How to serve a Section 13 notice — and prove you did

Last updated June 2026

Why service is the part that matters

The two months' notice runs from the date the tenant is served — strictly, when they're treated as having received the notice — not from the date you fill it in or send it. Get service wrong and the gap to your start date can fall short, which makes the increase void. So serving correctly, and being able to prove it, is just as important as the form itself.

The ways you can serve it

• By hand. Treated as served when you deliver it. The most certain method if you can do it.
• By first-class post. Usually treated as served two working days after posting — so count the start date from then, not the day you post.
• By email. Only valid if your tenancy agreement allows service by email, or the tenant has agreed to it. Even then, the timing of "receipt" can be argued, so leave yourself margin.

Check your tenancy agreement's "notices" clause first — it often sets out the permitted methods and when service is deemed to happen.

When the notice counts as served

The clock starts from deemed receipt, so build the gap in. Post a notice on the 1st and it's typically served around the 3rd — your two months runs from the 3rd. Because the exact statutory minimum leaves no slack, it's safer to give yourself a few days' margin (or pick the next rent day) unless you hand-deliver and can prove same-day receipt. Our tool builds a small service margin into the date it suggests for exactly this reason.

Keep proof you served it

If the increase is ever questioned, the burden of proving valid service is on you. Keep evidence:

• A free certificate of posting from the Post Office (for first-class post), or use a signed-for service.
• If serving by email, keep the sent email — and ideally a short acknowledgement from the tenant.
• Always keep a copy of the exact notice you served.

Common service mistakes

• Emailing when the tenancy doesn't allow it. If email service isn't permitted, the notice may not be validly served at all.
• Cutting the date to exactly two months. With post or email, deemed-receipt delay makes the bare minimum fall short.
• No proof. A perfectly valid notice is worth little if you can't show when it was served.