By the Beacon Living Group team · 12 July 2026 · 8 min read + calculator
Summary: Beacon Living Group explains that under the Renters' Rights Act, a Manchester landlord letting on an assured periodic tenancy can raise the rent once every 12 months at most, using a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, with at least two months' notice, and never above what the property would fetch on the open market. The rent cannot be increased at all in a tenancy's first year, and a tenant who disagrees can refer the increase to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). This article is general information, not legal advice.
Rent used to be one of the few parts of a tenancy a landlord controlled outright. Put a fair figure to the tenant, give reasonable notice, and it happened. Under the Renters' Rights Act that control has not disappeared, but it now runs through a fixed statutory process rather than an informal letter, and it has a fixed rhythm: one increase a year, on notice, capped at market rent, with a tribunal sitting behind the tenant if they think you have overreached.
This matters more than it sounds. Pricing is one of the few levers a landlord has left to manage yield against rising costs, mortgage rates and compliance spend. Getting the Section 13 process wrong, or missing the window, does not just delay an increase, it can mean waiting a further year to fix it. Here is exactly how the process works.
Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 is the statutory route landlords use to raise the rent on a periodic tenancy without agreeing a brand new contract. Since the Renters' Rights Act converted almost all existing assured shorthold tenancies into assured periodic tenancies from 1 May 2026, and every new residential tenancy is periodic from the outset, Section 13 is now the standard mechanism nearly every Manchester landlord will use to change the rent during a tenancy, rather than something reserved for the end of a fixed term.
You can only increase the rent once in any 12-month period, and you cannot increase it at all during a tenancy's first year. If you served an increase in March, the earliest you can legally serve the next one is the following March. There is no mechanism to compress that gap, whatever has happened to your costs or to comparable rents in the area in the meantime.
If your tenancy started, or converted from a fixed term, before 1 May 2026, the way the first-year restriction and your existing increase history interact may be governed by transitional rules that sit outside the scope of this article. Check gov.uk's guidance for tenancies agreed before 1 May 2026, or ask a solicitor, before serving a notice on an older tenancy.
You must give your tenant at least two months' written notice of a rent increase, and it must be given on the correct statutory form, Form 4A, Landlord's notice proposing a new rent, which applies for notices given on or after 1 May 2026. The form can be delivered in person, by post, or by email if your tenancy agreement allows electronic notices. Get the date wrong and the notice is invalid, which means starting the two-month clock again from scratch.
Whatever figure you propose, it must not exceed the rent you could reasonably expect if you were re-letting the property on the open market today. This is a meaningful change in practice: a rent increase is no longer just a figure you choose; it is a figure you need to be able to defend with evidence. Before serving a notice, pull together three or four genuinely comparable local lettings, similar property type, similar condition, similar street or postcode, so you have something concrete to point to if your tenant queries the increase.
A tenant who thinks your proposed rent is above the open market rate can refer the matter to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), which will weigh local comparable evidence and set what it considers the correct open market rent, which could land above, below or level with your original figure. Guidance aimed at tenants generally states that a tenant cannot be evicted specifically for challenging a rent increase through this route, though you should check Shelter's current published guidance directly for the exact wording before relying on it.
We have not been able to confirm every procedural detail with confidence in gov.uk's published guidance, including the precise deadline by which a tenant must refer a case to tribunal, and whether a tribunal-determined rent is backdated to the date in your original notice or takes effect from the tribunal's decision. If either point matters to your situation, check gov.uk's current guidance directly or speak to a solicitor before you rely on an assumption either way.
Everything above governs assured shorthold and assured periodic tenancies. It does not govern a corporate commercial lease, because a company cannot hold an AST. When Beacon Living Group takes a Manchester property on a guaranteed rent lease, the landlord's tenant is a company, not an individual, so Section 13 simply does not apply. Any rent review is a term of the lease contract itself, agreed directly between the landlord and Beacon, not a statutory notice process with a tribunal behind it. Our guide to the Renters' Rights Act for Manchester landlords covers this structural point in full, and our comparison of guaranteed rent and letting agents covers the financial side of the decision.
Work out the date of your last rent increase for each tenancy and diary the earliest date you could legally serve the next one, using the calculator below. Start gathering comparable rent evidence now rather than the week you plan to serve notice. And if the process itself, not just the figure, is what you are tired of managing, get a free rent offer from Beacon Living Group and see what a fixed corporate lease would pay instead.
This article sets out our understanding of the current rules in general terms. It is not legal advice, and rent increase rules can have edge cases that depend on your specific tenancy history. Take proper advice on your own situation before serving a notice.
Work out the earliest date you could legally serve your next Section 13 notice, based on the once-a-year minimum gap.
This shows the once-a-year minimum gap only. It is not a guarantee that an increase on that date will be accepted, or that it will survive a legitimate tenant challenge at tribunal. You still need a valid Section 13 notice on Form 4A, at least two months' notice, and a figure that does not exceed the open market rent. Enter the date your current rent actually started, not the date you are hoping to raise it.
At most once every 12 months, using a Section 13 notice, and never during a tenancy's first year. Diary the anniversary of your last increase so the next legal date is never a guess.
At least two months, on Form 4A, which applies for notices given on or after 1 May 2026. It can be delivered in person, by post, or by email if the tenancy allows it.
No. The figure must not exceed what the property would achieve if re-let on the open market today, and a tenant can challenge a higher figure at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
The tribunal weighs local comparable evidence and sets the rent it considers correct, which may differ from your figure either way. We have not confirmed the exact referral deadline or backdating rules with confidence, so check gov.uk or a solicitor for your case.
No. A corporate commercial lease is not an assured shorthold tenancy, so Section 13 does not apply. Any rent review is a term of the lease contract itself.
From 1 May 2026, when Form 4A became the required notice and most existing tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies. Check gov.uk's transitional guidance if your tenancy started before that date.
About Beacon Living Group. Beacon Living Group is a Manchester guaranteed rent and serviced accommodation operator. It leases properties from landlords across Manchester on 3- to 5-year corporate leases, pays a fixed monthly rent with no fees, and is built to manage every stay in-house. Beacon Living Group Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company no. 17076795.
See what a 3- to 5-year corporate lease would pay on your Manchester property, agreed once in the contract, not chased every 12 months. Free, no obligation, usually within 48 hours.
