bit of extra care. Void periods, new references, re-letting costs: losing a decent tenant costs more than a modest discount on the rent.
Some landlords in this position will propose a rent slightly below the full market rate as a straightforward acknowledgement of the tenant’s reliability. Others will phase it in over two steps. Either way, the message to the tenant is: I’m not trying to squeeze you, I just need the rent to be closer to what’s realistic.
One practical point: avoid making many small increases. Multiple rises a year create ongoing friction and make tenants feel like the ground is always shifting. One clear, annual review is far easier to live with.
Two templates you can adapt
Template 1: The initial email
Subject: Rent review — [Property Address]
Hi [Name], I hope you’re well. I’m writing to let you know I’ll be reviewing the rent for [address]. My costs have gone up over the past year — insurance, maintenance, and general running costs — and rents for similar properties locally have moved too.
From [date], I’m proposing the rent changes from £[current] to £[new]. I’ll follow the formal process and send the required notice, but I wanted to give you early warning first and the chance to discuss it if you’d like to.
Happy to chat this week if helpful. Thanks, [Your name]
Template 2: If they push back
Hi [Name],
Thanks for coming back to me. I understand it’s not what you were hoping to hear. The figure is based on comparable rents in the area and the increased costs of running the property — I’m happy to share a couple of examples if that would help.
If you feel the proposed rent is above market, you’re entitled to use the formal process to challenge it. Either way, I’d like us to keep this straightforward. Thanks, [Your name]
What’s changing from May 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act brings changes from 1 May 2026, including a shift to all rent increases being subject to the statutory section 13 process. In practice, this means the approach described in this guide — one planned annual review, proper notice, clean comparables, calm communication — is essentially what the new system will require anyway.
Getting into that habit now means you’re already doing it right when the rules formally change.
A simple test
Before you send anything, read your rent increase email out loud and ask yourself: Would I feel reasonably treated if I received this? If yes, you’re probably on the right track. If something feels off, it usually is — and it’s worth taking another few minutes to get the tone right before it lands in someone’s inbox.
