Section 13 notice: increase the rent

Under section 13 of the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord may increase the rent by giving at least 60 days' notice in writing to the tenant. The amount of notice required depends on how often the rent is paid - if rent is paid weekly, then the landlord must give four weeks' notice; if rent is paid fortnightly, then two weeks' notice is required; and if rent is paid monthly, one month's notice must be given.

Service of a Section 13 Notice

The section 13 notice must be served on the tenant either personally or by registered post. If the tenant cannot be found, the landlord may serve the notice on another person who resides with the tenant and appears to be over the age of 18 years.

Once served, the section 13 notice takes effect from the date specified in the notice, which must be at least 60 days after the date of service. If the tenant does not agree to the rent increase, they may give written notice to the landlord within 21 days of receiving the section 13 notice, specifying that they do not agree to the increase. The tenant must then vacate the premises on or before the date specified in their notice, which must be at least 14 days after the date on which their notice was given. If the tenant does not give proper notice, or if they stay past the date specified in their notice, they will be liable for paying the increased rent from the date specified in the section 13 notice.

If you are a landlord planning to increase your tenants' rent, be sure to follow the proper procedure set out in the Residential Tenancies Act.

By doing so, you can avoid any potential disputes with your tenants and ensure that the increase is fully legal and binding.

If you're a landlord in England or Wales, you can serve a Section 13 notice to increase your tenants' rent. This notice must be served at least 3 months before the proposed date of the increase.

What happens after an Section 13 has been served?

Once an Section 13 notice has been served, your tenants will have 21 days to dispute the proposed rent increase. If they do not dispute the increase within this time period, the new rent will come into effect on the date specified in the notice.

If tenants do dispute the Section 13 notice, they can refer the matter to their local Rent Officer for determination. The Rent Officer will then set a new maximum rent that takes effect from the date specified in the notice.

What alternatives are there to using an Section 13?

If you're looking to increase your tenants' rent but don't want to go through the formal process of serving a notice, you could try negotiating a new rent amount with them directly. You could also offer them some other form of compensation, such as an improvement to their tenancy agreement or a rent-free period.