Start with evidence of the market rent — not just the size of your increase
To support a section 13 rent increase in England, give the First-tier Tribunal evidence of the property's open-market rent, ideally rents actually agreed for similar nearby homes. HMCTS guidance says agreed lettings are stronger evidence than advertised rents. Since 1 May 2026 the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one proposed in your Form 4A notice, so your evidence has to support that figure.
If a tenant refers a proposed increase to the tribunal, the useful question is not simply whether your costs have risen. It is whether the proposed rent is supported by evidence of the property's open-market rent.
For a small landlord, the strongest practical approach is to prepare a short, indexed evidence file that does two things:
- shows what comparable homes have actually been let for, where that information is available; and
- shows precisely what is being compared: your property's size, condition, layout, specification and local setting.
Advertised rents can provide context, but they are asking prices rather than proof of the rent a tenant agreed to pay; HMCTS says evidence from actual agreed lettings is stronger. The evidence should therefore distinguish clearly between an advertised listing and an achieved or agreed letting.
This is general practical information for landlords of assured periodic tenancies in England, not legal advice. If an increase is contested or referred to the tribunal, consider obtaining independent professional advice on the facts of your case.
Key facts
- A landlord proposing a rent increase must serve Form 4A with at least two months' notice and cannot increase rent more than once a year. GOV.UK
- If the tribunal finds the open-market rent is lower than the rent proposed in the notice, the lower figure applies; otherwise the proposed rent applies. Housing Act 1988, s.14ZB
- HMCTS guidance says evidence from actual agreed lettings is stronger than asking rents from letting agents or property portals. GOV.UK
- In a July 2026 decision, the tribunal gave greater weight to nine agreed lettings in the same development than to the tenant's advertised rents, and confirmed the landlord's proposed rent. First-tier Tribunal
- A tenant must apply to the tribunal before the proposed new rent starts, and the fee is £47. GOV.UK
The rules since 1 May 2026
For an assured periodic tenancy in England, the section 13 process is now the only way to increase the rent:
- serve the notice on Form 4A, giving at least two months' notice;
- the new rent cannot start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase took effect, and must start on the first day of a rent period (Housing Act 1988, s.13);
- the tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the new rent starts, at a fee of £47 (GOV.UK);
- the tribunal sets the lower of the open-market rent and your proposed rent, so it cannot increase your figure (s.14ZB).
Our free Section 13 rent increase calculator works out the earliest start date and the latest date to serve Form 4A for your tenancy. The government has also announced that HMRC's Valuation Office will take over these decisions in future; until then, challenges still go to the tribunal.
What an early tribunal decision shows
In a decision dated 17 July 2026 about 25C Skylark Point, 1 Portlands Court, London, the landlord relied on nine agreed lettings of two-bedroom flats in Hightail Point and Skylark Point, while the tenant relied on advertised rents. The tribunal "places greater weight upon the Landlord's evidence as it comprises actual agreed lettings rather than asking rents", noting that "the lettings are all within the same development and occurred close to the valuation date". It confirmed the landlord's proposed rent of £3,180 a month.
The tribunal also accepted the tenant's point that limited information had been provided on the precise size, layout and condition of those comparables. So agreed lettings carried the day here, but the decision is not binding precedent, and better-documented comparables would have been stronger still. A tribunal considers the particular property and evidence before it.
The useful lesson is narrower:
- achieved or agreed rents may carry more weight than unaccepted advertised rents;
- comparables need enough detail to show how closely they match the subject property; and
- evidence quality matters alongside the type of evidence.
For example, an achieved rent for a nearby flat may still be a poor comparison if the flat has a different number of bedrooms, materially different floor area, a superior view, parking, a different condition or a substantially different tenancy offering.
A practical Section 13 rent-increase evidence-file checklist
Keep the file concise. A tribunal needs to be able to see what each item proves and how it connects to your proposed rent.
1. Comparable-rent schedule
Prepare a table of the comparables you have found. For each property, record:
- address or suitably anonymised location;
- source of the information;
- whether the figure is an achieved/agreed rent or an advertised asking rent;
- rent amount and payment period;
- date let, agreed or advertised;
- property type and number of bedrooms;
- floor area, room sizes or layout, if known;
- condition and key features;
- distance from your property; and
- a brief explanation of whether it is superior, inferior or broadly similar.
