Resources · Form 4A
Form 4A Template UK 2026: Two Pages. Fifty Years of Case Law Behind Them.
- Form 4A is the prescribed notice you must use to raise rent on a periodic assured tenancy under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. An informal letter is not a substitute.
- Since 1 May 2026, the minimum notice period is 2 months (up from 1 month under the pre-RRA rules). Notices served with the old period are void.
- You can only serve a Section 13 notice once every 52 weeks. Not once per calendar year. 52 weeks, measured to the day.
- A single date error, an outdated form version, or a postal timing slip makes the notice invalid. You start again.
Form 4A looks simple. It isn't. The form itself is two pages, but the rules around when you can use it, what dates count, and what counts as proper service span fifty years of case law and a new Act that takes effect 1 May 2026. Most landlords who serve Form 4A themselves get at least one thing wrong.
This page covers the current form, the 2026 changes, and the four errors that void a notice before it ever reaches a tribunal. You have a tenancy in front of you. You need this done today. Here it is.
What Is Form 4A and When Do You Need It
You have no choice about the form. You cannot use a letter, an email, or a notice you drafted yourself. Under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, the only lawful way to propose a rent increase on a periodic assured tenancy in England is to serve Form 4A, the prescribed statutory notice. Its full title is “Notice proposing a new rent under an assured periodic tenancy.” The word “proposing” is deliberate. This is not a demand. It is a legal trigger.
You need it any time you want to raise rent on a periodic tenancy. That covers the majority of private tenancies in England: month-to-month arrangements, rolling tenancies, and fixed-terms that have expired and run on. If your tenancy is still within a fixed term and contains a contractual rent review clause, you follow the contract instead.
From 1 May 2026, that distinction disappears. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolishes fixed-term tenancies in the private rented sector. Every tenancy becomes periodic. After that date, Form 4A is the only route to a rent increase for every landlord in England, every time.
The 1 May 2026 Change You Need to Know About
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 increases the minimum notice period for a Section 13 rent increase from 1 month to 2 months. That change takes effect on 1 May 2026.
Any notice served after that date must give at least 2 months' notice, regardless of tenancy type. A notice served with a 1-month period on 2 May 2026 is void. It does not become valid with a correction. The tenant owes the old rent.
Look, the change itself is not complicated. What makes it dangerous is landlords using a rent increase notice template downloaded before May 2026. An old template with a 1-month notice period printed on it will not be accepted at tribunal. The form version matters. The dates on the form matter. Using an outdated document to save time costs more time than generating a fresh one.
The Four Mistakes That Invalidate a Form 4A Notice
Wrong effective date. The new rent can only take effect on the first day of a new rental period, which is the anniversary of the date the tenancy period began. Not a date you choose because it suits your finances. If the tenancy started on the 20th, the increase takes effect on the 20th. Any other date on the form is an error.
Insufficient notice period. From 1 May 2026, you need 2 months. Before that date, you need 1 month. The period runs from the date the tenant receives the notice, not the date you wrote it or posted it. Postal service timing is not a rounding error. It determines whether your notice is valid.
Using an outdated form version. Form 4A is a prescribed form. The prescribed version can change when regulations change. If you are using a Section 13 notice template downloaded before May 2026, check whether it reflects the updated notice period. A tribunal will not overlook the discrepancy because you did not know about it.
Defective service.Leaving the form with your tenant's partner, posting it to the wrong address, or attaching it to an email when your tenant has not agreed in writing to receive notices by email: each of these can render the notice invalid. Service has a legal meaning. Getting the envelope in roughly the right direction is not it.
How to Fill Out Form 4A Correctly (With the Dates That Actually Matter)
The form asks for the parties, the property, the current rent, and the proposed new rent with its effective date. Almost every error happens in that last box.
Think of the notice period like a countdown timer that starts only when your tenant picks up the envelope, not when you wrote the address and not when you dropped it in the post box. Work backwards from the date you want the increase to take effect, subtract the 2-month minimum, and check that the resulting service date is achievable given your chosen delivery method.
Write the proposed rent as a total figure, not as an increase. Do not write “an increase of £75.” Write the new total monthly figure. “£1,450 per month” is correct. “£1,375 plus £75” creates ambiguity and is not what the form asks for.
Sign and date the form on the day you serve it. If you fill it in on Tuesday and serve it on Thursday, the date on the form is Thursday. The date you wrote it is irrelevant.
