Resources · Landlords
Tenant Not Responding to Your Section 13 Notice? Here’s What Happens
- Silence is not a problem. If your tenant does not refer the notice to the tribunal before the effective date, the rent you proposed takes effect automatically on that date — no reply, agreement, or signature required.
- The only thing that stops an increase is a tenant application to the First-tier Tribunal before the effective date. Doing nothing, or just telling you they object, does not stop it.
- Your protection is proof of service, not the tenant’s reply. Keep it, because that is what a late challenge would actually test.
- If the tenant keeps paying the old rent after the effective date, that is rent arrears, not a renegotiation of the figure.
A tenant who says nothing after you serve a Section 13 notice is not a problem to solve — it is the outcome section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 is built around. The process does not require the tenant to opt in. It requires them to opt out, by referring the notice to the tribunal, within a fixed window. Miss that window and the proposed rent simply starts.
This page explains why non-response is not a defect in your notice, what actually stops an increase, and how to handle the practical situation of a tenant who never replies.
Silence Is Not a Defect — It’s How Section 13 Is Designed to Work
A Section 13 notice is not an offer that needs accepting. It is a statutory proposal that takes legal effect on its own unless the tenant actively challenges it. GOV.UK’s guidance on the process is explicit on this point: if the tenant does not refer the notice to the First-tier Tribunal before the date the new rent is due to start, the rent specified on the Form 4A becomes the rent, from that date, without any further step from either party.
That means a landlord waiting for a tenant to “confirm” or “sign off” on the increase is waiting for something the law does not ask for. Once you have served a valid notice with the correct notice period and effective date, the clock does the rest of the work.
The Only Thing That Actually Stops the Increase
A tenant has one lawful route to prevent or reduce a proposed rent increase: applying to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a market rent determination before the effective date on the notice. Everything else — a phone call saying they disagree, an unanswered email, a verbal complaint to your letting agent — has no legal effect on whether the increase proceeds.
This is worth stating plainly because it runs against most people’s intuition: ignoring a rent increase notice does not protect a tenant from it. It removes their only opportunity to have it tested. Tenants who feel a proposed rent is above market rate need to act, in writing, to the tribunal — before the date, not after.
Because the increase takes effect without any acknowledgement from the tenant, the question that actually matters if this is ever disputed later is not “did the tenant agree” but “did you serve the notice correctly”. A tenant who did nothing at the time may later claim they never received the notice at all — and that claim is only defeated by your proof of service, not by their silence.
Keep the same evidence you would need for a challenge: the proof of posting or delivery scan, the date you served it, and a clean copy of the notice itself. See how to serve a Section 13 notice for the deemed-service dates and what to retain.
What “Not Responding” Usually Looks Like in Practice
“My tenant isn’t responding” tends to cover three different situations, and they lead to different next steps:
- Total silence.No reply of any kind. This is the straightforward case — if the effective date passes with no tribunal referral, the new rent applies. There is nothing further for you to chase.
- An informal objection, but no tribunal referral.The tenant tells you, your agent, or a group chat that they think the increase is unfair — but never applies to the tribunal. This still counts as non-response in legal terms. Only a tribunal application before the effective date has any effect.
- No reply, but they keep paying the old rent.This is the situation that actually needs action from you — see below.
If They Keep Paying the Old Rent After the Effective Date
A validly served notice makes the new rent legally due from the effective date, whatever the tenant actually transfers. If you carry on accepting the old amount without comment, two problems build up: the shortfall accumulates as rent arrears, and a long period of silently accepting the old figure can later be used to argue you treated it as the agreed rent.
Protect your position with a short, dated letter or email as soon as the effective date passes, confirming the new rent that is now due and the shortfall to date. This is not a chase for a signature — it is a record that you did not waive the increase. Continue to log each payment against the new figure so any arrears are clearly evidenced if you need to recover them later.
Before pursuing arrears, it is worth a final check that your own notice is sound — run it through the validity self-check. A tenant facing an arrears claim has every incentive to look for a defect in the original notice, and a void notice means there is no arrears claim to bring.
What to Do When the Effective Date Arrives
Nothing dramatic. Update your records to show the new rent as due from that date, note that no tribunal referral was received, and keep your proof of service on file. You do not need the tenant’s signature, a returned copy of the notice, or any written acknowledgement for the increase to be legally effective.
If a tenant later disputes the increase — months afterwards, in the context of arrears proceedings or at the end of the tenancy — the case will turn on whether your notice was validly served and correctly dated, not on whether they replied to it at the time.
Check your notice is valid before you rely on itRelated guides
Apply for a Market Rent Determination
The only route that stops a proposed increase: who applies, the deadline, and the s.14ZB cap.
How to Serve a Section 13 Notice
Deemed-service dates and proof of service — the evidence that matters when a tenant says nothing.
My Tenant Challenged My Rent Increase
The opposite scenario: what happens when a tenant does refer your notice to the tribunal.
Section 13 Notice Rejected? How to Reissue It
If a later dispute exposes a void notice, this is how to serve a clean replacement.
Is My Section 13 Rent Increase Invalid?
A 7-point validity check to run before you rely on an unchallenged notice or chase arrears.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my tenant doesn't respond to a Section 13 notice?
The proposed rent takes effect automatically on the date stated in the notice. A Section 13 notice does not need the tenant's agreement or signature to work. The only thing that stops it is the tenant applying to the First-tier Tribunal before that date. If they do nothing, the increase simply happens.
Does silence count as agreeing to the rent increase?
Legally, agreement is not required either way. The notice takes effect by default under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 unless the tenant refers it to the tribunal before the effective date. Silence is not consent and it is not a defect — it is the outcome the statute assumes will usually happen.
Can a tenant stop a rent increase just by ignoring the notice?
No. Ignoring the notice has the opposite effect to what many tenants assume — it lets the increase proceed unopposed. The only way to stop or reduce a proposed increase is to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a market rent determination before the new rent is due to start.
What if my tenant keeps paying the old rent after the effective date?
If your notice was validly served, the new rent is legally due from the effective date regardless of what the tenant actually pays. Continuing to accept the old amount without comment risks looking like you agreed to keep it, so write to the tenant confirming the new rent is due and treat any shortfall as rent arrears, not a fresh negotiation.
Do I need my tenant's signature or written agreement for the increase to take effect?
No. Nothing in section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 requires a tenant's signature, countersignature, or written acceptance. A validly served Form 4A that the tenant does not refer to the tribunal takes effect on its own terms. What you do need is proof that you served the notice correctly, since that is what a challenge would actually test.