Who can validly serve a Section 13 notice: letting agents and notices after a sale
A Section 13 rent increase notice can be wrong before you even read the figures, if the person who served it had no authority to. A letting agent can serve a notice, but only with the landlord's authority, and a notice served by the old landlord after the property has been sold may not be valid at all. This walkthrough explains who can validly serve a Section 13, how to test whether the server had authority, and what to ask for if you think they did not. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
Most guides on challenging a Section 13 rent increase focus on what the notice says: the wrong date, the wrong tenancy type, the wrong names. But a notice can be wrong before you even get to the figures, if the person who served it had no authority to serve it in the first place.
This walkthrough is about that question. Who is actually allowed to serve a Section 13 notice? Can a letting agent do it? And what happens if a notice turns up from a landlord who has already sold the property? It covers England only and assumes a Section 13 rent increase on an assured or assured shorthold tenancy.
The basic rule: the notice must come from the landlord
A Section 13 notice proposes a new rent, and it has to be served by the person entitled to the rent, your landlord. That sounds obvious, but in practice rent is often collected and paperwork often served by someone else: a letting or managing agent, or sometimes a former owner who has just sold up. The question is always whether the person who served the notice had the standing and authority to do it on the landlord's behalf.
If they did, the notice can be perfectly valid even though the landlord's own hand never touched it. If they did not, you may have a validity ground to challenge, separate from anything written on the form.
Can a letting agent serve the notice?
Yes, an agent can serve a Section 13 notice, provided the landlord has authorised them to. This is completely normal. Plenty of landlords never deal with paperwork directly and leave it all to a managing agent.
So an agent's name on the notice is not, by itself, a problem. What you are entitled to is clarity. The notice should make the agency relationship clear, so that you can see it is being served for a named landlord, and you should be able to work out who that landlord actually is.
Where it can go wrong:
- The agent serves a notice after their management agreement with the landlord has ended, so they no longer have authority.
- The notice is so vague about who the landlord is that you cannot identify them or find an address to respond to.
- The agent cannot, when asked, confirm that they had the landlord's authority to serve the notice.
If any of those apply, the authority question is live, and it is reasonable to ask the agent to confirm, in writing, that they were authorised to serve the notice on the landlord's behalf.
What if the landlord has sold the property?
This is where validity problems are most common. A Section 13 notice must be served by whoever is entitled to the rent on the date of service. After a sale completes, that is the new landlord, not the old one.
So if your former landlord serves a rent increase notice after they have already sold the property and the sale has completed, they are usually no longer your landlord, and the notice may well be invalid. If the new owner wants to raise the rent, they generally have to serve their own valid notice, in their own name.
The dates are everything here. The questions to pin down are:
- When did the sale complete?
- Who actually owned the property on the day the notice was served?
- Were you properly notified of the change of landlord?
If a notice was served by someone who was not your landlord on the day they served it, that is a strong point to raise.
You have a right to know who your landlord is
If you are unsure who genuinely owns the property or who is entitled to the rent, you do not have to guess. You have a legal right to be told.
- If you make a written request for the landlord's name and address to whoever collects your rent (often the agent), they must provide it. Failing to do so without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence.
- After a sale, the new landlord generally has to notify you in writing of the change.
- You can also check the registered owner at the Land Registry for a small fee if you want to confirm independently.
There are also separate rules that require a landlord's name and an address for service to be given to you, and a rent demand may not even be lawfully due while they are missing. We cover that angle in detail in our guide on no landlord name and address under sections 47 and 48. For the purposes of a Section 13 challenge, the point is simpler: knowing who your landlord actually is tells you whether the person who served the notice had the standing to do it.
What to do if you think the wrong person served the notice
Two warnings first. Do not ignore the notice, and do not assume it is invalid without checking — getting that wrong can leave you stuck with the increase. Instead, test the authority question directly.
Write to whoever served the notice and ask them to confirm:
- Who the current landlord is.
