10% £50/month rent increase -ask for reduction ?

john539

Guy_Montag wrote: »

There's no harm in asking, it's how far to push it that's the question, or you could agree on condition that x,y & z are done to the flat.

You need to really check out to see if you are paying below the market rent & by how much. Go view a few properties for comparison, it might be worth moving.

You are right, you don't want to be seen as a soft touch, which it kinda looks like they might be thinking - looks like a 16% increase over two years.

I'm in Brighton.

£525/month is under market rate, or lowest end of rate for 1 bed flat.
Studio flats start at £450-£475/month.

If I moved out, they'd probably increase the rent to £575-£600/month for next tenant.
There's a shortage of 1 bed flats, so they'd probably have no problem renting it out in a seaside resort.

The rental market is very difficult & tight here.
It was a nightmare finding a flat to rent in 1994 & it's probably worse now with shortage of flats to rent, credit checks, guarantors, students & people who cannot afford to buy etc.

wigglebeena

Doesn't being a 'good' tenant have an economic value in itself to a letting agency? A run of bad 'uns, leaving rent arrears, damage and gaps in letting income, must actually cost them a lot - a steady tenant with no gaps in income saves them that risk.

At my last flat we absolutely scoured the place before we left, it was blimmin' spotless. The landlady was really happy, she told us she'd never not had to call in cleaners after a tenant left before (and she had a few properties and had been in the business for years). How much do professional cleaners cost? Not cheap.

I'd at least ask for the necessary work to be done in consideration for a steady run of steep increases. They might back-pedal a bit...

john539

I have added a poll to see what other people's rent rises were.

What was your last rent rise ?

up to £10/month
£10-£20/month
£20-£30/month
£30-£40/month
£40-50/month
£50-£60/month
£60+/month

rebeccaj

unfortunately, unless you know what %age of their rent the rise was, the amount doesn't really mean very much IMO

Gorgeous_George

Since 1994 your Y-O-Y increases work out at just 2.5%. Depends how confident your LL is but I'd play poker with you any day.

OF course, as an MSEer there is no harm in trying to get the best deal but your LL may say 'No' and serve notice to quit.

Your call.

GG

pinkshoes

Being a good tenant and having paid rent on time for 13 years should count for something!! If they're going to hike up the rent that much, I would at least ask for the property to be redecorated!!

My gran rented a house for 12 years, and the landlord hardly even raised the rent because she was such an easy going nice tenant, and they were really upset when she had to go into warden accomodation because she was too frail to look after herself! Landlords should do what they can to hold onto good tenants!

Rick62

My landlord (through the agent) asked for an increase last year and I said no and this year they asked for £50 (on £1250 for a 3 bed near London) and I said no, I think £25 increase is more acceptable. Both times the agent suggested the landlord would not be happy, both times he accepted.

Don't 'ask for a reduction' on the increase, tell them you think an increase of £10 being in line with inflation (apparently about 2%) would be reasonable. They can say yes or no. If they ask for more ask them to justify it in terms of improvment works to the flat.

Don't get bogged down in what other flats are being advertised for, your a real tenant with a track record, the landlord will not want a void or a rubbish tenant.

poppy10_2

38% rise in rent since 1994 sounds extremely reasonable.

Paying below market rent even after this latest rise sounds extremely reasonable.

I don't really see what you have to complain about.

However I agree with the above posters- try to get something in return for your money - e.g. new boiler/plumbing. They would need to have this work done anyway if you decided to up sticks in protest and leave, so they might as well do it while you are there. It adds value to the house, so they shouldn't begrudge spending the money on that.

john539

meeps wrote: »

we had been paying 550 pm for a 2 bed terrace, and that was the usual rent round here, but after 4 years, other houses were renting for about 650, so we were very pleased when the LL increased by 20 pm, as we had been worried it would be more.
I would say it is a bit of a steep increase when you look at previous ones, but if its still low rent for the area I personally wouldn't want to rock the boat.

Where is that, what part of country ?

sm9ai

Ask them why they are increasing the rent so much.

If they cannot offer you a decent reason then refuse it.

If they say because interest rates / mortgage costs have gone up (which is likely) ask them why you didn't get a reduction when interest rates / mortgage costs went down.

Luckily I live in a town where there is so many new build apartments that there is far more supply of rental property than demand. So there is 0% chance of them increasing my rent.