Lendlord has launched a free tool to help landlords complete the prescribed notice required when increasing rents for assured periodic tenancies in England.
The property management and finance platform’s Form 4A tool guides users through the information needed under the section 13 rent increase process.
Since 1 May 2026, landlords have been required to follow the formal process whenever they increase rent, even where the tenant has already agreed to the change.
Informal messages and rent-review clauses cannot be used as substitutes for the prescribed notice, while clauses agreed before 1 May but taking effect after that date no longer apply.
NEW NOTICE REQUIREMENTS
Form 4A has replaced Form 4 for privately rented assured tenancies in England, with landlords warned that incorrect prescribed wording could invalidate a notice.
At least two months’ notice must be provided and no increase can take place during the first year of a tenancy.
Further increases must generally be at least 52 weeks apart, or 53 weeks in some circumstances, to prevent the date moving progressively earlier.
The new rent must also take effect at the beginning of a tenancy period. A monthly tenancy starting on the 20th, for example, can only have its rent increased from the 20th.
Tenants can challenge a proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal before its intended start date.
TENANCY DATA REUSED
Lendlord’s tool collects details including the existing and proposed rents, relevant dates, charges included within the rent and the landlord or agent’s signature.
It then produces the official Form 4A for review and can draw on information already held in Lendlord’s tenancy records and Compliance Hub.
The completed notice can be signed electronically and shared digitally where the tenancy agreement permits that method of service.
Aviram Shahar (main picture, inset), Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lendlord, says: “Landlords need to understand that agreeing a rent increase with a tenant does not replace the formal notice process.
“We have made the Form 4A tool free to help landlords prepare the official notice using tenancy information already held in Lendlord, reducing the administration involved. Landlords still need to check the details and serve the notice correctly.”
