What is the GOV.UK 'limit on annual rent increases'?

That limit is for social housing. The Regulator of Social Housing publishes it each year for formula rents. It does not apply to private landlords.

How often can a landlord increase rent?

Once a year. The first increase cannot start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began, and each later one must be at least 52 weeks after the last.

Is a 10% rent increase reasonable?

There is no set reasonable figure. What counts is the open market rent for your property. In tribunal cases under the new rules where landlords asked for 10 to 15%, 31% got the full increase, 50% got part of it and 19% got nothing or a cut.

Can the tribunal set a higher rent than I asked for?

No. Under the Renters' Rights Act, the tenant never pays more than the rent you proposed in the notice. The tribunal can set a lower rent, including one below what the tenant already pays.

Can the rent go down if my tenant challenges it?

Yes. Under the new rules, 1 in 14 tribunal cases ended with the rent cut below what the tenant already paid.

Are the rules the same in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. This guide covers private assured tenancies in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules on rent increases.

How much can a landlord increase rent?

There is no fixed limit on a private rent increase in England. The real limit is the rent a tribunal would set if your tenant challenged it, and the size of your ask changes the odds.

The short version: you can propose any amount, once a year, with two months' notice on Form 4A. If your tenant thinks it is above market rent, the First-tier Tribunal sets the open market rent, and it cannot go above your figure. Under the new rules, 4 in 10 landlords whose increase went to tribunal got all of it.

Check your rent increase See outcomes by size of increase

Rules for private assured tenancies in England since 1 May 2026.

What limits a rent increase

No law sets a maximum percentage. These four rules decide how much you can raise the rent, and when.

The open market rent

If your tenant challenges the increase, the tribunal sets the rent you could expect if you relet the property on the open market. That is the real ceiling.

The figure in your notice

Under the Renters' Rights Act, the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed. Ask too little and you cannot get more later that year.

Once a year, never in year one

One increase every 52 weeks. The first cannot start until the tenancy is a year old.

Two months' notice on Form 4A

Every increase goes through the section 13 process, even one your tenant has already agreed to.

How to serve a section 13 notice

What tribunals did with increases of each size

Decisions made under the Renters' Rights Act, grouped by how much the landlord asked for. They only cover increases that tenants took to the tribunal.

Asked under 5%
49%43%
Asked 5 to 10%
43%38%19%
Asked 10 to 15%
31%50%19%
Asked 15 to 25%
30%67%
Asked 25% or more
30%63%

Got the full increase
Got part of it
Got nothing, or a cut

43%

of asks under 5% got nothing, or a cut

Small increases were the likeliest to fail outright. Asking for less did not protect landlords.

3 in 10

asks of 15% or more were upheld in full

Most of the rest were cut back to part of the increase rather than refused.

£73 of £100

kept from each £100 a month asked for

When the tribunal does not give the full increase, landlords typically keep about 73% of it.

From 164 decisions under the new rules, out of 1,796 published. Latest decision included: 19 October 2026. How the figures are produced · More answers from the decisions

How to pick a figure a tribunal will back

Four steps before you put a number on the notice.

Step 1. Find the open market rent
If your tenant challenges the increase, the tribunal asks what the property would let for on the open market today, on the same terms. Compare it with similar homes nearby that are advertised now.
Step 2. Check what tribunals set for homes like yours
Published decisions show the rent each landlord asked for and the rent the tribunal set. The checker finds the ten closest to your property by rent, size and postcode.
Step 3. Price the property as it is
Form 4A tells tenants the tribunal can consider factors like the condition of the property. Set a figure that matches what a new tenant would see on a viewing.
Step 4. Serve the notice correctly
Put the figure on Form 4A with at least two months' notice. When a tribunal application ends with no rent set, the most common reasons are an invalid notice or a case the tribunal has no power to hear.

What did tribunals decide near you?

Search by the first half of the postcode to read the decisions in your area, with the rent each landlord asked for and the rent the tribunal set.

What will a tribunal do with your rent increase?

Put in your property. We'll show you the closest decisions tribunals have made, and what happened to landlords who asked for a similar increase.

Check your property

Questions landlords ask about rent increase limits

No. There is no fixed percentage limit for a private assured tenancy in England. If your tenant challenges the increase, the First-tier Tribunal sets the open market rent, and that becomes the limit in practice.

Sources

This is not legal advice. A tribunal sets market rent case by case, on the evidence in front of it.