Rent increase

Cakeguts

ACG wrote: »

What are the chances that there was someone from this site sat in on the meeting when agreeing rent and terms!

It really is a small world.

Just read what the OP wrote that is was lower rent for cleaning and decorating it didn't say it was a low rent for modernising the entire property. I think the first 3 years at a saving of £100 per year off the rent was good value for cleaning and decorating. You can get a lot of tins of paint and bottles of bleach for £300.

Having given the discount for 3 years to allow the cost of the paint and cleaning materials doesn't mean that the landlord is obliged to go on giving the discount. The OP didn't have to rent a property that needed cleaning and decorating.

Fosterdog

To be honest in ten years of renting (four different properties) and from friends and family who rent I have yet to find a landlord that does decorating other than a lick of cheap trade white/magnolia over rooms between tenants. I've certainly not come across one that decorates regularly, considering you have only been in the house for four years and have had the discount for that time to allow you to decorate, the whole house could have been done several times over. Does it really need doing again so soon? Most people don't redecorate all that often.

The last house I rented was in an awful state when we moved in and the landlord gave us £80 towards cleaning materials and decorating costs. He didn't have to, could have just said that's the condition he's renting it in take it or leave it. Any further decorating was our own choice.

ACG

Cakeguts wrote: »

Just read what the OP wrote

(and I mean awful - worn out carpets, hadn't been painted in over 10 years, dreadful kitchen and floors, dirty etc etc). However, the landlord said that I could pay a reduced rental of 600 pm if I attended to all the decorating etc.

The key bit there is etc. That could have meant carpets/modernising.

You are right, it could just mean decorating and in the grand scheme of things decorating can be done on the cheap.

If it was agreed to include carpet among other things then that can be quite costy. As none of us were in the meeting it is difficult to say what was actually said. That was the point i was trying to get across with my sarky post.

Crashy_Time

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/22/buy-to-let-slump-first-time-buyers-drivers-seat-lenders-loans-landlords

Cakeguts

Fosterdog wrote: »

To be honest in ten years of renting (four different properties) and from friends and family who rent I have yet to find a landlord that does decorating other than a lick of cheap trade white/magnolia over rooms between tenants. I've certainly not come across one that decorates regularly, considering you have only been in the house for four years and have had the discount for that time to allow you to decorate, the whole house could have been done several times over. Does it really need doing again so soon? Most people don't redecorate all that often.

The last house I rented was in an awful state when we moved in and the landlord gave us £80 towards cleaning materials and decorating costs. He didn't have to, could have just said that's the condition he's renting it in take it or leave it. Any further decorating was our own choice.

There is an extremely good reason for the white/magnolia paint. If you let an unfurnished property you have no idea what colour the tenant's furniture is going to be. So if you paint the walls a nice fashionable terracotta red and the tenant has an orange coloured 3 piece suite it might not look very nice against the wall?

AdrianC

Cakeguts wrote: »

There is an extremely good reason for the white/magnolia paint. If you let an unfurnished property you have no idea what colour the tenant's furniture is going to be. So if you paint the walls a nice fashionable terracotta red and the tenant has an orange coloured 3 piece suite it might not look very nice against the wall?

...and, in a year or three's time, you know you can easily get another tin of the exact same shade without having to try to remember if it was Savanna Sunset 7 or Pottery Floorsweepings 4.

always_sunny

Homeagain wrote: »

I live in a small two bedroom house which is fine for my daughter and I. We have lived here for four years. The interior of the house was in a shocking state when I first looked at it (and I mean awful - worn out carpets, hadn't been painted in over 10 years, dreadful kitchen and floors, dirty etc etc). However, the landlord said that I could pay a reduced rental of 600 pm (which is fair for the area but not an absolute bargain) if I attended to all the decorating etc. We did it and the house, (although still needing attention and re-decorating again), is comfortable. My problem is that a year ago the LL raised the rental by 15.00 which is not much I know. I have just had an email regarding the renewal stating that the LL is raising the rent by a further 20.00. Is this fair bearing in mind that we had an agreement or at least an understanding that the rent would remain low if I attended to the upkeep and decoration of the interior which has cost me a lot of money over the time? Should I point this out to the Agent? I don't earn a great salary and a further 20.00 is hard for me to find which probably sounds ridiculous but is true. Overall, any major problems in the house are attended to immediately so I have no complaints regarding that. I really don't know whether to make a fuss or just 'suck it up'. Any advice would be appreciated. I know of the risks when renting but I will not be able to buy a house now or ever in my lifetime.

Key bits in bold; so your LL in 4 years raised your rent by 4% and you're complaining?
It's going to get way tougher.

Fosterdog

Cakeguts wrote: »

There is an extremely good reason for the white/magnolia paint. If you let an unfurnished property you have no idea what colour the tenant's furniture is going to be. So if you paint the walls a nice fashionable terracotta red and the tenant has an orange coloured 3 piece suite it might not look very nice against the wall?

I get the reason for it and didn't mean it to sound like I thought it was a bad thing, I hate magnolia but I like nice, crisp, fresh, white walls, it is a great blank canvass and will go with anything. I meant it more that some landlords wouldn't do that and would just leave you with the previous tenants "style". It is more common for them to do the whitewash but not every year or two, only between tenants. The fact that OP has had a few years of reduced rent to allow for this not being done to me means they are financially better off, a lick of white paint with all materials for a whole house would be around £50-£100. Cleaning as said some cloths, bleach, degreaser/soap £20 tops. Even carpets, landlords rarely go for good quality and tend to go for the cheap trade stuff in a neutral colour (or hideous brown in the case of my last landlord as it was the cheapest) a whole house could be done for under £500 (my landlord paid under £300 for a large three bed house with fitting but no underlay, only kitchen and bathroom not done with the cheapest vinyl being used there instead)

So broken down OP had three years at £20 reduction and a further year with £5 reduction totalling £780 but could have got the work done to the standard a landlord is likely to do it for £600 leaving them £180 better off. Choosing to go for better quality is a personal choice and shouldn't be included in the calculations.

The new increase may bring the rent inline with other properties with higher standards but the property should by now be up to those standards if the reduction money has been used for what it was intended.

Crashy_Time

always_sunny wrote: »

Key bits in bold; so your LL in 4 years raised your rent by 4% and you're complaining?
It's going to get way tougher.

For the landlord, yes it is.

always_sunny

Crashy_Time wrote: »

For the landlord, yes it is.

you reckon? I think it's more likely going to be the other way around beside locations that were inflated (i.e. London). There was some article a while back; it'll be interesting to see a HUGE drop outside of London (excluding some hot spots) where rents and housing is already cheap.

The national average rent fell to £921 in February, down 0.6% year-on-year
Central London -1.0%
Greater London -4.7%
South-east -2.6%
East of England +3.1%
South-west +1.8%
Wales +5.3%
Scotland +0.7%
North +2.7%
Midlands +2.8%
GB -0.6%
GB (ex London) +0.8%