Excessive Rent increase and Rental monopolization

budgester777

Hi All,

        I currently rent a 2 bed apartment in a town about 9 miles from coventry, which i have lived in nearly 5 years now after my Divorce left me homeless, im currently 52yrs old, my rent has risen fairly incrementally each year making my current rental £575 pcm, during the pandemic last year rents were not increased, however 2 days ago i recieved a new contract to sign acknowledging the rent was to be increased to £650pcm,  an additional £75 pcm this is around a 13% increase. i felt this rise was quite excessive and did not correspond with the ONS figures for the area which reported a 1.7% to 2.7% rise in rents in the area which i live.
       
       I did some research and looked at comparable rents in my area to see if this was a fair increase, however all the rents i found were rentals from the same company which im currently a tenant, not only do they monopolize the market they in a sense control the rental prices, they own most of the shops, flats and houses in my town with a small number being let by another letting agent whose prices are a little lower in terms of the bigger properties they are letting.

      Really i would like to know what my rights are, i have emailed my landlord and expressed my concern with the rise, i accept things go up, and have proposed an incremental plan over the next 2 years at a £25 pcm rise in line with inflation with a target to reach the £650 pcm price they are asking by January 2024, the apartment which i live in has not been improved in any way since i moved in with myself being only one of a few who work, as many other tenants are unemployed. Ive never missed a payment and have been a loyal tenant and have taken good care of the apartment.

      I understand i do not have to accept the rise and i can contest it, aslong as i do not sign or pay anymore i still have the right or the option to negotiate, however if the landlord does not accept my proposal what are my rights in contesting this rise moving forward ?

      My concern is not only for me but for everyone who rents, the goverment must do something to help renters, maybe put a cap in place whether this cap works in line with council tax bands or council rents, currently a 2 bed apartment to rent from the council is around £360 pcm which is about 45% less than the amount i pay, is there a legal percentage that private rent can rise above council rents in the same area or is there no levy ?

    Because without a cap or levy when do rental rises stop ?, wages are not going up with inflation, fuel bills are going up beyond inflation, NI contributions going up, food bills etc the list goes on, because those of us whose marriages fail, or the young, or those on minimum wage or those for whom renting is the only option when rents exceed a livable wage what options and rights do we have as tenants to stop landlords whether honest or corrupt from putting rents up far beyond inflation and far beyond that which individuals on low wages can afford, because in effect all that is happening is the tax payer will being paying the rent of millions of people each year and for those not eligable for help they face the prospect of eviction and homelessness :-(

  Please help me in understanding how we can fight this and how we can lobby parliment to get something done to help the exploitation of future tenants.

Thanks Andy.

AFF8879

You may want to post here as a start…

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6310951/good-or-bad-experiences-of-renting-we-want-to-hear-from-you#latest

theartfullodger

Unless rent increase was advised by a section 13 (or you started paying) then you don;t have to pay.  There is nothing to prevent you proposing a different increase (or indeed a decrease: Fun to propose that..).

Even if advised by a section 13 notice you have the right to appeal to tribunal (details of how on notice).

Good luck, hope things work out.

Artful: Landlord since 2000.

PS 'sfunny how so many landlords did not drop rents when interest rents went done: Went down several times, meaning (most) mortgages got cheaper - sometimes a lot cheaper.

Robbo66

theartfullodger said:

Unless rent increase was advised by a section 13 (or you started paying) then you don;t have to pay.  There is nothing to prevent you proposing a different increase (or indeed a decrease: Fun to propose that..).

Even if advised by a section 13 notice you have the right to appeal to tribunal (details of how on notice).

Good luck, hope things work out.

Artful: Landlord since 2000.

PS 'sfunny how so many landlords did not drop rents when interest rents went done: Went down several times, meaning (most) mortgages got cheaper - sometimes a lot cheaper.

All depends on what is stated in the AST, if annual rent increases are noted then a Section 13 is not required if silent on the matter then yes should be served

princeofpounds

There's a whole lot to unpack here.

The first thing is that a lot of what you say doesn't really matter to your individual circumstances. Maybe the ONS figures are right at a statistical aggregate, but the rent on this property is set by a freely-agreed contract between you and the landlord.

Then whether the percentage increase is 'fair' or not - for starters that totally depends on what monthly rent figure it produces, and how that figure compares to alternative sources of accommodation.

As for the 'monopolisation' - the letting agent is representing dozens, maybe hundreds, of landlords. They don't control the pricing on these properties.

Council rents are not a good comparison to anything in the open market. Council tenants have had a soft ride for decades and everyone knows it. That's why so many lower income people desperately want council accommodation, in most areas. 

Rent caps are utterly infantile economics (as are most price controls, to be frank). They have been tried over and over again across the world and created poor outcomes in every case. Maybe one day societies will be mature enough to actually accept reality, but each new generation of politicians seems to forget the lessons of the past.

This podcast provides some of the background to this: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/rent-control/  

If you want something to become sustainably cheaper, you increase supply. Something that the UK has been reluctant to do ever since the Town & Country Planning Act was introduced to increase state controls over development.

As Artful says, nothing matters in legal terms until you get a Section 13 notice of increasing rent, or a Section 21 that seeks to end your tenancy. I would encourage you to push back and show examples of where alternative accommodation is cheaper. Ultimately you have the right to go somewhere else and not pay the rent they are asking.

There is a government procedure to challenge a Section 13 rent increase. But it's not worth doing unless comparabale properties really are cheaper - that's the basis on which they are evaluated. The link below explains it.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/during-your-tenancy/challenging-a-rent-increase/

budgester777

theartfullodger said:

Unless rent increase was advised by a section 13 (or you started paying) then you don;t have to pay.  There is nothing to prevent you proposing a different increase (or indeed a decrease: Fun to propose that..).

Even if advised by a section 13 notice you have the right to appeal to tribunal (details of how on notice).

Good luck, hope things work out.

Artful: Landlord since 2000.

PS 'sfunny how so many landlords did not drop rents when interest rents went done: Went down several times, meaning (most) mortgages got cheaper - sometimes a lot cheaper.

    I will re-read the contract again as ive never been given a section 13, ive only ever had a typed up contract advising me of the rent increase and the rules around living conditions etc. thanks for the reply

budgester777

I have never been issued a section 13, only renewing tenancy agreements with no mention of annual rent increases in any documentation I've ever had or signed 

canaldumidi

A S13 is not required where you sign a new agreement at a new rent. You can agree to sign, negoiate a lower increase and then sign, or not sign and move to a periodic tenancy.

On a periodic tenancy, a S13 notice is required unless the pervious agreement you signed made reference to rent increases. For more, read

Post 4: Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

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