I have a longstanding tenant whose original AST started on the 5th. He pays rent however on the 1st of each month.
I’ve increased the rent twice in the last 5 years by exchange of emails.
Looking at the new S13 form, it seems any rent increase must start from the 5th of the month-ie following the original start of the AST.
Is that correct? Can’t I start the new rent from the 1st which is a date we are working happily with?
Any advice would be welcome thanks.
Rent in advance (aside from 1st month between contract signed and start of tenancy) would be rent in advance. Not allowed under RRA
Best
Thanks for the reply
Are you saying that I must start the new rent from 5th?(August in this case)
So should I calculate the rent at the old rate from 1st to 5th August??
If your rental period starts on the 5th of the month, eg 5 July to 4 august , you should collect it on the 5th of July.
If you tried to collect on 1st July that would be rent in advance which isnt allowed by RRA
The tenant can choose to pay early but only on a voluntary basis. You can’t put anything in a contract or encourage tenant to do that which would be illegal under RRA
See extract below from the ‘independent landlord blog’
“Note that these rules only affect NEW tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026. Clauses that require tenants to pay rent in advance (eg quarterly, six-monthly) for EXISTING tenancies in place on 1 May 2026 are still valid”
but as a rent increase is a new agreement I think that’s why the new s13 form forces you to collect it on (in this example) 5th July
@David122 can hopefully confirm I’ve got that right
Good luck
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Section 8 states that any terms in a new tenancy agreement which state that rent is due in advance during the tenancy are to have no legal effect. However, they will not breach the Tenant Fees Act. This does not affect agreements in place on 1 May 2026, when the tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act came into force.
The definition of rent due in advance is rent that is “due before the rent period for which it is payable”.
For instance, if a rent period is from the 26th of one month to the 25th of the next month, the earliest the rent will be “due” is the first day of a rent period, ie 26th of the month.
Sometimes tenants pay rent early voluntarily, for instance if rent is due on Boxing Day, they may pay it on Christmas Eve.
It isn’t a breach of the Tenant Fees Act for a landlord to accept an early payment, as it’s after the tenancy agreement is entered into.
However, tenancy agreements cannot contain provisions which require a tenant to pay rent before it is ordinarily due, and it cannot be due before the first day of a rent period.
So long as both the landlord and the tenant have entered into the tenancy agreement, tenants can pay rent in advance, eg a student paying one term’s rent in advance. Landlords can ask for a tenant to pay rent in advance after the agreement is entered into, but if the tenant says no, the landlord cannot require the tenant to pay it.
Such a request is not a “prohibited payment” under the Tenant Fees Act, unlike those payments made before the parties enter the agreement.
No clause requiring a tenant to do this is enforceable by the landlord, which means that tenants would need to do this voluntarily. Landlords also need to be careful they do not infringe the Tenant Fees Act.
If a tenant pays any rent before the tenancy is entered into, this is a breach of the Tenant Fees Act unless the landlord returns it straight away, so they cannot be said to have “accepted” it.
Note that these rules only affect NEW tenancies entered into on or after 1 May 2026. Clauses that require tenants to pay rent in advance (eg quarterly, six-monthly) for EXISTING tenancies in place on 1 May 2026 are still valid.
Thanks.
The AST started on the 5th originally and the tenant paid 5th to the end of the first month.
He then started regular monthly payments on the 1st of every month and continues to do so. Its only now looking at the new Form 4A for rent increases which requires reverting back to the original start date.
I seem to have created a situation (which initially was to help tenant) which is complicated!
The legislation is so new this may be a teething problem.
I should add. The original AST started in 2020.
@Beverley711 If your contract specifies that the rental period (after the original part month paid) was from 1st of the month then it may be possible to continue but depends exactly what your contract says and whether you can fill the s13 form in in a way that reflects that. @David122 might be able to advise.
Simplest may be for tenant to give notice to end current tenancy on 31 July and you start a new tenancy agreement on 1 August at new rate
Good luck
Thanks again.
I don’t really want to give tenant notice as that seems unnecessary and surely RRA is specifically against ending tenancies except in prescribed circumstances.
I will have a think and hopefully other members of the forum can help too.
@Beverley711 yes I agree ending the tenancy shouldn’t really be needed. It would have to be either tenant giving you notice or a mutual deed of surrender- you can’t just serve notice (s21 are no more)
Not sure why you think this. Have looked at form 4a
Not sure why you can’t just enter 1st August at 4.6 and have the new rental amount from then?
(If there is something stopping it when you try entering electronically then print off and enter with pen and paper)
Note A4 says the new rent must start at the start of a tenancy period for you that is the 1st of the month.
Good luck
The rent increase will apply from 5th of the month as David240 says. If there has been no formal change of rent due date, but your tenant just chooses to pay a few days early, there is nothing to stop him continuing to do that.
Does your tenancy agreement say rent is due on the 1st or the 5th?
If its the 5th and he just pays early voluntarily, then the payment date remains the 5th, so the new rent is due from the 5th. He may keep voluntarily paying it a few days early & this is allowed & ok.
If the tenancy agreement says the rent is due on the 1st, then change the rent from the 1st.
Just keep it as the 5th, life is too short
This is the pertinent point, by choice.
I’m assuming the tenant is simply paying early to suit their accounting, if you have not made any arrangement to change the date of payment officially there will be no adjustment required.
Simply apply your rent increase notice to correlate with the contracted date, i.e. the 5th.