How the Section 13 notice date works
Under the Renters' Rights Act a landlord can only raise the rent of a periodic tenancy with a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. Three tests decide the earliest date the new rent can start, and the calculator applies all of them.
- Two months' notice. The new rent cannot start sooner than two months after the notice is served.
- A rent period start. The new rent must start at the beginning of a rent period, which for monthly rent means a rent day.
- 52 weeks. The first increase cannot be sooner than 52 weeks after the tenancy began, and each later one cannot be sooner than 52 weeks after the last, including increases made before May 2026.
A worked example
Rent is £700, due on the 1st. The last increase took effect on 1 March 2026. You serve the notice on 15 December 2026. Two months later is 15 February 2027. Fifty two weeks after 1 March 2026 is 28 February 2027. The later date is 28 February 2027, and the next rent day on or after it is 1 March 2027. That is the earliest the new rent can start.
If you served the same notice on 5 January 2027, two months later would be 5 March 2027, which sits inside a rent period, so the new rent could not start until 1 April 2027. Counting in whole calendar months catches many landlords out, which is why the calculator works from the exact dates.
What the calculator does not do
It does not complete the notice, choose the new rent or check that your tenancy is a monthly assured periodic tenancy. For the form, how to serve it and what a tenant can challenge, read our Section 13 rent increase guide. If you let in Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Hyde or elsewhere in Tameside and would rather not count weeks yourself, our full management includes an annual rent review at 12% with no VAT.