Rent Increase Letter Template (UK 2026): What to Include and Free Download

From 1 May 2026, the only legal way to raise the rent on an assured periodic tenancy in England is to serve the GOV.UK-prescribed Form 4A under Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025). A covering letter is not a legal requirement — but most agents and landlords still send one. Done well, it lowers the chance of a tribunal referral. Done badly, it muddies the notice you've just served.

This guide covers what a rent-increase covering letter should and shouldn't include in the post-RRA world, and includes a free Word template you can download and adapt.

Important — the letter is not the notice. Only the completed GOV.UK Form 4A is the legally valid Section 13 notice. The covering letter sits alongside it. Nothing you write in the letter can substitute for the prescribed-form wording, change the effective date, or fix a defect in the form itself.

Download the template

When you need a covering letter (and when you don't)

You don't need a covering letter for a Section 13 increase to be valid. The Form 4A on its own, served correctly, is enough.

A separate letter usually helps in three situations:

1. Long-standing tenancies where the relationship is amicable and a bare prescribed form arriving in the post would feel cold or confrontational.
2. Agent-managed tenancies where the agent wants the tenant to know the increase comes from the landlord's instructions, not a unilateral agent decision.
3. Increases the tenant might query — for example a larger-than-usual increase, the first increase after several years, or one tied to a refurbishment. A short explanation now is cheaper than answering the same question via the First-tier Tribunal later.

If the tenancy is new (under 12 months), no letter is needed — the increase isn't lawful yet anyway under HA 1988 s.13(2)(b)(ii), as amended by RRA 2025 s.6. Confirm the earliest valid notice date with the Rent Increase Calculator before writing anything.

What to put in the letter

Keep it short. One page, four or five paragraphs.

1. Open by naming the document

Tell the tenant explicitly what's enclosed: a Form 4A notice of proposed new rent. Use the form's name, not your own description ("rent rise note", "new rent letter"). The tenant may need to refer to the form by name later if they apply to the tribunal under HA 1988 s.14.

2. State the current rent, proposed rent, and effective date

Pull these straight from the Form 4A. Don't paraphrase or round. If the form says "£1,275 per calendar month from 14 July 2026", the letter should say exactly that. Any discrepancy between the letter and the form is what a tenant — or a tribunal — will flag immediately.

3. Give the reason, briefly

A one- or two-sentence explanation of why you're proposing this rent. The honest reasons are usually one of:

• Local market rents have moved. "Comparable two-bed flats in [area] are currently asking £1,250–£1,350."
• Costs have risen. Mortgage rate change, service-charge increase, insurance, statutory works under the new safety standards. Don't list every line item — one sentence is enough.
• No increase has been applied for [N] years and the rent has drifted below market.

What you should not write is anything that could be quoted back at you as a different statutory ground. Do not frame the increase as a response to the tenant's behaviour, the property's condition (other than works you have done), or a desire to move them on. Possession is a separate process under RRA 2025 and Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988; tying a rent increase to it can be characterised as a retaliatory increase and create unnecessary tribunal risk.

4. Acknowledge the tenant's options

This is the paragraph that most pre-RRA templates miss, and it's the one that lowers the chance of a tribunal referral. The tenant has three options under the new s.13 regime:

• Accept the new rent and pay it from the effective date.
• Negotiate a lower figure by agreement — HA 1988 s.13(4)(b) permits this.
• Refer the proposed rent to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) before the effective date.

Stating these explicitly — and giving a way to contact you — signals that you're treating the increase as a negotiation, not an ultimatum. Under the RRA, the tribunal cannot set a higher rent than the landlord proposed, which removes the deterrent that used to keep tenants from challenging. A short paragraph inviting a conversation is the cheapest available form of dispute resolution.

5. Provide a way to respond

Email is fine. A phone number is helpful for tenants who'd rather talk. Give a sensible window — two weeks before the effective date is typical — for the tenant to come back.

What to leave out

Three things that creep into rent-increase letters and shouldn't:

• Threats or ultimatums. "If you don't accept this, we will need to begin possession proceedings" is not a lawful position to take in connection with a Section 13 increase. Possession is a separate process and conditioning one on the other invites scrutiny.
• References to "fault" or "warnings". A rent increase under Section 13 is rent-only. Anything that reads like a notice of breach belongs in a separate letter under a separate statutory route.
• Re-statements of the Section 13 rules from your own pen. The prescribed Form 4A already contains the statutory wording. Paraphrasing it in the covering letter risks creating a document the tenant treats as the notice, then disputes for not being in the prescribed form. Refer to the Form 4A; don't re-write it.

How the letter fits the Section 13 process

A typical sequence for a Section 13 increase under the RRA looks like this:

1. Check eligibility. At least 52 weeks since the tenancy began or the last s.13 increase took effect (HA 1988 s.13(2)(b)(ii) as amended by RRA 2025 s.6). Use the Rent Increase Calculator to confirm dates.
2. Gather comparables. Screenshots of asking rents on the major portals, dated. The First-tier Tribunal will use comparable open-market rents for similar properties in the same locality if the tenant refers the notice; the proposed rent must be at or below open market rent (HA 1988 s.14 / s.14ZA).
3. Complete the prescribed Form 4A on GOV.UK. The Form 4A preparation worksheet gathers the values (parties, rent, dates, evidence) before you transfer them into the GOV.UK form. The prescribed-form wording lives on GOV.UK and only that wording is legally valid.
4. Write the covering letter using the template above.
5. Serve both together — first-class post or recorded delivery, with proof of service kept. The effective date in the Form 4A must be at least two months after the date of service.
6. Wait the notice period. Accept, negotiate, or — if the tenant refers to the tribunal — prepare comparables for the hearing.

For the full step-by-step process, including how the tribunal assesses market rent, see Form 4A explained: how to increase rent under the RRA. For where to download Form 4A itself, see Form 4A template download: where to get the new S13 notice.

Common questions

Q: Does the covering letter have to be on Form 4A?

No. Only the notice itself must be in the prescribed form. The covering letter is yours to draft. Just don't word it in a way that could be confused with the notice — refer to the form, don't re-state it.

Q: Can I email the covering letter and post the Form 4A?

You can email the letter, but Form 4A service rules depend on the tenancy agreement's service clauses. Most landlords serve both by first-class post or recorded delivery to keep the service record clean. If you're emailing, follow up with hard copies and keep the email read receipt.

Q: What if the tenant doesn't reply?

Silence is implicit acceptance. The new rent takes effect on the date stated in the Form 4A, and rent is payable at that figure from that date — unless the tenant applies to the First-tier Tribunal before the effective date. If they don't apply by then, the proposed rent stands.

Q: Can I increase rent without Form 4A if the tenant agrees in writing?

A genuine written agreement to a higher rent is a separate route under contract law and HA 1988 s.13(4)(b) (which permits a lower figure to be agreed after a valid s.13 notice). Bypassing Form 4A entirely is risky — the safer pattern is to serve Form 4A and accept a negotiated lower amount in writing if the tenant comes back with one.

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Guidance only, not legal advice. The template is a starting point — adapt it to your specific tenancy and verify the figures against the GOV.UK Form 4A you serve. For complex tenancies (joint, supported, regulated) or where a tribunal referral is likely, consult a qualified housing solicitor or a member body such as Propertymark, ARLA, or the NRLA.

This guide applies to assured periodic tenancies in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland (separate regimes), or regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977 (separate rules).