- On what authority the notice was served — if it came from an agent, that they had the landlord's authority; if it came from a possible former owner, that they still owned the property on the date of service.
Keep it factual and keep copies. Their answer, or their failure to answer, tells you whether you have a validity ground. If your time to respond to the increase is short, you can apply to the tribunal to protect your position while the authority question is sorted out, rather than letting the deadline pass.
Template: request for proof of authority and landlord details
To: [name of agent or person who served the notice] Property: [your address] Subject: Section 13 notice dated [date] — request for confirmation of authority and landlord details
Dear [name],
I have received a Section 13 notice proposing a rent increase, dated [date]. Before I respond, please confirm the following in writing:
- The full name and address of my current landlord (the person entitled to the rent).
- [If served by an agent:] That you had my landlord's authority to serve this notice on their behalf, and the basis of that authority.
- [If you believe the property has been sold:] That the person who served this notice was the legal owner of the property, and entitled to the rent, on the date the notice was served.
I make this request so that I can identify who I am dealing with and respond correctly. I look forward to your reply.
[Your name, date]
The bottom line
A Section 13 notice is only as valid as the authority behind it. A letting agent can serve one, but only with the landlord's authority, and a notice served by a former landlord after the property has been sold may not be valid at all. If you are not certain who served your notice or whether they had the standing to do it, ask, in writing, and keep the answers.
If you want to know quickly whether your notice gives you grounds to challenge, including who served it and whether it was done properly, a free check is the place to start.
This guide is general information about who can validly serve a Section 13 notice in England, not legal advice. For advice on your own case, contact Citizens Advice, Shelter, or a housing solicitor.
Frequently Asked Questions
+Can a letting agent serve a Section 13 rent increase notice?
Yes, a letting agent can serve a Section 13 notice, but only if the landlord has given them authority to do so. The notice does not become invalid just because an agent's name is on it rather than the landlord's, as long as the agent was genuinely acting for the landlord with the landlord's permission. What you are entitled to is clarity: the notice should make the agency relationship clear, and if it is not obvious who the actual landlord is, or whether the agent really had authority, you can ask for that to be confirmed. If an agent serves a notice without any authority, for example after their management agreement has ended, the notice may be invalid. So an agent serving the notice is not a problem in itself, but an agent serving it without proper authority can be.
+Is a Section 13 notice valid if it was served after my landlord sold the property?
It depends on the timing. A Section 13 notice has to be served by the person entitled to the rent, which after a completed sale is the new landlord, not the old one. If your former landlord serves a rent increase notice after they have already sold the property and the sale has completed, they are usually no longer the landlord and the notice may be invalid. If the new owner wants to increase the rent, they generally need to serve their own valid notice in their own right. Sales can be messy and the exact dates matter, so the key questions are when the sale completed, who actually owned the property on the date the notice was served, and whether you were properly told about the change of landlord. If a notice was served by someone who was not your landlord on the day they served it, that is a strong validity point.
+How do I find out who my actual landlord is?
You have a legal right to be told who your landlord is. If you make a written request for the landlord's name and address to whoever collects your rent, such as the agent, they must provide it, and failing to do so without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence. Separately, after a property is sold the new landlord generally has to notify you of the change in writing. If you have been served a rent increase notice and you are not sure who genuinely owns the property or who is entitled to the rent, a written request for the landlord's name and address is the first move. You can also check the registered owner at the Land Registry for a small fee. Knowing who your landlord actually is tells you whether the person who served the notice had the standing to do it.
+What should I do if I think the notice was served by the wrong person?
Do not ignore the notice, and do not assume it is invalid without checking, because getting that wrong can cost you. Instead, write to whoever served it and ask them to confirm two things: who the current landlord is, and on what authority the notice was served. If it came from an agent, ask them to confirm they had the landlord's authority to serve it. If it came from someone you believe has sold the property, ask them to confirm they still owned it on the date of service. Keep the request factual and keep copies. Their answer, or their failure to answer, tells you whether you have a validity ground to challenge. If the timing is tight, you can apply to the tribunal to protect your position while you sort the authority question out.
