Rent increases for private tenants

Rent review clauses

A rent review clause is a term in a tenancy agreement that says:

Not all tenancy agreements have a rent review clause.

A rent review clause might be quite general:

"The landlord will review the rent in April each year and give the tenant 1 month's notice of any increase".

Or it could be more specific:

"The rent will increase each April in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI)".

If your agreement does not have a rent review clause, your landlord can only put your rent up during the fixed term if you agree.

Copy our letter template into an email to your landlord if you do not agree with a rent increase.

[Use subject: Rent increase during my fixed term]

You told me that you want to increase my monthly rent to £xxx.

As you are aware, I have a fixed term tenancy until [last day of fixed term]

I have checked my agreement and there is no rent review clause, so my rent cannot be increased at this time.

I do not plan to agree to a rent increase at this stage in the tenancy. This means my monthly rent stays at £xxx.

You could also send it as an email attachment or by post:

Sending this letter does not stop your landlord using a break clause in your agreement.

Your landlord could give you a section 21 notice if your agreement has a break clause.

Your landlord can use a rent review clause only if your agreement says that after the fixed term ends the tenancy will continue as either:

If your fixed term agreement does not say this, your landlord can only put the rent up if:

Use our letter template to tell your landlord that the rent review clause does not apply.

[Use the subject: Rent review clause in my periodic tenancy]

You told me that my rent will increase to £xxx because of a rent review clause in my tenancy agreement.

I have checked my agreement and my tenancy rights.

I cannot find anything in the agreement that says my tenancy continues as a contractual periodic tenancy. I have a statutory periodic tenancy.

As such, the rent review clause in my agreement no longer applies. My monthly rent stays at £xxx

You could also send it as an email attachment or by post:

Sending this letter does not stop your landlord taking legal steps to evict you.

They could give you a section 21 notice.

Last updated: 27 January 2025