What to do when a tenant refuses a rent increase

If a tenant refuses a rent increase, what happens next depends on what they do. If they apply to the tribunal before the start date, they keep paying the old rent until it decides. If they don't apply and your Section 13 notice is valid, the new rent is due from the start date and any shortfall is rent arrears.

What does it mean when a tenant refuses a rent increase?

A tenant can "refuse" in different ways, and each leads somewhere different.

What the tenant does	What happens
Applies to the tribunal on form MR1, received before the start date	The tenant pays the old rent until the tribunal decides. The new rent can't be backdated before the date in your notice
Tells you they won't pay, but doesn't apply to the tribunal	If your notice is valid, the new rent is due from the start date. Unpaid amounts are arrears
Keeps paying the old rent after the start date	Same as above: the shortfall is arrears, if the notice is valid
Offers a lower figure	You can agree a lower rent than you proposed, or no increase
Gives notice to leave	A tenant's notice must be at least two months, in writing, ending on a rent day or the day before

The first question is always whether your notice is valid. An increase that wasn't made through a valid Section 13 notice has no effect.

If the tenant applies to the tribunal

The tribunal must receive the tenant's MR1 application before the start date in your Form 4A. Then:

• the tribunal sets the open-market rent on the same terms, and can never go above your proposal;
• the tenant doesn't have to pay the new amount until the tribunal decides;
• the new rent starts on your notice date or, if the decision comes later, at the start of the first rent period on or after the decision;
• the tribunal can delay the start for undue hardship, but only to a date within two months beginning with its decision.

While the challenge is running, the current rent stays due as normal. Read how a tenant challenges a rent increase at tribunal to prepare your evidence.

If the tenant simply won't pay the new rent

First, check the notice. Run it against the list of Section 13 mistakes. If the notice is invalid, the increase didn't happen. Possession grounds for arrears count only rent "lawfully due", and rent from an unlawful increase may not count. Chasing it could weaken any later claim.

If the notice is valid, the unpaid part of the new rent is rent arrears. Deal with it the same way you'd deal with any arrears:

1. Write to the tenant. Set out the new rent, the start date, what's been paid and the shortfall. Our rent arrears letter template is built for this, and includes your address for service, without which rent may be treated as not due.
2. Talk it through. Ask whether there's a problem with affordability. You can agree a lower rent in writing.
3. Offer a payment plan if a shortfall has built up. Our payment plan agreement is interest-free, has no charges and runs for no more than 12 instalments within 12 months.
4. Keep records of every payment and every letter.

Can you evict a tenant who refuses a rent increase?

Not for refusing as such. Since 1 May 2026, a landlord can end a private assured tenancy only through a court order on a Section 8 ground, and the old "no-fault" Section 21 route has gone. If the new rent is lawfully due and unpaid, the arrears grounds are the relevant ones.

Ground	Type	What it needs
Ground 8	Mandatory	At least 3 months' rent unpaid (monthly rent) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly or fortnightly), both when you serve the notice and at the hearing
Ground 10	Discretionary	Some rent unpaid when proceedings begin, and in arrears when the notice was served
Ground 11	Discretionary	The tenant has persistently delayed paying rent

Worked example. The rent rises from £1,100 to £1,175 a month, but the tenant keeps paying £1,100. The shortfall is £75 a month. Ground 8 needs at least three months' rent unpaid: 3 × £1,175 = £3,525. At £75 a month, the shortfall alone would take 47 months to reach that. In practice an unpaid increase on its own points to the discretionary Grounds 10 and 11, where the court decides whether an order is reasonable.

Watch out: never try to force the issue yourself. Changing the locks, or harassing the tenant to make them pay or leave, is illegal eviction or harassment. It can lead to prosecution or a council civil penalty of up to £40,000. Read illegal eviction.

If the tenant would rather leave

Some tenants respond to an increase by giving notice. Since 1 May 2026:

• the tenant's notice must be in writing and at least two months, unless you agree a shorter period in writing;
• you can't require more than two months;
• it must end the tenancy on a rent day or the day before;
• rent is payable during the notice period, at the lawful rate;
• you must repay any rent paid for days after the tenancy ends.

If you re-let, you can set a new starting rent, but the rental bidding ban applies: one fixed rent in the advert, and no accepting offers above it.

What to do next

• If you haven't served yet, get the notice right first time with our free Form 4A builder on the Section 13 notice page.
• If arrears are building, start with a rent arrears letter and check the Ground 8 thresholds before serving any notice.