Prioritise recent, local, genuinely similar homes. If an agent provides anonymised evidence of lettings it has agreed, retain the original email or letter and note what details the agent has confirmed. Availability of this information will vary, so do not assume an agent, referencing provider or dataset can supply transaction-level comparisons for your particular street or building.
If you include listings, label them honestly as advertised rents. They may help show market context, but do not present them as achieved evidence.
2. A clear property specification
Give the tribunal a reliable description of the home being assessed. Include:
- full address and property type;
- number of bedrooms and bathrooms;
- floor area or room-by-room measurements, where available;
- a floor plan or a simple measured layout;
- parking, outdoor space, storage, lifts or accessibility features where relevant;
- furnishings and appliances included; and
- notable condition issues or limitations, if any.
This information helps the tribunal understand whether your comparables really are comparable. It also makes your own reasoning more transparent.
3. Current photographs
Take dated, clear photographs of the exterior and each material room or feature. Photograph the property as it is, rather than relying solely on old marketing images.
Include photographs that fairly show both strengths and relevant limitations. A balanced file is generally more credible than one that appears selective.
4. Repairs, upgrades and improvements
Create a short chronology of work undertaken before and during the tenancy. For each item, include:
- what was done;
- when it was completed;
- who arranged or paid for it; and
- supporting invoices, receipts, contractor records or photographs where available.
The purpose is not to treat spending as an automatic entitlement to a particular rent. It is to document the property's condition and specification when compared with other homes.
5. Local and property-specific factors
Record factors that may affect the market position of the home, such as transport access, nearby amenities, parking, outdoor space, building facilities or location within a development. Be specific and avoid general assertions that cannot be evidenced.
Equally, note factors that may make a comparison less reliable. A nearby property in a newer block, with a larger balcony or a different level of service, may need an adjustment in your explanation.
6. Notice and correspondence record
Keep copies of the notice, tenant correspondence and any notes of discussions made at the time. Arrange these by date and separate the procedural documents from the market-rent evidence.
Do not rely on correspondence as a substitute for comparables. Its main role is to provide an accurate record of what was proposed and discussed.
7. One-page explanation of your reasoning
Put a short summary at the front of the bundle. It should state:
- the proposed rent;
- the current rent;
- the key achieved-rent comparables, if available;
- why those comparables are similar or what adjustments are needed; and
- the documents that support your property's specification and condition.
Avoid a long narrative. A numbered index and page references will make the file easier to navigate.
If you do not have your own achieved-rent data
Many small landlords will not have a portfolio of recent lettings from which to draw direct evidence. That does not prevent you from preparing a useful file, but it means you should be careful about the quality and source of each item.
Start by asking local letting agents whether they can provide anonymised, recent information about comparable agreed lettings. They may be able to help, but this will depend on their records, policies and willingness to share information. Ask what the data represents and what comparable details are available, rather than assuming it is a complete view of the market.
Published rental statistics and rent-trend information, such as the ONS private rents bulletin or our UK landlord statistics, may provide broader context. However, area-level figures or market trends are not a replacement for property-specific comparables. Explain their limits if you include them.
Where achieved-rent evidence is unavailable, do not fill the gap by overstating advertised listings. Instead, provide the best available listings with full details, explain their limitations, and make the evidence about your own property as complete as possible.
Keep the evidence contemporaneous and organised
It is easier to build this file during routine management than after a dispute has started. Retain inspection photographs, floor plans, invoices, contractor documents and tenancy correspondence in a consistent place.
A landlord record-keeping system can help here. For example, you can explore Portfoliq's landlord features for a way to keep property, tenancy, cost and document records organised, making it easier to locate your own photographs, repair history, improvement costs and correspondence when preparing an evidence file. You can also see how Portfoliq works to understand that record-keeping workflow.
Those records do not create market comparables or determine whether an increase is legally valid. They can, however, help you present the information you already hold clearly and consistently.
Before you rely on the file
Review the bundle as if you did not know the property. Can a reader quickly see:
- which rents were actually achieved and which were merely advertised?
- how recent and local each comparison is?
- the important similarities and differences?
- what your property looks like and how it is laid out?
- where each statement is supported by a document or photograph?
If the answer is no, simplify the bundle and fill the most important gaps. For a contested increase or tribunal referral, seek independent professional advice and check the current GOV.UK guidance before taking action.