Form 4A is the form you now have to use if you want to put up the rent on most rented homes in England and getting a single date wrong on it can cost you months of the increase you were owed. It came into use on 1 May 2026, when the main part of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect. Since that date it has replaced the old Form 4 for private lets, and it is no longer one option among several. It is the only lawful route.
Plenty of landlords assume the hard part is filling the form in. It isn't. The form is short. The part that catches people out is the timing and the way you hand it over. This guide walks through what the form is, when you are allowed to use it, what to put on it, how to serve it, and the mistakes that quietly make a notice worthless.
What is Form 4A?
Form 4A is the prescribed government notice a landlord uses to propose a new rent on an assured periodic tenancy in England. "Prescribed" means the wording and layout are set by law. You download it from the assured tenancy forms page on GOV.UK and use it as it comes. A letter, an email, or a tidy template of your own won't do, even if it contains every detail the form asks for. If it isn't on Form 4A, it doesn't satisfy Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, and the increase has no legal force.
Two things changed underneath the form when the Renters' Rights Act 2025 arrived. First, almost every existing assured shorthold tenancy converted to a periodic tenancy overnight on 1 May 2026, so fixed terms fell away. Second, the old contractual ways of raising rent stopped working. If your tenancy agreement has a rent review clause; a fixed yearly percentage, an inflation link, anything it no longer has any effect. You cannot rely on it, and you cannot agree an informal increase on the side either. The only figure a tenant can sign up to outside the form is a lower one than you proposed on it.
One point that trips people up: Form 4 still exists, but it is now the social housing form. Don't reach for it for a private let.
When you're allowed to use Form 4A
You can't serve a Form 4A whenever you fancy. Three timing rules govern it, and all three have to line up.
Once every 12 months. You can raise the rent only once in any 12-month period. The clock runs from the date the last increase took effect, or from the start of the tenancy if you've never raised it; whichever is later. If your tenancy converted from a fixed term, count from the last contractual increase that took effect before 1 May 2026.
At least two months' notice. This is the big change from the old regime, where a monthly tenancy needed only one month. Now it's a minimum of two months for every assured periodic tenancy, whatever the rent period. Crucially, you count those two months from the day the tenant is treated as having received the notice; not the day you printed or signed it. More on that below, because it's where notices die.
The new rent must start on the first day of a rent period. If rent runs from the 1st of the month, the new rent has to begin on the 1st. If it runs from the 15th, it begins on the 15th. You can't pick a random Tuesday.
Put those together with a worked example. Say rent falls on the 1st, and you post the notice first class on Monday 1 June 2026. The tenant is deemed to receive it two working days later, on Wednesday 3 June. Two months on from that is 3 August but the new rent can only begin on the first day of a rent period on or after that date, so the earliest valid start is 1 September 2026.
What goes on the form
The form itself is straightforward as long as the details match your paperwork exactly. You need:
- the address of the rented property
- the landlord's name and the tenant's name, spelled as they appear on the tenancy agreement
- the current rent and the proposed new rent
- the date the new rent is to start
The form also carries a built-in statement telling the tenant they can challenge the rent at the First-tier Tribunal. That paragraph is part of the prescribed wording. Don't delete it, don't reword it.
Two joint-name traps. If there's more than one landlord, all of them sign, unless your tenancy agreement clearly lets one act for the rest. If there's more than one tenant, every tenant has to be named on the notice. A name that doesn't match the agreement is enough on its own to sink the increase.
How to serve Form 4A correctly
The law gives you three ways to serve the notice. Each has its own catch.
By post
Posting it is valid, but "I posted it" is not the same as "I served it." Under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978, a posted notice is treated as served when it would arrive in the ordinary course of post — not the moment it leaves your hand. In practice, tribunals work to a two-working-day rule for first class post. Post on Monday, served Wednesday. Post on Friday, served the following Tuesday.
This matters more than it sounds. Every other date on the notice is counted from that deemed service date. Assume service on the day you posted, count your two months from there, and you're running two working days short; which is precisely the gap a tenant's adviser will find. You don't have to use recorded delivery; ordinary first class is legally fine. But use a tracked or signed-for service anyway. The delivery scan gives you a dated record you can produce if anyone disputes it, and it costs under two pounds against an increase worth hundreds a month.
In person
Hand it to the tenant and it's served there and then. No presumption, no counting back. If you go this route, write a short note the same day, date, time, where, who was present. A note made on the day carries far more weight than your memory of it six months later.
By email
Email only counts if the tenant agreed in writing, before you served it, to receive formal notices that way. A clause in the signed tenancy agreement covering statutory notices is the cleanest form of consent. A friendly text saying "email's fine" is not. And there's no provision at all for WhatsApp or a text message; send it that way and it has no legal effect, even if the tenant replies to say they've read it.
Whichever method you choose, keep your proof. Hold on to it for at least six years, the standard limitation period for these disputes. A challenge can land long after the new rent has started.
What happens after you serve it
Once the notice is out, three things can happen.
The tenant accepts it usually by simply paying the new amount from the start date. No written reply is needed. Or the tenant does nothing and doesn't go to the tribunal: the new rent then takes effect automatically on the date you set. Or the tenant disagrees and applies to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the start date. They have to get in before that date; once it passes, the new rent stands.
Common mistakes that make a Form 4A invalid
A notice with any of these problems has no legal effect. You can't patch it with a follow-up letter; you have to start again, which usually pushes the increase back by months.
- Using the old Form 4 (or your own letter) instead of Form 4A
- Counting the two months from the date you wrote the form, not the deemed service date
- Setting a start date that isn't the first day of a rent period
- Giving less than two months' notice
- Names that don't match the tenancy agreement
- Raising the rent again within 12 months of the last increase
- Setting a start date less than 52 weeks after the tenancy began
There's no mechanism to recover the rent you lose while a void notice runs. A run of defective notices doesn't buy you extra time, either. Slow down, check the dates twice, and serve once properly.
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START CREATING FORM 4A NOWDisclaimer: This free tool is provided to assist you in completing this form and does not constitute legal advice. You are solely responsible for ensuring that the completed form is accurate, complete, in the prescribed format and suitable for your circumstances before signing or serving it. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from your use of this tool or the completed document.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still raise rent using a clause in my tenancy agreement?
No. From 1 May 2026, rent review clauses in assured periodic tenancies have no legal effect, even if they were written into an agreement signed years ago. The only lawful way to increase rent is a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. An informal deal doesn't work either, though a tenant can agree to pay less than the figure you proposed on the form.
How much notice do I have to give on a Form 4A?
At least two months, and you count it from the date the tenant is treated as having received the notice not the date you completed it. For first class post, that's around two working days after posting. The new rent must also start on the first day of a rent period falling on or after the two months expire.
Can the tribunal set my rent higher than I asked for?
No. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the First-tier Tribunal cannot set a rent above the figure you proposed on Form 4A. It can match your figure or reduce it to the market rent, but never exceed it. The increase also takes effect from the tribunal's decision rather than being backdated.
Where do I download Form 4A?
From the assured tenancy forms page on GOV.UK, free of charge. Net Lawman also provides the official format with a complete online facility. Don't substitute your own document. A notice that isn't on the prescribed form is invalid.
Can I serve a Section 13 notice by email or text?
By email only if the tenant agreed in writing, before service, to accept formal notices that way a clause in the signed tenancy agreement is the safest form of consent. Text and WhatsApp don't count at all. If you don't have written email consent, serve by post or in person.