Create your Section 13 notice

Generate your Form 4A rent increase notice.

Answer the questions below and create a Section 13 notice for a private tenancy in England. You can add market evidence before serving if you want extra support for the rent figure.

Before you generate your notice

Your notice may be valid, but if the rent is above market level, your tenant can challenge it. A tribunal may delay the increase or set a lower market rent.

The notice handles the paperwork. The comparables report helps support the rent.

Form 4A Use the correct notice route.
Dates Make sure the proposed rent start date is valid.
Evidence Use comparables to justify the increase.

RentShift Form 4A builder

Answer the questions below and RentShift will calculate the earliest lawful rent increase date, prepare the information for the official Form 4A notice, and generate the PDF.

Important: this tool is for private rented sector assured tenancies in England only.

Step 1 - Suitability check

These answers decide whether the automated Form 4A builder can be used.

Is the rented property in England?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

Form 4A is for privately rented properties in England only.

What type of tenancy is this?(Required)

Private rented sector assured tenancy

Social housing tenancy

Assured agricultural occupancy

Holiday let / licence / company let / other

Not sure

Choose the closest option.

Is the tenant still living at the property?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

This builder is for rent increases during an ongoing tenancy.

Has a rent increase notice already been served for this tenancy before 1 May 2026?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

If a previous notice was served under the old rules, the dates should be checked manually.

Manual review needed

Your answer suggests this free automated builder may not be suitable. Do not serve an automatically generated notice without checking the tenancy and the correct prescribed form.

Step 2 - Tenant details

These details appear in section 1 of Form 4A.

Tenant name(s)(Required)

Full tenant name

Add every tenant named on the tenancy agreement. For a joint tenancy, add each tenant separately.

Rental property address line 1(Required)

House number/name and street.

Rental property address line 2

Flat number, building name or second address line, if needed.

Town / city(Required)

County

Optional.

Postcode(Required)

Use the UK postcode, for example FY8 1AB.

Step 3 - Landlord details

These details appear in section 2 of Form 4A.

Landlord name(s)(Required)

Full landlord name

Add every landlord who should appear on the notice. Use full legal names.

Landlord contact address line 1(Required)

Address where the tenant and tribunal can contact the landlord.

Landlord contact address line 2

Landlord contact town / city(Required)

Landlord contact county

Optional.

Landlord contact postcode(Required)

Landlord phone number

Enter an 11-digit UK mobile or landline number. Use numbers only, for example 07123456789 or 01253123456.

Landlord email address

Recommended but optional. If included, the tenant and tribunal may use this email address to serve documents on the landlord.

Is a letting agent serving or managing this notice?(Required)

Yes

If no agent is involved, the agent section of the PDF will be left blank.

Agent name(Required)

Agent address line 1(Required)

Agent address line 2

Agent town / city(Required)

Agent county

Optional.

Agent postcode(Required)

Agent phone number

Enter an 11-digit UK mobile or landline number. Use numbers only, for example 07123456789 or 01253123456.

Agent email address

Recommended but optional. If included, the tenant and tribunal may use this email address to serve documents on the agent.

Step 4 - Rent details

These details appear in section 4 of Form 4A.

Current rent amount(Required)

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter numbers only. The £ symbol is shown for guidance and is not typed into the box.

Proposed new rent amount(Required)

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter numbers only. The £ symbol is shown for guidance and is not typed into the box.

How often is the rent payable?(Required)

Per week

Per fortnight

Per four weeks

Per calendar month

Form 4A requires the tenancy period to be a month or less.

For a weekly rent, what day does the rent period start?(Required)

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

The new rent must start on the first day of a tenancy period.

For a fortnightly or four-weekly rent, give the start date of a current rent period(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

Use a recent rent-period start date. The tool will use this to calculate the next correct period start.

For a monthly rent, what day of the month does the rent period start?(Required)

Select the recurring day the rent period starts, not a one-off calendar date. If rent is due on the final day of each month, choose “Last day of the month”.

Step 5 - Tenancy timeline

The tool uses these dates to calculate the earliest valid new rent start date.

When did the tenancy start?(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

Use the start date from the tenancy agreement.

Has the rent been increased before during this tenancy?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

Choose Yes only if the rent actually changed during this tenancy.

When did the most recent rent increase take effect?(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

Use the date the tenant became responsible for paying the higher rent.

What was the date of the first rent increase after 11 February 2003?(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

This is needed for the 52/53-week anti-drift rule on Form 4A. If the tenancy started after 11 February 2003 and the rent has only increased once, this may be the same as the most recent increase date.

Manual review recommended

If you are not sure whether the rent has increased before, the notice date cannot be safely calculated automatically.

Step 6 - Serving the notice

The tool uses the service date to calculate the earliest lawful rent start date.

When do you intend to serve the notice?(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

This is the date you plan to give, post or email the notice to the tenant. The new rent must start at least two months after service.

How do you plan to serve the notice?(Required)

By hand delivery

By post

By email

By more than one method

Not sure

Check the tenancy agreement before relying on email service.

Tenant email address for service

Only complete this if you intend to serve by email and the tenancy agreement allows notices to be served by email.

Service evidence
Keep evidence of how and when the notice was served. If the tenancy agreement specifies a service method, use that method.

Step 7 - Included bills and charges

Form 4A asks whether any bills or fixed charges are included within the rent.

Does the rent include any bills, services or fixed charges?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

Only answer Yes if the tenant pays these as part of the rent, rather than paying them separately.

Manual review recommended

If you are not sure what is included in the rent, the charge breakdown on Form 4A may be wrong.

Council tax - existing amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Council tax - proposed amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Water charges - existing amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Water charges - proposed amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Electricity, gas or other fuel - existing amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Electricity, gas or other fuel - proposed amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Communication services - existing amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Communication services - proposed amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Fixed service charges - existing amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Fixed service charges - proposed amount included in rent

Please enter a number greater than or equal to 0.

Enter the amount included in the rent for each tenancy period. Enter 0 if none.

Are any of the included service charges variable charges based on actual costs?(Required)

Yes

Not sure

Variable service charges should not be included in the Form 4A section 4.7 table.

Manual review needed

Form 4A should not include variable service charges in the included-charge table. Check the tenancy before serving the notice.

Step 8 - Review and delivery

The tool will calculate the Form 4A date and generate the PDF after submission.

Could the rent be challenged?

The notice can be correctly completed and still be challenged if the proposed rent is above market level. RentShift can provide an agent-backed comparables report before the notice is served.

Would you like an agent-backed rent comparables report before the notice is finalised?(Required)

Yes - I want the paid market rent review

No - generate the free notice only

Not sure - send me information

The free notice builder can still generate the notice, but the paid report adds market evidence.

Your email address(Required)

We will send the generated paperwork or next steps to this address.

Your phone number

Optional. Enter an 11-digit UK mobile or landline number. Use numbers only, for example 07123456789 or 01253123456.

Confirmation(Required)

I confirm the information I have provided is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

RentShift will use the information supplied to calculate the notice date and generate the Form 4A PDF.

Serving the notice

Keep evidence that the notice was properly served.

You must be able to show that the notice was sent or delivered to the tenant. Keep a copy of the notice and evidence of service.

Deliver in person with confirmation where possible
Send by post with proof of postage
Keep a copy of the completed notice

Add market evidence before you serve

Our £60 report is prepared by letting agents using current market data and sent to you by email within up to two working days.

Add Market Evidence Before You Serve

RentShift provides practical tools and market information for landlords. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. If your tenancy is complex or disputed, seek independent advice before serving a notice.

Add Market Evidence