Free rent increase notice tool launched for landlords

Landlords can now prepare rent increase notices using a free tool that draws on tenancy information they already hold.

Property management platform Lendlord has launched the Form 4A tool for assured periodic tenancies in England, where the section 13 process has been required for every rent increase since 1 May.

Informal emails, WhatsApp messages and rent-review clauses cannot replace the prescribed process, even where a tenant has agreed to pay more.

A rent-review clause agreed before 1 May but due to take effect after that date does not apply.

Formal rent increase notices

Aviram Shahar, the firm’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “Landlords need to understand that agreeing a rent increase with a tenant does not replace the formal notice process.

“For assured periodic tenancies in England, using the correct form and getting the timing right are essential.”

He added: “We have made the Form 4A tool free to help landlords prepare the official notice using tenancy information already held in Lendlord, reducing the administration involved.

“Landlords still need to check the details and serve the notice correctly.”

Rent increase notice periods

Form 4A has replaced Form 4 for privately rented assured tenancies in England, and changes to its prescribed wording could make a notice invalid.

Landlords must give at least two months’ notice, with no increase permitted during the first year of a tenancy.

Subsequent increases must be at least 52 weeks apart, or 53 weeks in some cases, to prevent the date moving earlier each year.

The new rent must also begin at the start of a tenancy period, so a monthly tenancy beginning on the 20th can only have an increase taking effect on the 20th.

Preparing and serving notices

The tool guides landlords through the current and proposed rent, relevant dates, any charges included and the landlord or agent signature before producing the official form for review.

It sits alongside the platform’s tenancy records and Compliance Hub, allowing existing information to be reused.

Completed notices can be signed electronically and shared digitally with tenants, provided the tenancy agreement permits that method of service.

Tenants can challenge an increase at the First-tier Tribunal before its proposed start date and, following a challenge, the rent payable cannot exceed the amount proposed in the landlord’s section 13 notice.