How to fill in Form 4A with a worked example

Knowing how to fill in Form 4A starts with six details: the name of every tenant, the property address, the rent period, the proposed new rent, any service charges or bills included in the rent, and a start date that passes three tests. Below we take one tenancy through each part with real dates, so you can follow the same method for yours.

Before you start: what you need

Gather these before you open the form:

• the tenancy agreement, so you can check the names, the rent period, the rent day and any clause on how notices are served;
• the date the tenancy (or its first period) began;
• the date of the last rent increase, if any, including one under a rent review clause or an old Form 4 before 1 May 2026;
• the current rent, and your proposed rent with the evidence behind it (see market rent evidence);
• details of any service charges or bills included in the rent;
• how and when you will serve the form.

Download a fresh copy of Form 4A from GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms page. Our Form 4A explainer covers why an old saved copy or Form 4 won't do.

The worked example tenancy

We'll use this fictional tenancy throughout.

Detail	Example
Landlords	Priya Shah and Daniel Shah (joint landlords)
Tenants	Tom Hughes and Aisha Khan (joint tenants)
Property	Flat 2, 14 Elm Road, Leeds
Tenancy began	Wednesday 20 March 2024, formerly an assured shorthold, periodic since 1 May 2026
Rent	£1,100 per month, due on the 20th
Previous increases	None
Bills in the rent	Broadband
Proposed rent	£1,175 per month
Planned service	By hand, Sunday 1 November 2026

How to fill in Form 4A, part by part

Work through the form in order and follow its notes. These are the points that matter most.

1. Tenants. Enter Tom Hughes and Aisha Khan. Note 1.1 says to name every joint tenant. Copy the names exactly as they appear on the tenancy agreement.
2. Property. Enter the full address, including the flat number and postcode.
3. Rent period. Enter "monthly". Rent periods must be 28 days or shorter, or monthly (Note 4.1). If your agreement says quarterly or yearly, the tenancy has run on monthly periods since 1 May 2026; read periodic tenancy rent increases before you fill this in.
4. New rent. Enter £1,175 per month. Have the current rent (£1,100) to hand so the figures in the form are consistent.
5. The 53-week check (question 4.4, Note A3). This matters where there have been earlier increases. With no previous increase, the first-year rule applies instead (see step 6).
6. Start date (question 4.6). Enter Wednesday 20 January 2027. The next section shows how we got there.
7. Service charges and bills (question 4.7). Our tenants' rent includes broadband, so fill in the table for it with accurate figures. The effect of a wrong figure here isn't settled, so treat it as a risk and check it twice.
8. Signatures. Priya and Daniel each sign, or one signs on behalf of both. Electronic signatures are allowed. Add the date.

Watch out: don't edit the printed wording, delete notes or add your own conditions. GOV.UK says that if you change the wording, "the form may not be valid."

Working out the start date

The start date must pass three tests. Here's the arithmetic for our example.

Test	Rule	Our example
Two months' notice	At least two months after service	Served 1 November 2026, so not before 1 January 2027
Once a year	At least 52 weeks after the tenancy's first period began (no previous increase)	52 weeks from 20 March 2024 is 19 March 2025, long passed
First day of a period	The new rent starts on a rent day	Rent is due on the 20th
Result	First rent day on or after the later date	Wednesday 20 January 2027

What if you post it instead? Say the Shahs send the form by registered post on Friday 30 October 2026 and it arrives on Monday 2 November. Two months from 2 November is 2 January 2027, and the next rent day is still 20 January 2027. Posting makes no difference here because the rent day is well after the two-month date. Where the two-month date lands close to a rent day, a delay in the post can push you into the next month. Hand delivery avoids the guesswork.

What if there had been an increase? Suppose a rent review clause raised the rent on 20 March 2026, before the clause stopped working on 1 May 2026. That increase starts the 52-week clock. Fifty-two weeks from 20 March 2026 is 19 March 2027, so the earliest start would be 20 March 2027.

The Section 13 date calculator does this for any tenancy start date, rent period and service date.

Serving the form and keeping a record

1. Make a copy of the completed, signed form for each tenant, plus one for your file.
2. Serve it the way your tenancy agreement says. If it says nothing, hand it to each tenant, leave it at the property, or send it by registered post. Use email only if the agreement allows it.
3. Write down who served it, the date, the time and the method. A photo of the envelope going through the letterbox, or a registered post receipt, helps.
4. Diary the start date, and the day before it, in case the tenant applies to the tribunal.

You can send a covering letter with the form. Our rent increase letter template explains the increase to the tenant without trying to replace the notice.

Common mistakes on Form 4A

• Leaving off a joint tenant, for example one who is named on the agreement but pays less of the rent.
• Picking a start date that's two months after you signed the form rather than after the tenant received it.
• A start date that isn't a rent day, such as the 1st of the month on a tenancy that began on the 20th.
• Forgetting a rent review clause increase from before 1 May 2026, which still starts the 52-week clock.
• Only one of two joint landlords signing, without signing on behalf of both.

The full list, with how to avoid each one, is in our guide to invalid Section 13 notices.

What to do next

• Let us fill in Form 4A and check the dates for you, free with an account: go to the Section 13 notice page.
• If you expect the tenant to push back, read what happens when a tenant challenges a rent increase.