Rental question

thefellow

Hope i can explain this simply...

We rent a cottage from an estate in scotland where the rent has been ok for the last few years but a new land agent has decided rent be going up a fair bit(from £440 to £550) we struggle to pay £440 but we do £550 is out of the question!!
We told the council we will be homeless from Jult 1st as this is when the rent goes up,but the council have said we are making ourselves homeless

So i asked the land agent of he could write us a letter saying our lease will not be renewed infact this is is the actual email

Morning Tony,

We can do the first part with the rental increase etc, however we cannot do the next part. You don’t offer new Short Assured Tenancies as they are designed to roll on. If we wrote a letter stating that the Estate was not offering you a new lease the Council could say that you are entitled to stay in the house as the current lease has not been terminated. In which case it would not help your cause. As I said sadly the Estate will not be serving a Notice to Quit as this involves a lot of paperwork and cost as the Estate usually uses the Estate solicitors for these procedures.

We do want to help you but will not be terminating the tenancy.

Regards

Chris

Reading this if he says rent is going up to £550 and we say no we will pay £440 we are entitled to stay there hahahahaaha!!!

Any advice?


Thankyou

UnderPressure

Well I dont know if the law is differet in Scotland but if they want you to leave the property they HAVE to serve a notice to quit, regardless of paperwork and cost. I would write them a letter stating that you do not accept the rent increase and do not see it as fair, when your rent is due pay the £440, they may just swallow it (doubtful but you never know), eventually the arrears owing will get to such a stage they WILL serve a notice to quit and then everything shoulc be fine with the council.

I am sure someone will be along soon with more knowledge than me, but if the rent is to increas I am under the impression then a new tenancy agreement should be produced showing the rent increase.

Your going to have to dig your heels in from the sound of it, maybe split the difference at £500 then you can at least say you are trying to be reasonable, if its a no go then just pay what you have always paid until the time comes when they want you out. I dont see what else you can do?

Wee_Willy_Harris

The Council will contact your LL regarding notice issued. Whatever your opinions of councils, they aren't stupid and are more than well aware that LLs don't serve NTQ for no good reason. If it's rent arrears, that will lead them to look at affordability. If they decide that you COULD afford to pay the rent, then they will find that you have made yourself "intentionaly homeless", which means no duty to house. Your rent seems pretty reasonable to me, and not far from the LHA rates payable in Perthshire for a 2 bed property. That being the case, you're in for a struggle, to say the least, to establish that the property isn't affordable at £550 a month.

As a matter of interest, have you taken a fresh look at the advice offered in Dec 2008, when you posted.......

council housing problems
Seasons greetings to everyone!!!!!

Me my wife and my 10 year old daughter rent a cottage from a local estate,the rent has recently gone up,and after alot of number crunching we can no longer afford to stay here..it is just beyond our budget.

We dont earn enough to buy a property.

We contacted the local council,and they were hopeless,because we are not homeless they cannot help us,and even if he could help us there is a 8 year waiting list for council housing!!!!!

I have paid into the system for 23 years..what for???? i have never claimed benefits,very rarely used the national health service(touch wood) why bother??

I am seriously thinking of moving to Malta where i have family

This once great country is now the laughing stock of the world

thefellow

Your rent seems pretty reasonable to me, and not far from the LHA rates payable in Perthshire for a 2 bed property. That being the case, you're in for a struggle, to say the least, to establish that the property isn't

I think u will find a 2 bedroom flat/house is about £350 perth month where are u finding your prices???

Thankyou

Wee_Willy_Harris

LHA rates in Perthshire.

thefellow

Thanks willy but those figures are wrong just asked my brother he has a 3 bedroom house with council he is £300 a month so dont know if that figure is an average

Wee_Willy_Harris

thefellow wrote: »

Thanks willy but those figures are wrong just asked my brother he has a 3 bedroom house with council he is £300 a month so dont know if that figure is an average

LHA rates are based on the size of house your family requires, not the size they have. LHA rate for a 3 bed family Perth and Kinross is £138.46 a week, which is just under £600 a month.

Fire_Fox

thefellow wrote: »

Hope i can explain this simply...

We rent a cottage from an estate in scotland where the rent has been ok for the last few years but a new land agent has decided rent be going up a fair bit(from £440 to £550) we struggle to pay £440 but we do £550 is out of the question!!
We told the council we will be homeless from Jult 1st as this is when the rent goes up,but the council have said we are making ourselves homeless

So i asked the land agent of he could write us a letter saying our lease will not be renewed infact this is is the actual email

Reading this if he says rent is going up to £550 and we say no we will pay £440 we are entitled to stay there hahahahaaha!!!

If you pay less than the £550 you will eventually be evicted for rent arrears. In England at least that will mean you have made yourselves intentionally homeless and the council will have no duty to house you. And then you will have the joy of being taken to court for the £110 a month that you couldn't afford, getting a CCJ which will ruin your credit rating for many years.

The welfare state is not a savings plan, it is in place to help those in need with the essentials. The only options you have is to either increase your income by taking on a second job, apply for means-tested benefits if you are entitled, serve notice to quit and find yourselves somewhere cheaper to live. Not rocket science really!

G_M

I'm surprised you need to ask this question as you went through the same thing in 2008 when you rent last went up. You're on a reasonable income with a decent disposable element after rent, council tax etc. You know (but don't like) the rules regarding council housing, and most of your family live in concil housing.

Perhaps now is the time to consider moving to Malta? Or as an alternative I believe housing in Polland is affordable!

Fire_Fox

In December 2008 the OP posted the following

"I make (after tax) £1,020 and my wife makes £303 per month.

Our rent is £410 council tax is £160 heating for the month is about £160

We dont have a lavish lifestyle(dont drink,dont smoke) we are down to the bone living a very basic lifestyle."
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1379339

Assuming you get at least child benefit on top and assuming you have both had modest pay rises since then, you can afford £550 a month in rent as this is less than half of your income. As others said at the time, move somewhere in a low council tax band and/ or somewhere cheaper to heat. Eighteen months on these still look excessive for a three person household. :huh:

If money is so tight why were you looking at flights to Australia back in March??
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2337617

thefellow

Fire fox i quote''it is in place to help those in need with the essentials''

single unmarried girls(like my sister) never worked...yeah i see your point



my brother deffo does not pay what you are quoting