My landlord wants to put the rent up but....

pjcox2005

Presumably it,s a furnished let, and the wear and tear on the old mattress makes it no longer sufficient and needs to be replaced by landlord?

tbs624

shakeit wrote: »

So i finally got my new contract today - the increase is what i thought but thyeve dated it from 01/10/10. Hello, its the 15 th of October now!
Do i have any legal standing to say im not paying the extra £70 for oct now seeing as my rent went out on the 1st?

As already mentioned, you are currently on a SPA and they have to time the start of new contract/notice of intent to repossess with the "rental period" of your tenancy. They absolutely *cannot* backdate a new contract.

Get an appointment with the local Council's private sector tenancy relations officer (TRO) - take all your tenancy paperwork with you, Alternatively, ring Shelter 0808 800 4444 ( both are likely to be busy so you will have to be persistent.

shakeit wrote: »

Also im going to have to sign the contract for the next 6 months as ive got no where else to live but quite worried im going to be so skint as its such a lot of money.

That's not your only option. If you don't sign the contract then the earliest they can give you a s21 is at just before the start of your next rental period. That gives you 2 months minimum - if you don't go by the date given in the notice then the LL has to proceed to court to get an eviction notice - hello 2011.

What percentage of the rent is the 70 quid increase? What are other similar local properties being let out for ? LLs generally like to retain Ts who have shown themselves to be reliable over a fair period of time and some will forgo regular rent increases on that basis - others play hardball and will happily serve notice and look for a new T, even though they may end up with someone less reliable.

shakeit_2

The only good side of this is they havent charged me a fee every 6 months to resign the contract. I rang them on Friday and offered them a 12 month contract for less of an increase and was told the landlord only wants 6 month contracts which is slightly worrying. I raised the query that it was a big increase all at once and was told im actually better off than if theyd increased it slightly every 6 months, which i was a bit mmmm about. But the worse aspect was i said id already paid this months rent at the old price to be met with well you should have increased your dd. when i said how was i supposed to when i had nt been given the exact amount for the new rent they came back with we told you the per week amount increase you should have worked it out yourself and if i was a bit over or under, well... so basically they want me to pay them the extra this month too! I was quite upset and told them id come back to them. Basicallyi have no where else to live so will have to suck it up and sign tonight and pay the extra but im not happy about this at all.

shakeit_2

debrag wrote: »

Why are they buying this?

They bought the original one when i moved in so as its dead i thought they d pay for the new one - unreasonable?

also im currently sleeping on the floor so if im paying an extra £70 a month id quite like a bed to sleep in!

tbs624

shakeit wrote: »

The only good side of this is they havent charged me a fee every 6 months to resign the contract. I rang them on Friday and offered them a 12 month contract for less of an increase and was told the landlord only wants 6 month contracts which is slightly worrying. I raised the query that it was a big increase all at once and was told im actually better off than if theyd increased it slightly every 6 months, which i was a bit mmmm about. But the worse aspect was i said id already paid this months rent at the old price to be met with well you should have increased your dd. when i said how was i supposed to when i had nt been given the exact amount for the new rent they came back with we told you the per week amount increase you should have worked it out yourself and if i was a bit over or under, well... so basically they want me to pay them the extra this month too! I was quite upset and told them id come back to them. Basicallyi have no where else to live so will have to suck it up and sign tonight and pay the extra but im not happy about this at all.

shakeit- are you posting to just sound off about your situation or do you actually want to understand what your rights are here because you seem to be ignoring what other posters are telling you.

The LA/ LLs cannot backdate your contract - if they wanted you to pay from the beginning of the month they needed to have got you signed up to a new contract at the new rate by then.

You say you did not sign a new contract - the law says that when a Fixed Term expires and a T has not signed a new tenancy agreement, the LL has not sought a court order for eviction and the T remains in occupation then the tenancy becomes a Statutory Periodic one. Your LL/LA cannot alter the law to suit their lack of appropriate paperwork.

See previous posts for what this means to you, regarding notice periods/rent increase notification.

If you want to "suck it up and sign tonight and pay the extra", as you say, then that is your prerogative but before you do so you should understand that you *do* have other options.

Make a call to Shelter 0808 800 4444 for clarification.

shakeit_2

From what i can make out the stautory periodic tenancy is useful if you want to move out but not so much if you want to stay in the property. I think ill say to them ill sign the contract from01/11/10 but that they cant make me pay the difference for oct because they were too late in giving me the contract. Fair?

flutterby_lil

or as others suggested, try negotiate or ring shelter - good luck

tbs624

shakeit wrote: »

From what i can make out the stautory periodic tenancy is useful if you want to move out but not so much if you want to stay in the property.

Many Ts stay at a property for several years under a SPA, and the LL can serve a s13 ( of the Housing Act 1988) Notice to increase the rent if they wish to.

The T can then appeal to a local Rent Assessment Committee (before the actual rent increase falls due) . The LL *may* respond by issuing notice but the rent would be set by the RAC for a 12 month period, regardless of whether it was you or a new T in place.

Many LLs in those circs would stay with the T who has hitherto been reliable - why put yourself to the hassle of advertising, viewings and restarting with a new T who is an unknown quantity?

I think ill say to them ill sign the contract from01/11/10 but that they cant make me pay the difference for oct because they were too late in giving me the contract. Fair?

It's totally up to you how you handle it, the point was that you should choose to do it rather than feel you are cornered, with no options.

You still haven't said what percentage this 70 quid per month represents btw?

shakeit_2

tbs624 wrote: »

Many Ts stay at a property for several years under a SPA, and the LL can serve a s13 ( of the Housing Act 1988) Notice to increase the rent if they wish to.

The T can then appeal to a local Rent Assessment Committee (before the actual rent increase falls due) . The LL *may* respond by issuing notice but the rent would be set by the RAC for a 12 month period, regardless of whether it was you or a new T in place.

Many LLs in those circs would stay with the T who has hitherto been reliable - why put yourself to the hassle of advertising, viewings and restarting with a new T who is an unknown quantity?

I think ill say to them ill sign the contract from01/11/10 but that they cant make me pay the difference for oct because they were too late in giving me the contract. Fair?

It's totally up to you how you handle it, the point was that you should choose to do it rather than feel you are cornered, with no options.

You still haven't said what percentage this 70 quid per month represents btw?[/QUOTE]

ive read Shelters information and it seems to agree with my thinking i cant really get out of the increase but i dont have to pay it for this month as they had nt given me a new contract in time. that will be my stance.

Not sure how to work out the pc increase? If it was £690 and is now going to be £758?

Thankyou all for your help , im not trying to be difficult just dont want to be taken for a ride. And yes i have been a good tennant but similar properties are in the same rent bracket so dont really have much room for manouvre. Am actually looking to go into a shared ownership soon on a property which i know will start you all off about the doom of those too

BitterAndTwisted

Without a calculator even I can figure out that the rent-increase is a shade under 10%

I think that's daylight robbery