Your landlord put the rent up without a Section 13 notice: do you have to pay?
A message lands: the rent is going up next month. No formal notice, no Form 4A, just a text, an email, or a line on your rent statement. Do you have to pay the new figure? On a periodic assured tenancy in England, the answer is usually no. A rent increase you have not agreed to can only be imposed through a valid Section 13 notice on the prescribed form, and an informal demand is not that. This walkthrough explains when an informal increase is unenforceable, the one situation where it does count, what to do the moment the message arrives, and the two-line reply that protects your position. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
A message arrives. It might be a text, an email, a letter through the door, or just a different number written on your next rent statement. The rent is going up, it says, from next month. There is no formal notice attached, nothing on an official form, just the landlord telling you the new figure.
So you sit there with the obvious question. Do I actually have to pay that?
On a periodic assured tenancy in England, the answer is usually no. And understanding exactly why puts you back in control of a moment that is designed to feel like a done deal.
The rule in one sentence
On a periodic tenancy, a landlord cannot impose a rent increase you have not agreed to unless they serve a valid Section 13 notice on the prescribed form.
That form is Form 4A. It is a specific legal document with required content and a minimum notice period. An informal message is not a Section 13 notice, and it does not become one just because it mentions a number and a date. Until a valid notice lands, the rent that is legally due is the rent you are already paying.
So when the text says the rent is going up, what has actually happened, legally, is very little. The landlord has expressed a wish. They have not changed your rent.
Why a text or email does not count
It is worth being clear about this, because the informality is exactly what makes people assume it must be binding. It feels official because it came from the landlord, and landlords are the ones who set the rent. But the law does not work on who feels in charge. It works on whether the proper procedure was followed.
A Section 13 notice has to be on the prescribed form, has to give the right amount of notice, and has to get the basic details right. A casual demand does none of that. It is not a defective notice that might be saved on a technicality. It is simply not a notice at all. The same is true of a verbal demand at the door, a WhatsApp message, or a higher figure that quietly appears on a rent statement.
None of these increases your rent. They are all, in effect, the landlord asking. And you can keep paying the existing rent in response.
The one situation where it does count
There is a genuine exception, and it matters, so do not skip it.
If you freely agree to the increase, it can take effect by agreement rather than by notice. The clearest example is signing a new tenancy agreement at the higher rent. If you choose to do that, you have varied the rent by consent, and the lack of a Section 13 notice is irrelevant because you did not need one.
The key word is freely. Agreeing is not the same as being told. If the landlord says the rent is going up and you reply, in writing, that you accept, that is an agreement. If they simply announce it and you say nothing, that is not. The distinction is entirely about whether you actually consented, not about whether the landlord wanted it.
This is also why your response matters so much, which brings us to what to do.
What to do the moment the demand arrives
Do not panic, and do not just start paying the new amount. Take three calm steps.
First, keep paying the existing rent, on time, exactly as before. That is the rent that is properly due, and paying it keeps you out of arrears and out of trouble.
Second, reply in writing. Keep it short and polite. You are not picking a fight, you are creating a clean record. Something like:
"Thank you for your message about the rent. I have not received a valid Section 13 notice (Form 4A), so I will continue to pay the existing rent of GBP X. If you wish to propose an increase, please serve the prescribed notice and I will consider it."
That single message does a lot of work. It shows you are not refusing to pay rent, it makes clear you have not agreed to the increase, and it puts the ball back where it belongs, which is with the landlord to follow the proper process if they want to.
Third, check your standing order or direct debit. If it is set to the existing rent, leave it. If you or the landlord have already changed it to the new figure, change it back, so you do not start overpaying automatically.
Do not let repeated payment become "agreement"
Here is the trap to watch. A one-off payment of the higher figure, made in confusion, is usually not treated as you agreeing to a permanent increase, particularly if you raise it promptly. But if you pay the new amount month after month without ever objecting, a landlord can later argue that you accepted the increase by your conduct.
You head that off by acting quickly. Respond in writing as soon as the demand arrives, state plainly that you have not agreed and have not received a valid notice, and switch your payments back to the existing rent. Speed and a paper trail are what stop a casual demand quietly hardening into an accepted increase.
The one thing you must never do
Do not withhold rent.
It can feel like the natural protest, refusing to pay until the landlord does things properly. It is the wrong move. Unpaid rent is arrears, and arrears can give a landlord grounds to seek possession no matter how clearly the increase was unenforceable. You would be swapping a strong position for a weak one.
