Section 13 Notice Timing: Two Months Notice, the New Rent Date, and the 12-Month Rule

Last updated: 11 May 2026

Quick Answer

A Section 13 rent-increase notice on Form 4A has to give at least two months' notice; the new rent must take effect on a date that aligns with the rent period; and the landlord cannot serve another Section 13 notice within 12 months of the last one. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has not changed the underlying timing mechanics but has codified the 12-month rule, raised the consequences of getting the timing wrong (a defective notice is void), and extended the right of challenge to all assured tenancies. Both landlords and tenants need to get the dates right.

---

The Three Timing Rules

Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025) sets three timing constraints on a rent-increase notice. Get any one of them wrong, and the notice is void.

1. The two-month rule. The new rent cannot take effect less than two months after the date of service of the notice.
2. The rent-period alignment rule. The new rent must take effect on a day that is the beginning of a rent period.
3. The 12-month rule. The landlord cannot serve another Section 13 notice within 12 months of the previous one.

These rules apply to all assured tenancies in England from 1 May 2026. The position in Wales is governed by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and is outside the scope of this article.

---

Rule 1: Two Months' Notice

Since 1 May 2026, Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, s.6) requires the notice to give a minimum of two months before the new rent can take effect — in all cases, regardless of how the rent is paid. (This replaced the old "one clear month" minimum.) So if the landlord serves Form 4A on 5 May 2026, the new rent cannot take effect before 5 July 2026, and must then be aligned to the start of a rent period.

This is one of the most common sources of error. Landlords used to the old one-month rule often give too little notice; a Form 4A giving less than two months is void.

---

Rule 2: Rent-Period Alignment

The second constraint is that the effective date has to be the start of a rent period.

If the rent period runs from the 1st of the month, the effective date has to be the 1st of a month. If the rent period runs from the 15th, the effective date has to be the 15th. If the rent runs weekly from Monday, the effective date has to be a Monday.

Mismatches happen in one of two ways:

• The landlord knows the rent date but picks the wrong one. Rent on the 5th, landlord picks the 1st of the next month — invalid.
• The landlord misremembers the rent date. Rent has historically been paid on the 5th, but the original tenancy agreement specified the 1st. The landlord serves on the 1st. Whether this is valid depends on whether the rent period has crystallised on the 5th by conduct, which is fact-sensitive.

The cleanest approach is to look at the original tenancy agreement, then at the rent ledger. If they agree, use that date. If they disagree, get advice before serving.

---

Rule 3: The 12-Month Rule

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 codifies what was already sensible practice: a landlord can serve only one Section 13 notice every 12 months. A premature notice — served less than 12 months after the previous one — is void.

The 12-month period runs from the date of the previous notice (not the date the previous increase took effect, and not the date the tenant moved in).

Two situations to watch for:

• First Section 13 on an existing tenancy. A landlord who has just inherited the tenancy or just decided to use Section 13 for the first time is not constrained by the 12-month rule on serve-1. But once they have served, the 12-month clock starts.
• Following a tribunal determination. If the tenant challenged the previous Section 13 and the tribunal made a determination, the 12-month rule still runs from the date of the original notice, not from the date of the tribunal's decision.

The 12-month rule is the rule landlords trip on most often. Calendar it.

---

Worked Example

A landlord has a periodic assured tenancy at £1,400 per calendar month. Rent is paid on the 1st of each month. The landlord wants to increase the rent and serves Form 4A on Tuesday 5 May 2026.

The earliest effective date that complies with all three rules is:

• Two months from 5 May = 5 July at earliest (Housing Act 1988 s.13 as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.6)
• Aligned to rent period (1st of month) = 1 August (the next rent-period start on or after 5 July)

So the earliest valid effective date is 1 August 2026.

If the landlord puts 1 July, the notice is void (less than two months). If they put 5 July, the notice is void (not aligned to the rent period). If they put 1 August, the notice is valid.

The 12-month rule then bars the next Section 13 notice until 5 May 2027 at the earliest.

---

What Each Side Should Do

The Landlord

• Build a calendar. Date of service, plus two months, rounded forward to the next rent-period start. Use that date on the form.
• Check your last Section 13 date. If you served one less than 12 months ago, you cannot serve another. Wait it out.
• Use the prescribed form. Form 4A is the form for England from 1 May 2026. Earlier versions of Form 4 are not valid for tenancies in England post-commencement.
• Get the prescribed information right. Form 4A includes a section explaining the tenant's right to challenge at the tribunal. Do not edit or remove this. The form has to be served in its prescribed wording.

