landlords/ladies. rent increases

BitterAndTwisted

begbeer wrote: »

how often do you put the rent up in your btl houses, when you get a new tenant? once a year based on inflation? or what?

If you currently have tenants in your property you should have a formal tenancy agreement which stipulates whether the rent can be increased during the term of the tenancy and when. Once your tenant vacates you can set the rent at any level you like but if it's too high compared to other, similar properties in the area you'll have trouble finding any sensible, reliable tenants at all.

poppy10_2

My LL tried to put my rent up, saying it was just his normal annual increase. I told him to gtfo and said I wanted a 10% reduction in line with market trends or I would be moving out, leaving him with a void period that would cost him far more than his proposed rent increase (there is a glut of cheap houses for rent in my area). In the end we settled on no change.

JonnyBravo

End of year 2006: £10/month inc
End of year 2007: £10/month inc
End of year 2008: No increase
End of year 2009: No increase

Brilliant tenant. Don't want to lose her so making sure I maintain slightly below market rent

franklee

My rent has been the same for a few years now but it's starting to look expensive compared to what's available now. Really I should be moving somewhere cheaper but inertia is keeping me here. Any sign of an increase and I'll be moving asap.

begbeer

What rent are people paying, some seem to think their.s is to expensive and should be dropped, i am talking about £580 a month for a four bedroomed property with large garden in rural Devon.

DVardysShadow

begbeer wrote: »

What rent are people paying, some seem to think their.s is to expensive and should be dropped, i am talking about £580 a month for a four bedroomed property with large garden in rural Devon.

That could be anything. Depends on accessibility potential work locations, likely salaries in those locations, ease of access to the rest of the country and how salubrious the area is. I should imagine there could be more of a spread in Devon for any given basic spec.

nollag2006

I only put the rent up when a tenant moves out. Good tenants are worth their weight in gold. With low interest rates, and inflation it doesn't make sense to upset the applecart for a few pennies

I did have one tenant years ago, who came looking for a 10% rent reduction at the end of the year - this was the only time I've ever thrown a tenant out !!!

matt1234

Hi, I have a bit of a question for you landlords.

We are a family of 3 renting a 3 bed terraced house in London/Essex from a 75yr old Landlord who has no mortgage on the property.

We moved into the property in Feb 2006 when the house was in a really bad shape. The rent was £850. In November 2007 the Landlord put in new double glazing throughout the house and replaced the internal doors that were falling apart. She then proceeded to increase the rent to £950 in Feb 2008.

Then she virtually forced us to accept an 8 week remodernisation of the house this year - we have been asking for 3 years for her to remove the 20yr old carpets which were a health hazard, she said she would do it only if we allowed the house to be replastered. So we agreed and we lived in a building site for 2 months.

NOW, just under 2 months before we sign a new contract....she has put up the rent from £950 to £1100!!!!!!!! (It was £850 just 2 years ago)

On top of that, she gets her whole family to hassle us when they want to come and visit and so on and we just don't like them. We are extremely good tenants as we treat the house like our own, every single piece of furniture is ours and we have never paid rent late in 4 years.

Do you guys think this is fair treatment from a landlady?

Cheers

matt1234

And just to add, it is incredibly obvious the landlord is preparing for the house to be put on the market as she has been renting out the house for at least 15 years and has never redecorated the house in that time (We personally know 2 of the previous tenants)

Jowo_2

What do you mean that her relatives 'hassle you' when they visit - what kind of things do they do?

There is a formal way that landlord's are supposed to notify tenants of rent increases, I forget the name of the form - how does she communicate the rent rises to you?

Is the current rent in excess of market rent?