You can only serve a Section 13 notice once every 52 weeks. Most landlords read that as “once a year.” It is not the same thing.
A calendar year is 52 or 53 weeks depending on where the days fall. If your last valid notice was served on 3 April 2025, your next valid notice cannot be served before 2 April 2026. That is 52 weeks to the day. Serve it on 28 March because it feels like “a year” and you have a void notice.
Letting agents who run portfolio-wide rent reviews in a single month are most exposed to this. Dozens of tenancies. All with slightly different rent days. A blanket “spring review” will hit the wrong window on some of them every year.
How to Serve Form 4A (and Why “I Posted It” Might Not Be Enough)
Service is the step most landlords treat as admin. Sounds like a technicality? At tribunal, it is the first thing the panel checks.
Personal service means handing the form directly to your tenant. It is served at the moment of delivery. No ambiguity, no presumptions, no argument. It is the cleanest option available.
First-class post is deemed served on the second working day after posting. Second-class is deemed served on the fourth working day. These are legal presumptions, not delivery guarantees. Your tenant can challenge them if they have evidence the notice did not arrive. The burden then shifts to you.
Email service is only valid if your tenant agreed in writing before the notice was sent that they would accept notices by email. A clause in the tenancy agreement works. A casual message exchange does not. Check the tenancy before sending anything electronically. Keep a record of the date, the method, and what you sent. Use Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Signed For if you post it, and retain the receipt.
Download the Current Form 4A Template
The blank Form 4A for England is available to download from GOV.UK. You can print it, fill in the boxes, and serve it.
The problem is not the blank form. A blank form is just a starting point. It does not know your tenancy's rent day. It does not know when you last raised the rent. It does not calculate your 52-week window or verify that your proposed effective date falls on the correct day. It does not update itself when the legislation changes.
Noticr generates a completed, correctly dated rent increase notice based on your tenancy's actual start date, your service method, and the current legal requirements. It flags if you are inside the 52-week window. It calculates the earliest valid effective date. It produces a Form 4A-compliant PDF ready to print, sign, and serve.
Generate a compliant Form 4A in 60 secondsFree download
Section 13 Compliance Checklist 2026
One-page PDF. The 4 ways Section 13 notices get voided, the statutory authority for each, and how to prevent them. Print and keep with your tenancy file.
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Related guides
How to Serve a Section 13 Notice
Deemed service rules, email consent, proof of service — the mechanics after you fill the form.
Mooney v Whiteland [2023]: Date Alignment Case
The Court of Appeal case that voided a notice over a date alignment error — and how to avoid it.
Renters' Rights Act 2025: Landlord Guide
What changes on 1 May 2026 and what you need to do before then.
The 53-Week Rule Explained
Why some long-running tenancies require 53 weeks between increases, not 52.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice do I have to give before a rent increase?
Before 1 May 2026, the minimum notice period for a monthly periodic tenancy is one month. From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 increases that to two months for all tenancy types. The period runs from the date the tenant receives the notice, not the date you write or send it. Postal service timing counts. A notice sent one day too late is a void notice, and you must start the process again.
Can I use last year's Form 4A template?
No. If the prescribed form has been updated since you downloaded your template, using the old version can invalidate your notice. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes the minimum notice period from 1 May 2026. Any rent increase notice template that shows a 1-month notice period will be wrong for notices served after that date. Always verify you have the current version before serving anything.
What happens if I get the dates wrong on Form 4A?
The notice is void. Your tenant continues to owe the old rent. You cannot correct a served notice. You must issue a fresh Form 4A with correct dates and wait the full notice period again. If the error pushes your next valid service date past the 52-week window from your last valid notice, you lose the rent increase for that year entirely. There is no appeal against your own error.
Do I need to use Form 4A for a fixed-term tenancy?
Not if the tenancy is within its fixed term and contains a contractual rent review clause. In that case, the contract governs the increase. But from 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 converts all assured shorthold tenancies to assured periodic tenancies. Fixed-term tenancies will no longer exist in the private rented sector. After that date, Form 4A is the only mechanism for raising rent, for every tenancy, every time.
Is Form 4A free to use?
The blank form is free to download from GOV.UK. The cost risk lies in getting it wrong. A void notice means months of delay and the loss of a full year's increase. Noticr generates a correctly dated, compliant notice that accounts for your tenancy's specific rent day, the 52-week window, and the current notice period requirements.