Blog
Expert guides on tenant rights, rent increases, and the Section 13 process in England.
The rent increase is huge but still under market: can I challenge it?
It is the question that catches more tenants out than almost any other. Your rent is jumping by hundreds of pounds, a 20%, 30%, even 40% increase in one go, and it feels obviously unfair. Surely an increase that big is something you can challenge? The hard truth is that the First-tier Tribunal does not judge the size of the increase at all. It judges one thing: what the property would let for on the open market today. If the new rent is at or below that market figure, a big jump on its own is not grounds to win, even though it feels like it should be. This walkthrough explains why the size of the increase is the wrong thing to focus on, what actually decides a tribunal case, and how to work out before you apply whether you have a real chance or are about to pay 47 pounds to lose. England only, periodic assured tenancies, Section 13.
Your landlord's lender has stepped in: who do you pay rent to, and can they put it up?
A letter arrives on letterhead you do not recognise. Your landlord's mortgage lender has appointed a receiver of rent, or the lender is taking possession, and you are told to pay your rent somewhere new. It is unsettling, and it raises real questions. Do you have to pay this new party? Is your tenancy still safe? And if a rent increase turns up from a receiver or a lender, is it even valid? This walkthrough explains who a receiver of rent is, who you should be paying, how a Section 13 rent increase works when a lender is involved, and the steps that protect you from paying the wrong person or accepting an increase you did not have to. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord has withdrawn the rent increase after you applied to the tribunal: what now?
You stood your ground, applied to the First-tier Tribunal to challenge the rent increase, and then the landlord blinks: a message arrives saying they are withdrawing the increase, or simply backing off. It feels like a win, and often it is. But a few practical questions matter now. Does your rent go back to the old figure? What happens to your tribunal application, do you have to do anything to close it? And can the landlord just serve a fresh notice next month and start the whole thing again? This walkthrough explains what a withdrawn or abandoned Section 13 actually means once you have referred it, how to lock the position in writing, and how to protect yourself against a quiet re-run. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord is appealing the tribunal's rent decision: what happens now?
You challenged your rent increase, the tribunal set a figure you can live with, and then a letter arrives: the landlord is appealing. It feels like the whole thing is being reopened. It usually is not. A landlord cannot appeal simply because they dislike the rent the tribunal set. They can only appeal on a point of law, they need permission first, and most attempts do not get past that stage. This walkthrough explains what a landlord's appeal to the Upper Tribunal actually involves, which rent you keep paying while it is pending, what (if anything) you need to do, and how to reply. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
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.
Can I ask the tribunal to delay my rent increase? The undue hardship rule
Most tenants know the tribunal can change the figure on a rent increase. Far fewer know it can also change the timing. Since 1 May 2026 the First-tier Tribunal has had the power to delay the start of a determined rent increase by up to two further months where paying it straight away would cause undue hardship. That extra breathing space can be the difference between coping and a crisis: time to get benefits advice, sort your finances, or look for somewhere more affordable. This walkthrough explains what undue hardship means, how the new power differs from the old rules, how to ask for the delay, and what evidence helps. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Do I pay the old or the new rent while my challenge is at the tribunal?
You have referred your rent increase to the tribunal, and now the most practical question of all hits you: which rent do I actually pay each month while I wait? The old figure or the new one the landlord asked for? Get this wrong and you can drift into technical arrears, or hand over money you may never see again. The answer depends on whether your notice was served before or after 1 May 2026, and the safe method is simpler than most tenants fear. This walkthrough explains exactly which figure to pay, how to protect yourself from arrears, and what to do if you have already paid the new amount by mistake. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord has died and a rent increase has arrived: what now?
When a landlord dies, the tenancy does not die with them. It carries on, and so does the rent. But a rent increase that arrives after a death raises questions an ordinary Section 13 notice does not: who has the authority to serve it, who you should actually be paying, and whether the notice is even valid if the estate has not been sorted out yet. Get this wrong and you could pay the wrong person or accept an increase served by someone with no power to serve it. This walkthrough explains who can validly raise the rent after a landlord dies, who to pay in the meantime, how to check the notice, and what to write. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Your landlord put the service charge up in the Section 13 notice: can they do that?
Plenty of Section 13 rent increase notices quietly do two jobs at once: they put the rent up, and they put the service charge up. Tenants assume both stand or fall together. They do not. A variable service charge, the kind that changes year to year to reflect actual costs, cannot legally be increased through a Section 13 notice at all. If your landlord has rolled a service charge rise into the rent increase, part of that notice may be unenforceable, and spotting it can change what you actually owe. This walkthrough explains how to tell which kind of service charge you have, what Section 13 can and cannot touch, how to challenge the part that does not belong, and what to write to your landlord. England only, periodic assured tenancies.
Reasonable adjustments and interpreters at a rent tribunal hearing: how to ask and what you can get
If a disability, a health condition, or a language barrier would make a rent tribunal hearing harder for you, the tribunal can adjust how it runs. You have to ask, and ask early, but the support is there: interpreters, documents in larger print or other formats, extra breaks, more time, a different hearing format, or help for a hearing or sight impairment. This walkthrough explains what reasonable adjustments the First-tier Tribunal can make for a rent challenge, how to request them, and how to ask for an interpreter, with a request template. England only, Section 13 rent challenges.