The Tenant

• Check the dates the landlord has used. If the effective date is less than two months from service, the notice is void — you do not even need to go to tribunal. Write back saying so.
• Check the rent-period alignment. If the effective date does not match the start of a rent period, the notice is void.
• Check the 12-month rule. If your landlord has served Section 13 within the last 12 months, the new notice is premature. Write back saying so.
• If the notice is valid, decide on the tribunal challenge. You have until the day before the new rent takes effect to make an application. See our separate piece on challenging a Form 4A rent increase at the FTT.

---

What "Void" Actually Means

A void Section 13 notice has no legal effect. The new rent does not take effect on the effective date. The tenant continues to pay the existing rent. The landlord cannot recover the increased amount.

If the tenant pays the increased amount under a void notice, that does not validate the notice — but where the tenant has separately accepted the new figure in writing (an email or letter is enough), the new figure can take effect as a variation by agreement, independent of Section 13. Payment alone is not consent. So tenants who think a notice is void should write back to the landlord and continue paying the old rent. Do not start paying the new rent and then argue the notice was void.

If the landlord wants to fix the underlying defect, they have to serve a fresh notice. The fresh notice itself triggers a new 12-month clock — so a defective notice that the landlord wants to redo costs them a year of compliance time.

---

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Landlords.

• Treating the notice period as one month (the old rule) rather than the two months now required by s.13 as amended.
• Using the date of signing rather than the date of service as the trigger for the two-month calculation. Service is the date the tenant receives the notice, not the date the landlord signed it.
• Ignoring the rent-period alignment because the increase is "only on a periodic tenancy". The alignment rule applies to all Section 13 notices.
• Serving Section 13 to start a new fixed term rather than increase rent on a periodic one. Section 13 is for periodic tenancies. Fixed terms are varied (or not) by agreement, not by Section 13.

Tenants.

• Accepting a void notice. If the dates do not work, write back, do not just challenge at tribunal — the notice might be void on the face of it.
• Paying the increased rent under a void notice. As above — this can constitute a separate variation.
• Missing the tribunal application deadline because they were focused on writing to the landlord. The two are not alternatives; do both.

---

The Special Case of Statutory Periodic Tenancies

Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the old statutory periodic tenancy that arose at the end of a fixed-term AST is gone for new tenancies — every assured tenancy is periodic from the outset.

But for tenancies subsisting at 1 May 2026, transitional provisions apply. Existing fixed-term ASTs that have a stated end date roll on to that end date and then convert to the new periodic regime. Existing statutory periodic tenancies arising before 1 May 2026 fold into the new periodic regime on commencement.

The practical effect for Section 13 timing is that the rent period of an existing statutory periodic tenancy is determined by the original AST terms. If your original AST said rent is due on the 1st, that is your rent period. Section 13 notices have to align to that date.

---

A Note on the Form Itself

The Form 4A as prescribed by the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Prescribed Forms and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/354), reg. 3(1)(d) contains a numbered set of prescribed fields. The key fields for timing purposes are:

• Effective date. This is the date you have to get right against all three rules.
• Current rent. Has to match the rent currently being paid (or the contractual rent if different).
• Landlord's signature and date of signing. This is not the date of service — service is a separate act. But the 12-month rule runs from this date, not from the date of service.

Use the prescribed form from the gov.uk catalogue page (gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms-for-privately-rented-properties-from-1-may-2026, retrieved 2026-05-11). Do not improvise.

---

What Goes in the Bundle

For a tribunal challenge involving a timing issue, the bundle needs:

• The Form 4A as served (with the dates highlighted)
• Proof of service of the Form 4A — recorded delivery receipt, email confirmation, in-person service note
• The tenancy agreement (showing the original rent and rent period)
• The rent ledger (showing the actual payment dates)
• Any previous Section 13 notices served on the tenant (to test the 12-month rule)
• A brief witness statement setting out the timing point

If the timing point is clear-cut, the tribunal may decide on the papers without an oral hearing. If the case turns on factual disputes (was rent really being paid on the 5th rather than the 1st?), an oral hearing is more likely.

---

BundleCreator's tenancy-variation templates at /tenancy-variation include the Form 4A timing audit, the tenant's response-to-notice template, and the tribunal application bundle aligned to the FTT Property Chamber.

Nothing in this article is legal advice or a substitute for it. The information here describes the law as it stands at the date shown; the law and procedure may change. For free regulated advice, contact Citizens Advice, Shelter England, your local Law Centre, or the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (which is available without charge to any tenant served a Section 8 notice). The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (as amended) apply to rent-determination applications.