A new free tool has been launched by property management platform Lendlord to assist landlords in England with preparing rent increase notices. The Form 4A tool is designed for assured periodic tenancies, where the section 13 process has been a requirement for every rent increase since 1 May.
Informal communication methods, such as emails or WhatsApp messages, and rent-review clauses, are no longer sufficient to replace the prescribed formal process. This applies even if a tenant has agreed to a higher rent, and rent-review clauses agreed before 1 May but due to take effect after this date are not applicable.
Aviram Shahar, co-founder and chief executive of Lendlord, stated that landlords must understand that tenant agreement to a rent increase does not replace the formal notice process. He emphasised the importance of using the correct form and timing for assured periodic tenancies in England.
The Form 4A tool aims to reduce administration by using tenancy information already held in Lendlord to prepare the official notice. Landlords are still responsible for checking details and serving the notice correctly. Form 4A has replaced Form 4 for privately rented assured tenancies in England, and incorrect wording could invalidate a notice.
Landlords are required to give at least two months' notice for a rent increase, and no increase is permitted during the first year of a tenancy. Subsequent increases must be at least 52 weeks apart, or 53 weeks in some cases, to prevent the increase date from moving earlier each year. The new rent must also commence at the start of a tenancy period.