Can my landlord keep increasing my rent every year?

girl_withno_name

McKneff wrote: »

Am I reading this wrong.

Up £35 first year

Up £25 second year.

Rent was 495 when you moved in 2 years agao and is now £525 thats only a £30 increase over 2 years.

Im confused.

I read it as
- started at £495 two years ago
- increased by £30 to £525 one year ago
- proposed increase now of another £25 to £550
With the last change not yet implemented, so rent currently still at the £525

angelsmomma

girl_withno_name wrote: »

I read it as
- started at £495 two years ago
- increased by £30 to £525 one year ago
- proposed increase now of another £25 to £550
With the last change not yet implemented, so rent currently still at the £525

Yes that is how it reads on a second look. I thought £30 increase was bad enough, £55 is just plain greedy, no wonder landlords get a bad name.

cazb317

girl_withno_name wrote: »

I read it as
- started at £495 two years ago
- increased by £30 to £525 one year ago
- proposed increase now of another £25 to £550
With the last change not yet implemented, so rent currently still at the £525

Yes this is right so when/if i resign the rent will go up to £550 a month.
My concern as well is that if i wanted to resign for a fourth year then i assume the rent would go up again as there seems to be nothing to stop it?
I asked my letting agents is i could negotiate on the increase but they said i couldnt as it was to do with the landlord changing over to a new letting agents managing the property. Though to me that sounded like an excuse.

G_M

Have you read the link I gave you above?

Try contacting the landlord direct.

If LL/agent won't negotiate, consider moving to a SPT.

Have you looked at other rents in the area yet?

Do NOT sign a new contract unless you are willing to pay the rent it specifies.

princeofpounds

What stops rent going up is market forces. I.e. when faced with a greedy landlord you have to threaten to move and really mean it (because it might come to that).

Don't get into a back and forth with the agents. Excuses like 'new agents', 'block maintenance', 'higher mortgage costs' are not your problem. The only thing that matters is can you get a better property for similar money by moving.

Note that it is often worth contacting landlords direct as some agents benefit from tenant turnover by charging high find fees.

dancingfairy

The letting agents work for the landlord (generally) but the landlords are not always aware of what's going on. The letting agents may well have said to the landlord - look we can increase the rent every year! and the landlord may think that's great.
Your options are:
1) negotiate with the landlord directly
2) refuse to sign a new contract, go onto a rolling tenancy (assuming you haven't received a valid notice to quit) and carry on paying rent at the old rate and wait and see whether the landlord calls your bluff or not.
3) offer to move out (and mean it).
I'd get on rightmove and findaproperty and see what the going rates are in your area - if your rent is a little above average then that's one thing but if there are others significantly cheaper out there then it may be worth your while moving. It is usually worth paying a little more than the going rate though to stay where you are as the hassle and expense of moving can outweigh a small overpayment of rent (in market terms).
Hope you can come to some sort of agreement with your landlord as they would be nuts to loose a good tenant.
Best of Luck
df

Fuzzyness

the AST that my tenant is on has a clause in it that says monthly ent will only be increased by a set percentage i.e. 3% i think from memory. if there is such a clause i'm afraid you cant do much about it. if not, i'd consider moving if you arent happy with the increase, but think about the costs in moving i.e. van to move, credit checks, agency fees etc. if these amount to more than 300 quid i'd stay put.

debrag

My landlord doesn't tend to increase while he has a tenant just once he is re-letting. The tiny one bed below us (ours is also 1 bed but we have extra area above front door plus stairs) is £50 more than ours.

nollag2006

I tend to put the rent up on my own properties 5% or so each year. No tenant has ever baulked at that.

In my part of London, rent increases are often higher than 5%.

If you want security of tenure and flat payment levels, buying with a longer term fixed rate mortgage is probably your best best, esp as fixed rates are now tumbling.

Alias_Omega

I would try to contact the landlord.

Your are the Landlord's tenant, not the Agents. The Agent works for the Landlord.

As above, I suspect that the Agent is trying to squeeze you for the extra cash as the agent will get a cut of that increase. The Landlord will have to work out if the rent increase is worth the property being empty.

Empty for 1 month equates for a years rental increase down the drain.

Nevermind the hassle of Tenant Agreement Fee's, Inventory Fee's plus touching the property up in-between lets all paid for by the Landlord/Business.