Sisters rent problem not mine

littlechezza

Wonder if anybody can help, my sister rents a 2 bed semi in a nice area of the North East, she pays £500 which she thinks is alot, when she phoned her landlady to ask if it could possibly be reduced she did actually tell her that she is going to put it up. My sister can't get a mortgage because of big debts she ran up when she was a teenager (I blame the banks for letting her have so many credit cards but don't get me started on that) is there anything she can do or is it just a case of looking for another house.
Thanks

zar

It could be a lot depending on the local market, perhaps she could find some similar properties in the paper/on rightmove at a lower rent and send the adverts to the LL with a note saying if the rent can't be reduced she will unfortunately have to leave and find somewhere more reasonable?

littlechezza

She has said she will have to find somewhere else, trouble is this her 5th house in 6 years and I think she needs to settle down, I think she's also upset because the person in the house before her ran off without paying the last months rent so surely it's better to keep your rent down and have a reliable tenant, she's also a single mother so if the rent goes up £50 a month she's going to know about it

Old_No.7

A friend of mine is in a similar situation, being chucked out as soon as her lease ends so the landlord can put the rent up by 20%! And their house was empty for 9 months prior... bit of a risky move on the landlord's part I'd say.

Anyway, apparently there is Fair Rent committee which can determine if rent is at the right level: my friend is hoping to get their opinion closer to the time. I have no idea what it involves here in the UK (we have it in place in the Netherlands, and it works very well there: their decision is binding). Maybe this website might explain it more (sorry, have been meaning to read up on it, but haven't as yet)
http://www.therentservice.gov.uk/

bikerqueen

sadly the landlord is not doing it as a charitable concern, if their costs go up so will the rent. is she looking for a housing association/ council property? I think most landlords would rather break even/make a profit with a new tenant every year than have one who will make thema loss.

rosysparkle

The Rent Service won't register a fair rent unless the tenancy commenced before 15 January 1989.

The landlord is permitted to put the rent up as long as the correct notice is served. Your sister has a choice; she can pay the increase, try and negotiate with the landlord or move to another place.

If she is claiming housing benefit then she can adjust her claim when the rent increases and her HB may increase too, which could cover some of the increase.

Has your sister looked at comparable houses in the area to see if the rent she pays is what is generally charged for similar properties?

kit

It would all depend on the market in that area - she needs to check local papers and agents to see what the 'norm' is for a 2 bed house.

Down my way its £550 a month.