Rejecting a rental increase?

wksd

Hi, posting on behalf of my brother.

He currently privately rents, he has just received a letter saying that his rent will increase from £630 to £700. He simply cannot afford this. I don't know if this is a section 13 notice as it does not say. The letter was sent end of November for rental increase to take place from end of January. It says that he has two options, to accept or reject. On the rejection it states 'I do not agree to the new monthly rent of £700 and I will not continue my month to month tenancy and will vacate by 22 January 2021 according to the terms of the original rental agreement'.
Brother has not currently got the original agreement, but I assume from the way this is worded that it is a rolling month to month contract.

I am aware he can write to the landlord, explain his situation and then see if he rejects or accepts. But my brother doesn't want to increase by such a significant amount, especially considering his affordability, because no maintenance has been carried out.

So what are his options? And if he were to reject but refuse to move out, so a section 21 would have to be issued (is that correct?) can he be forced to move out in COVID?

Thanks

greatcrested

You do need to establish the facts:

* is it a Section 13 Notice?

* is it a periodic (rolling) tenancy?

* if periodic, is it contractual or statutory?

* if contractual, what exactly does the original contract say about rent increases?

The other relevant question relates to his relationship wth the LL - is it friendly? Is the LL approachable? Might the LL be willig to compromise eg £660 pm?

Now read

Post 5: Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

Regardig maintenance, has he written to the LL with a list of repairs needed? If not, do so (but not till after the rent issue is resolved....!)

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

theartfullodger

What greatcrested says

AdrianC

Sounds very unenforceable to me.

He's being handed a totally non-s13-compliant rent increase and being told that if he doesn't agree with it, he has to effectively submit his own notice? Nope. The landlord cannot request that. The landlord can only issue notice - which has to be six months currently.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/rents/market_rents/section_13_rent_increases

Yes, he can be "forced" to move out following an s21. But only (legally) by a court. And, at the current speeds of things, six months s21 plus the queue for the possession hearing is going to be well into 2022. Assuming the s21 was valid. Which, on the basis of this, is unlikely.

Maintenance is totally unrelated - but, taken together with this joke paperwork, is a clue that moving may well be his best bet. You can bet this joke landlord will not worry about legal niceties, and his continued occupation will be fraught. Is that "letting the landlord win"? Yes, probably. But pyrrhic victories are not my style.

Robbo66

If you do not accept the proposed new rent, and do not wish to discuss it with your landlord, you can refer increase notice to the rent tribunal. You must do this before the starting date of the proposed new rent, You should notify your landlord that you are doing so, otherwise he or she may assume that you have agreed to pay the proposed new rent.

To refer the notice to the tribunal, you must use the form Application referring a notice proposing a new rent under an Assured Periodic Tenancy or Agricultural Occupancy to a Tribunal (form 6). You can obtain this from the tribunal or a legal stationer.

The tribunal will consider your application and decide what the maximum rent for your home should be. In setting a rent, the tribunal must decide what rent the landlord could reasonably expect for the property if it were let on the open market under a new tenancy on the same terms. The tribunal may therefore set a rent that is higher, lower or the same as the proposed new rent.

Of course this does assume you are on a statutory periodic and not a contractual one, if its a contractual periodic then the rent increase has already been agreed and you should refer back to the original tenancy agreement.

theartfullodger

Robbo66 said:

If you do not accept the proposed new rent, and do not wish to discuss it with your landlord, you can refer increase notice to the rent tribunal. You must do this before the starting date of the proposed new rent, You should notify your landlord that you are doing so, otherwise he or she may assume that you have agreed to pay the proposed new rent.......

Only if letter was a valid s13 notice (sounds unlikely, but do tell us, please..).

If it's not a valid s13 letter simply ignore it, no reply.

greatcrested

To clarify the posts above

* referral to the tribunal only applies if a valid S13 was used. We don't know hence my earlier questions

* if it was not a S13, the rent increase may still be valid and enforceable if it was contractually agreed at the start of the tenancy. We don't know hence my earlier questions.

wksd

greatcrested said:

To clarify the posts above

* referral to the tribunal only applies if a valid S13 was used. We don't know hence my earlier questions

* if it was not a S13, the rent increase may still be valid and enforceable if it was contractually agreed at the start of the tenancy. We don't know hence my earlier questions.

Thanks for your useful advice. My brother is disabled so I am attempting to help him with this. 
How can you tell it's a legitimate section 13 notice? Nothing says 'section 13' the letter goes:
"Dear Mr X
Property: xxxx
This Notice is to inform you that beginning on 22 January 2021, the monthly rent for the above property that you currently occupy will be increased to £7000 per calendar month. This rental payment is due on or before the 22 day of each month.
If you wish to continue your tenancy, the new monthly rental payment of £700 is required. Please be advised that all other terms of your original rental agreement remain in effect"
Then it says about sign here if you agree or sign here if you don't agree and will vacate by 22 January 2021.

wksd

700* not 7000!

anselld

Does it look like this ? ...
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/471846/Form_4_-_Eng.docx
... if not, it isn't a valid s13.

wksd

I have the tenancy agreement, from 22 May 2017. The original tenancy is said to be 12 months, I don't think my brother signed anything after this so it is probably now a rolling contract?
The contract states 'in the event at the end of the stated term the tenancy is extended for a further period, the landlord will be at liberty to consider an increase in rent to reflect a fare (sic) amount of increases in the cost of all the services he is providing and the general inflationary increases. However, there will be an upper ceiling of 7.5%'

The tenancy also states that 'with the agreement of both the tenant and the landlord the tenancy may be brought to an end at any time, by one month's notice' and it also states that it becomes a rolling contract.