Refusing to pay an increase you have not agreed to is not the same as refusing to pay rent. Keep paying the existing rent in full, on time, and say so in writing. That way you are visibly meeting your obligations while declining to overpay.
If a proper notice does turn up later
Sometimes the informal demand is just the landlord's opening move, and a valid Form 4A Section 13 notice follows. That is fine, and in a sense it is the system working. At that point the formal process begins, the clock starts, and crucially you gain the right to challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal if you think it is too high.
That is another reason not to drift into paying the informal figure. If you quietly accept an increase that never went through a valid notice, you may give up the very right that a proper notice would have handed you.
The bottom line
On a periodic assured tenancy in England, a rent increase you have not agreed to needs a valid Section 13 notice on Form 4A. A text, an email, a letter, a phone call, or a new number on a statement is not that, and does not increase your rent by itself. Keep paying the existing rent, reply in writing to say you have not agreed and have not received a valid notice, and never withhold rent.
If a proper notice does arrive and you are not sure whether the figure stacks up, that free check is the quickest way to find out where you stand before you pay a penny more.
Frequently Asked Questions
+Can my landlord increase the rent without serving a Section 13 notice?
Not on a periodic assured tenancy in England, unless you genuinely agree to it. From 1 May 2026, the only way a landlord can impose a rent increase you have not agreed to is by serving a valid Section 13 notice on the prescribed form, which is Form 4A. A text, an email, a letter, a phone call, or a new figure written on your rent statement is not a Section 13 notice. By itself it does not change your rent. Until a valid notice is served, the rent that is legally due is the existing, last-agreed rent, and that is what you should keep paying. The exception is a freely agreed variation: if you choose to accept the increase, for example by signing a new agreement, then it can take effect by agreement rather than by notice.
+I got a text saying the rent is going up. Do I have to pay the new amount?
Not automatically. A text message is not a valid Section 13 notice, so on a periodic tenancy it does not increase your rent on its own. You are entitled to keep paying the existing rent. The safe response is to reply in writing, politely, saying you have not received a valid Section 13 notice (Form 4A) and that you will continue to pay the current rent until a proper notice is served. That keeps you out of arrears and makes clear you are not refusing to pay, you are paying the rent that is actually due. Do not simply start paying the higher figure, because once you have a valid notice you also gain the right to challenge the increase at the tribunal, and you do not want to give that up by accident.
+If I pay the higher rent once, does that mean I have agreed to it?
Not necessarily, but it can get blurry, so be careful. A one-off payment made in confusion is usually not treated as you agreeing to a permanent variation, especially if you raise the issue promptly afterwards. The risk is that if you pay the new figure repeatedly and without objection, a landlord may later argue you accepted the increase by your conduct. The clean way to avoid that argument is to respond quickly in writing, state that you have not agreed to any increase and have not received a valid Section 13 notice, and switch your payment back to the existing rent. Speed and a clear paper trail are what protect you.
+What is the difference between an informal demand and a rent review clause?
An informal demand is the landlord simply telling you the rent is going up, with no formal mechanism behind it, and on a periodic tenancy that is unenforceable without a Section 13 notice. A rent review clause is different: it is a term in your tenancy agreement that sets out a specific method and timing for increases. If you have a valid review clause, the increase may flow from that clause rather than from Section 13. Note that under the rules from 1 May 2026 many rent review clauses no longer work the way they used to, so a clause that looks watertight may not be. If your landlord is relying on a clause in the agreement, that is a separate question worth checking properly rather than just accepting.
+Should I stop paying rent while I sort this out?
No. Never stop paying rent. Withholding rent entirely is the one move that can turn a strong position into a weak one, because unpaid rent is arrears and arrears can give a landlord grounds to seek possession. The correct position is to keep paying the rent that is properly due, which is the existing rent, on time, every time. Refusing to pay an unenforceable increase is not the same as refusing to pay rent, and you should make that distinction clear in writing. Pay the real rent, keep your records, and deal with the increase question separately and calmly.
+What should I do if my landlord keeps demanding the higher rent?
Keep paying the existing rent and keep everything in writing. Send a short, calm message stating that you have not received a valid Section 13 notice on Form 4A, that you are continuing to pay the current rent, and that you are happy to consider any proper notice if and when it is served. Keep copies of every message, every payment, and the original demand. If the landlord eventually serves a valid Section 13 notice, that is the point at which the formal process, and your right to challenge the figure at the tribunal, begins. If they never serve a valid notice, the rent simply has not lawfully increased, however many times they ask.
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