Rent increase due to hyper-inflation

madstar

Hi

I'm a tenant atm in a flat that has damp issues, water leaking on rare the occasion too - the background is: I got environmental health involved a couple of years back, who did put pressure on the landlord to fix the issue.  They re-pointed the outside and put another layer of felt on the roof.  Nothing has worked and the walls are still excreting this powder, its like a salt one surveyor said, cant recall the name of it.  The brick walls are really bad.  They reduced the rent...... 

Now i just received communication that the current rent is no longer financially viable and they want to increase it another £150.  They want me to sign another 12 month lease. They have of course made justifications for this, saying if the flat had the refurbishments done and they re-let it the rent would be £550, but they are happy to offer me a discount.

They want to know now if the terms are agreeable.  It was a relatively nice and tame text.  But it will be interesting to read the next one after I have ignored them.

There is no contract or lease atm.

What can I expect i wonder.  Any thoughts?

Much appreciate any wisdom!

P

MattMattMattUK

madstar said:

Hi

I'm a tenant atm in a flat that has damp issues, water leaking on rare the occasion too - the background is: I got environmental health involved a couple of years back, who did put pressure on the landlord to fix the issue.  They re-pointed the outside and put another layer of felt on the roof.  Nothing has worked and the walls are still excreting this powder, its like a salt one surveyor said, cant recall the name of it.  The brick walls are really bad.  They reduced the rent...... 

Now i just received communication that the current rent is no longer financially viable and they want to increase it another £150.  They want me to sign another 12 month lease. They have of course made justifications for this, saying if the flat had the refurbishments done and they re-let it the rent would be £550, but they are happy to offer me a discount.

They want to know now if the terms are agreeable.  It was a relatively nice and tame text.  But it will be interesting to read the next one after I have ignored them.

There is no contract or lease atm.

What can I expect i wonder.  Any thoughts?

Much appreciate any wisdom!

P

What has hyper-inflation (that the UK does not face) got to do with anything?

There is a lease, if your current lease term finished it is a rolling tenancy.

The flat has damp issues that are unlikely to be fixed, in that situation I would be looking for somewhere else to live, not looking to sign up for another twelve months.

user1977

I would expect much of the advice provided in your similar thread 3 years ago will still apply:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6278872/new-rental-contract-and-damp-issues

(and again, it’s helpful to highlight to people that you’re in Northern Ireland)

Grumpy_chap

I am not sure where the OP lives that they are suffering hyper-inflation.  Presumably not UK.

Regardless, the issue with rent increases seems to warrant similar advice:
 - What is the current rent being paid?
 - What is the future rent being requested?
 - What is the market rent in the area?

If the rent to be paid for this property with damp and water leaks is at the market rent, then the sensible thing to do would seem to be to move to another property at the market rent but without the issues.

If the rent for this property is below market rent, then assess the value of that saving against living with the issues that the property has.  In terms of change from current to future rent, negotiate with the LL for the most favourable outcome.

_Penny_Dreadful

@madstar, you do have a contract otherwise what are you paying for? In Norn Iron when the fixed term ends and you don’t sign a new fixed term agreement the tenancy becomes periodic. As the tenancy is periodic it should be relatively easy for the landlord to evict you and if letting the property is no longer viable I expect that’s the route the landlord would take. 

In your previous thread about presumably the same property you were given 2 links, one explains how you can be evicted and the other what do about repairs since it appears there is still more work to do be done on the property, it might be a good idea to read them both. 

As for hyperinflation, nowhere in the UK is experiencing hyperinflation. Hungary experienced hyperinflation after WW2 when prices were doubling every 15 hours. In 2007/08 Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation when prices were doubling every 24 hours. The cost of living might be increasing but we’re a long way from hyperinflation. 

jimbog

I would leave. You deserve better

madstar

The economy was driven into the wall during covid, they're printing money out of thin air now, they're looking to bring in a centralized digital currency and they're hiding the true extent of inflation.  We are there and if not, we aren't too far away.  

@user1977 pretty funny to find my post!  That was a few years ago.

Martico

Hyperinflation is generally defined with a starting point of monthly inflation exceeding 50% 

saajan_12

It's not really the size of the increase that matters, so much as the new rent. It may have been super low before, and just catching up, so at least you got those low years. 

The question now is how much is the discount between the new rent and the market average for a property in good condition. Is it worth the issues or is the market rent unaffordable - if yes then stay put. If not then you could try negotiating for an amount that would be worth it, but ultimately the LL doesn't have to agree and you just have to move. 

MattMattMattUK

madstar said:

The economy was driven into the wall during covid,

The economy had the brakes put on, but also had a lot of fuel added as well in the form of SEISS and CJRS.

madstar said:

they're printing money out of thin air now,

If by "they", you mean the BoE, they they have been doing this for decades, it is called Quantitative Easing, they are doing it a lower level than they have for the last decade, or that curing Covid, but yes, it is still happening and will likely continue to happen.

madstar said:

they're looking to bring in a centralized digital currency

Again if by "they" you mean the government or the BoE then they are investigating doing so, but investigating if something is possible and the practicality of doing so is different from actually doing it. Having a separate digital currency vs the currently existing currency would be an expensive and largely pointless exercise, so will be unlikely to happen.

madstar said:

and they're hiding the true extent of inflation.

Who is this "they" that you feel is running all the conspiracies? The ONS collate and publish the data for inflation, but it is also analysed by many independent organisations, researches and media so it would be impossible to hide inflation figures. The inflation figures published are accurate, the issue is that many people do not actually understand inflation, either in general or specific components. 

madstar said:

We are there and if not, we aren't too far away.  

Who is "we" and where is "there"? This all sounds very much like a bunch of conspiracy theories.

Schwarzwald

madstar said:

They want to know now if the terms are agreeable.

just say No to the increase.

but dont mention hyper-inflation, it doesnt help your argument and doesnt look good.