Resources · Section 13 Service

How to Serve a Section 13 Notice: The Service Rules That Catch Landlords Out

Updated 7 May 2026 · England only

Filling in Form 4A is the easy part. Serving it correctly is where landlords lose tribunal challenges. Posting it doesn't always count. Emailing it usually doesn't count. And the date you served it controls every other date that follows.

Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 gives landlords the right to propose a rent increase. What it doesn't do is spell out the service mechanics in plain terms. This page does.

The Three Valid Ways to Serve a Section 13 Notice

Personal service means handing the notice directly to your tenant. The notice is served at the moment of delivery. No calculation required, no presumption, no comeback. For landlords who can arrange it, this is the option with the fewest moving parts.

Postal service is valid for Section 13 notices, but “I posted it” is not the same as “I served it.” Service is deemed effective not when the letter leaves your hands but when it would have arrived in the ordinary course of post. That is a different day from the one you wrote on the envelope.

Email service is valid only if your tenant gave prior written consent to receive statutory notices by email. A clause in the signed tenancy agreement is sufficient. A text exchange is not. Without documented prior consent, an emailed Section 13 notice has no legal standing.

One thing that surprises landlords: you are not required to send the notice by registered or recorded post. Ordinary first-class post is legally valid. The question of whether you should use tracked post is a different question, and the answer is yes.

Why “I Posted It” Might Not Be Enough

Under section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978, where an Act permits service by post, service is deemed to take effect “at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.” The day you post it is not that time.

Courts and tribunals apply a two-working-day presumption for first-class post. Post the notice on Monday and it is deemed served on Wednesday. Post it on Friday: Monday is working day one, Tuesday is working day two. Deemed served Tuesday.

This matters because every date in your notice is calculated from the service date. If you assumed service on the day of posting and counted your notice period from there, you are running two working days short. At tribunal, the other side counts the days from the correct service date. The notice period falls short of the statutory minimum. The notice fails.

Email Service: When It's Allowed, When It's Not

Your tenant can consent to receive a Section 13 notice by email. That consent must be given in writing and must predate the notice you serve. A clause in the tenancy agreement explicitly covering statutory notices is the cleanest form of consent. A standalone written agreement before service also works.

What does not work: an email thread where your tenant seems fine with receiving correspondence digitally. A casual exchange is not a legal agreement to accept statutory notices by email. The burden of proving valid consent is on you if challenged.

If you do serve by email and you have valid consent, the service date is the date of delivery to the inbox. Keep the sent message, any delivery receipt, and any read receipt your client generates. If the email bounces undelivered, service has not occurred.

The Dates That Get Calculated from Your Service Date

Think of the service date like a starting gun. Everything else races from that point. Get the starting gun wrong and the whole race is run from the wrong line.

From the service date, you count forward the minimum notice period. Before 1 May 2026, that minimum is one month for monthly periodic tenancies. From 1 May 2026, it is two months for all assured periodic tenancies. The new rent can only take effect on the first day of a new rental period that falls on or after the minimum period has expired.

For a monthly tenancy where the period began on the 20th of the month: the effective date must be the 20th of a month. If your minimum period expires on the 18th, the first valid effective date is the 20th. If it expires on the 22nd, the first valid effective date is the 20th of the following month.

Proof of Service: What to Keep, for How Long

You need to be able to prove three things: that you served the notice, that you served it by the method you claim, and that you served it on the date you claim.

For postal service: keep the proof of posting receipt, or the tracking confirmation if you used Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Signed For. The Royal Mail delivery scan creates a timestamped record of delivery, not just posting. That scan is what you need if service is disputed.

For personal service: make a written note on the day itself. Date, time, circumstances, who was present. A contemporaneous note is far more credible at tribunal than a reconstruction months later.

Keep proof of service for at least six years. That is the standard limitation period for landlord and tenant disputes in England. A challenge to a Section 13 notice can arrive well after the notice took effect.

The 1 May 2026 Service Rule Changes You Need to Know About

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes the minimum notice period, not the mechanics of service. From 1 May 2026, two months is the minimum for all assured periodic tenancies in England. One month is no longer sufficient for any tenancy type.

The three valid methods of service remain unchanged. Personal service, postal service, and email with prior consent all remain valid. The deemed service rules remain the same. The proof requirements are unchanged.

What changes is the number you count forward from your service date. Two months, not one. A notice served on 2 May 2026 with a one-month notice period stated on the form is void from the day of service.

How to Fix a Service Mistake (If You Can)

Honestly, in most cases you cannot fix it. A served notice cannot be amended. A notice served by an invalid method, with the wrong notice period, or with dates calculated from the wrong service date has no legal effect. You cannot serve a covering letter correcting the error.

What you can do is serve a fresh, correct notice immediately. That resets the notice period. If the error has also pushed you past the 52-week window since your last valid increase, the situation is worse. A series of defective notices does not extend the window.

The lost rental income from a failed Section 13 notice is not recoverable. There is no mechanism to backdate a valid increase to the date a void notice would have taken effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I serve a Section 13 notice by email?

Only with prior written consent from your tenant. A signed tenancy agreement clause explicitly covering statutory notices is the strongest form of consent. A casual arrangement by message is not sufficient. If you do not have written consent that predates the notice, serve by post or in person. Emailing without consent produces a notice with no legal effect.

Does the tenant have to sign for it?

No. Section 13 notices do not require recorded or signed-for delivery. Ordinary first-class post is legally valid. The practical reason to use Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Signed For is evidential: the delivery scan creates a timestamped record of service you can produce if the notice is challenged. Without tracking, you have no evidence beyond a proof of posting, which only proves you sent something, not that it arrived.

Can I serve via WhatsApp or text message?

No. There is no provision for serving a Section 13 notice by WhatsApp, SMS, or any other messaging platform. Even where a tenant has agreed to receive email notices, that consent does not extend to other digital channels. A notice sent by text or WhatsApp has no legal effect, regardless of whether the tenant acknowledges receiving it.

What is the difference between service date and effective date?

The service date is when the notice is legally deemed received by the tenant. For first-class post, that is two working days after posting. The effective date is when the new rent starts. The effective date must be at least two months after the service date (from 1 May 2026) and must fall on the first day of a new rental period. You calculate the effective date from the service date, not from the date you wrote or printed the form.

Do I need to use recorded delivery?

No. Ordinary post is legally valid. You should use tracked or signed-for delivery as a matter of practice, not legal requirement. If your tenant disputes service and you have no tracking record, you may be unable to prove the notice was served at all. Royal Mail Signed For costs less than £2 and produces a delivery scan that serves as your evidence.