Free tool: the earliest date your rent increase can start

There is a new free tool on LetSorted: the Rent Increase Date Checker. It works out the earliest date a new rent can start under a Section 13 notice (Form 4A) in England, and tells you which rule sets that date.

How it works. You enter the date the tenancy began, how often rent is due, the day each rent period begins, the date you will serve the notice, and the date the last increase took effect, if there has been one. The tool applies the three rules in Form 4A's own notes. The notice must be served at least two months before the new rent can start. The first increase cannot start until 52 weeks have passed since the tenancy began, and a later one must be at least 52 weeks after the previous increase. The new rent must start at the beginning of a rent period. The tool shows the date each rule allows and marks the one that sets the earliest date. If the rent has been increased by notice before, it also says when the date shown may be up to a week too early, and why.

What it does not do. It works out dates only. It does not produce a notice, and it does not check one you have written. It covers notices served on or after 1 May 2026, for assured tenancies in England. Nothing you enter is sent or stored, and there is no signup. You can share the result: the link opens the same dates for whoever you send it to.

Already using LetSorted? Record an increase you served. On the property page, in the rent section, choose Record a rent increase you served. Enter the new rent, the date you served the notice, how you served it and the date the new rent starts, and add your copy of the notice if you have one. The rent schedule changes from that date; the periods before it stay as they were. LetSorted then shows the earliest date the next increase can start, counted from your record. If some periods from that date were already paid at the old rent, we show you how many, as information, not as arrears.

If the dates you enter do not fit the same three rules, we tell you which one, and still save the record as you entered it. LetSorted records what you tell us. It does not produce or check the notice, and your tenant sees the new rent as recorded by you.

What it costs. Both are free. Recording an increase you served is free on every property.

For how the rules work, with a worked example, read our Section 13 rent increase guide. For the mistakes that make a notice fail, read how a Form 4A notice becomes invalid.

If anything is unclear, write to [email protected].

This is general information, not legal advice.