Form 4A: the rent increase form explained

Form 4A is the prescribed form a private landlord in England must use to propose a rent increase under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. The current version is labelled (05.26) and is published on GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page. Since 1 May 2026, no letter, email or home-made template can take its place.

What is Form 4A?

Form 4A's full title is "Landlord's notice proposing a new rent for assured tenancies in the private rented sector". It is the Section 13 notice for private assured tenancies, which since 1 May 2026 means every private tenancy that used to be an assured shorthold.

Detail	Form 4A
Legal basis	Housing Act 1988 s.13(2), as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025
Prescribed by	The Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Prescribed Forms and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/354)
Current version	(05.26), 9 pages
Where to get it	GOV.UK's "Assured tenancy forms for privately rented properties from 1 May 2026" page
Who it's for	Private landlords of assured periodic tenancies in England

Always download the form from the GOV.UK page rather than a saved PDF link. An earlier advance version of the PDF, published on 20 March 2026, is still online. Going to the page each time means you get the version in force.

Form 4A or Form 4: which rent increase form do you need?

Before 1 May 2026, private landlords used Form 4. That form is now for social housing only. Form 4 itself says "Do not use this form if the property is rented privately".

Your situation	Form to use
Private assured tenancy in England, notice served on or after 1 May 2026	Form 4A
Social housing assured tenancy	Form 4
Private tenancy where a Form 4 was served before 1 May 2026	That notice carries on under the old rules (SI 2026/421 reg 8). A new increase needs Form 4A
Property in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland	Neither. Those nations have different law

Using Form 4 for a private tenancy after 1 May 2026 is one of the most basic ways to lose an increase. The rent stays where it was, and you have to start again with Form 4A and a fresh two-month notice.

Is there a GOV.UK Section 13 rent increase template?

Yes: Form 4A is the GOV.UK template. There isn't a separate "letter template" on GOV.UK that you can use instead. The government's guidance on the forms is direct: "Do not change the wording of these forms unless the form says you can. If you change the wording, the form may not be valid."

That rules out three common shortcuts:

• Rewriting the form as a letter. A letter isn't Form 4A. An increase that isn't made through Section 13 has no effect.
• Editing the notes or deleting sections to make the form shorter. Keep every page.
• Relying on a rent review clause or an email exchange. Since 1 May 2026, any term that lets the rent rise other than through Section 13 or a tribunal decision is "of no effect". See rent review clauses.

You can send a covering letter alongside the form to explain your figure. Our rent increase letter template is built for that, and says plainly that Form 4A is the formal notice.

What Form 4A asks you to fill in

The form walks you through the details with notes. These are the parts landlords most often get wrong.

Part of the form	What to do
Tenants (Note 1.1)	Name every joint tenant
Rent period (Note 4.1)	State the period. Rent periods must be a month or less: 28 days or shorter, or monthly
Start date (question 4.6, Note A)	Enter a date at least two months after service, meeting the 52-week rule, on the first day of a rent period
53-week rule (question 4.4, Note A3)	Check whether you must wait 53 weeks rather than 52
Service charges and bills (question 4.7)	Fill in the table accurately. Its effect on validity is not settled, so treat errors as a risk
Signature	Sign electronically or by hand. Joint landlords each sign, or one signs on behalf of all

Our guide on how to fill in Form 4A takes one tenancy through each part with real figures and dates.

The rules Form 4A puts into practice

Form 4A is the paperwork for three statutory rules. The form is only as good as the start date you enter.

1. Two months' notice. The form must be served "at least two months before the new rent can start". The Renters' Rights Act replaced "the minimum period" with "two months" in section 13(2)(a). Count from the date of service, not the date you sign.
2. Once a year. The first increase can't start until 52 weeks after the tenancy's first period began. Later increases need 52 weeks from the last increase, and sometimes 53. Read how often rent can be increased.
3. First day of a period. A monthly tenancy that began on the 20th changes rent on the 20th. A weekly tenancy that began on a Monday changes rent on a Monday.

The rent increase notice period guide includes a calculator and examples for weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly and monthly rent.

Serving Form 4A and keeping proof

You must be able to show the tenant received the notice. Form 4A's own guidance:

• If your tenancy agreement sets out how notices are served, use that method.
• Otherwise, hand it to the tenant in person, leave it at their address, or send it by registered post.
• GOV.UK's landlord guide adds that email is possible "if the tenancy agreement allows it".

Serve a copy on each tenant, keep a copy of exactly what you served, and write down the date, time and method. If you post the form, allow for delivery time before the two months start running.

What happens after you serve Form 4A?

If the notice is valid and the tribunal hasn't received an application by the start date, the new rent applies from that date. If the tenant applies on form MR1 before then, the tribunal decides the open-market rent, can't set it above your proposal, and the tenant pays the old rent until it decides. See what happens when a tenant challenges a rent increase.

What to do next

• Fill in Form 4A with the dates checked for you, free with a ValidNotice account, from the Section 13 notice page.
• Before you serve, run through the list of mistakes that make a Section 13 notice invalid.