+Can the new landlord increase my rent straight after buying the property?
A new landlord steps into the existing tenancy on the same terms, so they cannot simply impose a higher rent the day they complete. If you are on a periodic tenancy, the new landlord can use the Section 13 procedure to propose an increase, but they must serve a valid notice in their own name, give the correct notice period, and respect the rules on how often the rent can go up, including the minimum gap since any previous increase. They do not get a fresh start that wipes out those protections. So a new owner wanting more rent has to go through the same valid-notice process as anyone else, and if their notice is defective or served too soon, the same grounds to challenge apply.
Check your rent increase
Find out if your landlord’s Section 13 notice is valid. Free, anonymous, takes 2 minutes.
Free to check · £14.99 only if we find grounds
Keep reading
Related guides on tenant rights and rent increases.
Waiting for your rent tribunal decision: how long it takes and how to chase a late one
The hearing is over, you have made your case, and now there is silence. The wait for a rent tribunal decision is one of the most stressful parts of the whole process, mostly because nobody tells you how long it is supposed to take. This walkthrough sets out the realistic timeline, why a property inspection can add weeks, the point at which it is reasonable to chase, and exactly what to write to the tribunal office if your decision is overdue. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
No landlord name and address on your rent demands? Why the rent may not legally be due (s47/s48) — tenant walkthrough 2026
Here is a rule a lot of renters have never heard of. If your landlord has not given you a name and an address in England or Wales where you can serve notices on them, your rent is treated as not legally due until they do. It does not mean the rent is wiped, but it can be a genuine point of leverage, especially with a faceless agent or an absent landlord who only ever gives you a PO box or an email. This walkthrough explains sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in plain English, what they do and do not give you, and how to ask for the missing details. England only.
Landlord ignoring the rent the tribunal set: how to enforce it and reclaim what you overpaid — tenant walkthrough 2026
Winning at the rent tribunal is one thing. Getting the landlord to actually charge the rent the tribunal set is another. Some landlords carry on demanding the figure they originally proposed, or keep deducting the higher amount by standing order, as if nothing happened. The tribunal's decision is binding, so you have clear options: insist on the correct rent, recover anything you have overpaid since the effective date, and if needed pursue it as a debt. This walkthrough explains exactly how, with a demand template and the money-claim route. England only, after a Section 13 determination.
Costs at a rent tribunal: when you can claim, when you might pay (Rule 13) — tenant walkthrough 2026
One of the biggest fears that stops tenants challenging a rent increase is the thought of a costs bill if they lose. The good news is that the rent tribunal almost never orders one side to pay the other's costs: each side normally bears its own. There is a narrow exception, Rule 13, for unreasonable behaviour, and it can cut both ways. This walkthrough explains how costs really work at the First-tier Tribunal, when you could ask for your costs back, when a landlord might try it on against you, and what to write if you need to make or answer a costs application. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.
Withdrawing or settling a rent tribunal challenge before the hearing: the tenant walkthrough 2026
Not every rent challenge has to go all the way to a hearing. If your landlord offers a sensible compromise, or if your evidence turns out weaker than you hoped, you may want to settle on an agreed figure or withdraw the challenge altogether. Both are legitimate, but they have consequences worth understanding first, especially what happens to the proposed rent and to your right to challenge again. This walkthrough explains how withdrawing and settling work, the risks of each, and how to do it safely, with a template you can adapt.
Asking the tribunal to set aside or correct its own rent decision: the tenant walkthrough 2026
Before you reach for an appeal, there is often a quicker, cheaper route. If your rent tribunal decision contains an obvious slip, or if something went wrong in the process, such as you not receiving the hearing notice, the First-tier Tribunal can correct or set aside its own decision. These powers are limited and have tight deadlines, but in the right case they fix the problem in days rather than months. This walkthrough explains when each power applies, how to ask, and what to write, with template wording you can adapt.