Rent Levels & IPA

earlofwessex

Hi All,

So I've started working this month for the first time since by BR was approved June 2022. I will need to get in touch with the OR to fill out an income/expenditure review, but I'm also in the process of moving to a new flat in Birmingham city centre.

Most of the prices I'm seeing are a good £150pm+ more expensive than this time 12 or 18 months ago, so alot of the 1 bedroom flats I'm looking at are in the £1000 - £1050 range (2 beds are going for £1200+ but I'm happy living on my own so just looking for 1 beds at the moment). This website seems to think the average Birmingham rent for a 1 bedroom place is £1,046pm (https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/birmingham/current_rents?location=birmingham).

Is anyone able to shed any light on what sort of rent levels would be acceptable to the OR? I'm obviously trying to avoid a situation where the OR decides something like £800 is reasonable and sets an IPA for the balance. How would this even work if you'd signed a tenancy agreement somewhere that you're now liable for?

Would be good to get people's thoughts on this as I need to move somewhere 1st Feb and I'm stressing trying to find somewhere suitable.

Thanks in advance.

fatbelly

Rental prices have shot up everywhere and the OR will be aware of that. Find somewhere and then tell the OR what you're paying.

Remember an IPA is an Income Payment Agreement. If you don't agree, they have to get a court order. In most cases they will negotiate as long as you stay polite and reasonable.

MikeJXE

I'm not in Birmingham but in a small town 25 miles away. Rents have gone up here too and there is more on the market now than at anytime over the last 2 years so I guess renters are staying put

Over the past year or 2 I  have been on Rightmove alerts for new listings of 1 and 2 bed flats, very scares and snapped up quickly, not so now. 

I'm moving down next month to a one bed, same town slightly more expensive than my 2 bed but, I guess this rent will go up in April where the other wont plus, not on the north side, 50% less glass, 2 rooms less, bedroom and separate kitchen, more recently built and better insulated as it's an EPC A rather than B so I'm a winner all round.

My flat has been on the market a week, 1 viewer, not let, a sign of the times.

There is a ceiling for everything were customers will not pay above, eventually everything will have to stabilise.