Can my landlord increase the rent every year?

Once a year, and not in the first year

GOV.UK's guide for assured periodic tenants says your landlord can only increase your rent once a year and cannot increase it in the first year of your tenancy. Shelter says the same: from 1 May 2026, your rent can only go up once a year. This is built into section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, which every private landlord must now use.

Before the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord could sometimes increase rent more often using a rent review clause in a fixed-term agreement. Those clauses no longer work for new increases. The government's Information Sheet for tenants confirms that rent review clauses cannot be used for new rent increases after 1 May 2026.

How the 52-week rule works

The notes on Form 4A set out the exact rule:

• The first rent increase cannot start until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began.
• Any later increase must start at least 52 weeks after the previous increase took effect.
• The new rent date cannot be more than six days before the anniversary of the date given in question 4.4 of the form. If it would be, the landlord must wait an extra week, making 53 weeks in total.

The last point exists because 52 weeks is a day or two short of a calendar year. Without it, increase dates would creep earlier each year. Form 4A gives the example of a weekly tenancy where the landlord picks a fixed date, such as the first Monday in April, each year.

Worked examples

In each case the other rules still apply. The start date must be the first day of a rental period, and you must get at least two months' notice. Often that pushes the real earliest date later than the 52-week mark.

Is there a limit on how much the rent can go up?

No. Shelter states there is no set limit on how much a landlord can increase the rent. But the rent should be around the same as similar homes in your area, which is called the market rent. The Information Sheet says any rent increase must be no higher than the open market rent, and that you can challenge an increase you think is above market rate at the First-tier Tribunal.

For notices given on or after 1 May 2026, Shelter explains that the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the landlord asked for. It can be the same or less. That removes the old risk that challenging could leave you paying more.

What to do if your landlord tries to increase it twice

If you receive a second notice within a year of the last increase, it does not meet section 13 and does not lawfully increase the rent. Write to your landlord explaining the 52-week rule, quoting the date of the last increase, and keep paying the current rent. If they insist, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide whether the notice is valid, but you must apply before the proposed start date.

• Find the date your tenancy started
• Find the date the last increase took effect
• Check 52 weeks (or 53) have passed by the proposed start date
• Check the start date is a rent day
• Check you had at least two months' notice

Common mistakes landlords make

The most frequent errors are counting 52 weeks from the date the last notice was served rather than the date the last increase took effect, forgetting the first-year rule for new tenancies, and assuming a new tenancy agreement resets the clock when the tenancy has simply continued. Each of these can make a notice invalid. If you spot one, point it out in writing, quoting the dates.