Tenant in Situ / rent increase advice

katiem188

Hello, i’m looking for some advice on behalf of my mother, this may be a long post. 

she currently rents a private rented property, she has been a tenant for over ten years, during this time her rent has only been increased £75, her landlords only bought the property as a investment, but within this time she has made major improvements with permission to the home, its been modernised with new carpets, decor, blinds, flooring etc.. her landlords are needing to sell the property but are selling with a tenant in Situ. Other properties within the same area are on the rental market for £175 -£250 a month more than my mother pays. 

she is in receipt of housing benefit, and disability benefits, an increase in rent just wouldn’t be possible for her, she wouldn’t be able to survive with the amount of money left over, she already has to put money towards her rent as housing benefit doesn’t cover it. 

if the new landlord wants to increase the rent can she refuse and just be issued a s21? i will add below the clause in her rent agreement, can anyone tell me if she can be issued a S13 instead or not in regards to this rent clause? as she would rather be given a section 21 as she really cannot afford a huge rent increase. 

“the landlord may increase the rent at the end of the fixed term (this was 6 months and has now passed) and annually thereafter by serving notice on the tenant in accordance with this clause. The landlord is required to give the tenant one months notice in writing of any rent increase including the amount and starting date. Any rent increase may not take effect during the fixed term or less than twelve months following the date of any previous rent increase.” 

any advice appreciated. thank you. 

anselld

Yes, unfortunately the rent can be increased in line with market rents, either by the current Landlord or by the purchaser.  She can appeal the increase to the first tier tribunal if it appears to be above market rate.  However if she simply refuses to pay then she will become in arrears and may be served section 8 in due course.  Section 21 can potentially be served at any time at least until it is removed by legislation.

It seems odd that she could not afford a market rent if she is on full dissability benefits.  It might be worth checking on the benefits board that everything entitled is being claimed.  Is the property much larger than her needs?

katiem188

anselld said:

Yes, unfortunately the rent can be increased in line with market rents, either by the current Landlord or by the purchaser.  She can appeal the increase to the first tier tribunal if it appears to be above market rate.  However if she simply refuses to pay then she will become in arrears and may be served section 8 in due course.  Section 21 can potentially be served at any time at least until it is removed by legislation.

It seems odd that she could not afford a market rent if she is on full dissability benefits.  It might be worth checking on the benefits board that everything entitled is being claimed.  Is the property much larger than her needs?

thank you for your response. When i had looked online it stated a S13 can’t be issued if there is a rent review clause, i was unsure if the clause above regarding the rent review is what this means or not. 

she is in receipt of esa and pip, i wont go to far into her personal circumstances but with other bills taken into account and personal expenses that are needed it doesn’t leave much with the additional she already has to add towards the current rent.

no it is a standard 2 bedroom house. 

katiem188

anselld said:

Yes, unfortunately the rent can be increased in line with market rents, either by the current Landlord or by the purchaser.  She can appeal the increase to the first tier tribunal if it appears to be above market rate.  However if she simply refuses to pay then she will become in arrears and may be served section 8 in due course.  Section 21 can potentially be served at any time at least until it is removed by legislation.

It seems odd that she could not afford a market rent if she is on full dissability benefits.  It might be worth checking on the benefits board that everything entitled is being claimed.  Is the property much larger than her needs?

there is a lot of conflicting information online regarding this and rental increases with a new landlord etc. I assumed if she refuses to sign a new tenancy and isn’t willing to accept a rental increase a S21 can be issued instead of a S13 in regards to the rent clause in her current tenancy 

saajan_12

katiem188 said:

anselld said:

Yes, unfortunately the rent can be increased in line with market rents, either by the current Landlord or by the purchaser.  She can appeal the increase to the first tier tribunal if it appears to be above market rate.  However if she simply refuses to pay then she will become in arrears and may be served section 8 in due course.  Section 21 can potentially be served at any time at least until it is removed by legislation.

It seems odd that she could not afford a market rent if she is on full dissability benefits.  It might be worth checking on the benefits board that everything entitled is being claimed.  Is the property much larger than her needs?

thank you for your response. When i had looked online it stated a S13 can’t be issued if there is a rent review clause, i was unsure if the clause above regarding the rent review is what this means or not. 
..

Its one or the other - so if there's a rent review clause then the rent can be increased according to that. If there's no clause then the rent can be increased via S13. Either way the rent can still be increased. 

Just from that paragraph, it doesn't really read as a rent review clause to me, as there's no specific amount or formula and its largely general, redundant text. 

Bottom line, whatever you call it, the LL can still issue a notice to increase rent. A s13 would be better for the tenant as at least they can appeal to the tribunal if increase is above market rents (though if its in line with the market then that appeal will likely be unsuccessful). 

FlorayG

I'm curious as to why she would prefer a S21? That is notice to quit; does she have somewhere else to go?

anselld

katiem188 said:

anselld said:

Yes, unfortunately the rent can be increased in line with market rents, either by the current Landlord or by the purchaser.  She can appeal the increase to the first tier tribunal if it appears to be above market rate.  However if she simply refuses to pay then she will become in arrears and may be served section 8 in due course.  Section 21 can potentially be served at any time at least until it is removed by legislation.

It seems odd that she could not afford a market rent if she is on full dissability benefits.  It might be worth checking on the benefits board that everything entitled is being claimed.  Is the property much larger than her needs?

there is a lot of conflicting information online regarding this and rental increases with a new landlord etc. I assumed if she refuses to sign a new tenancy and isn’t willing to accept a rental increase a S21 can be issued instead of a S13 in regards to the rent clause in her current tenancy 

The new Landlord is irrelevant.  A new tenancy is not required as the purchaser inherits the existing tenancy agreement as it stands.  Either the existing or the new Landlord can increase the rent or issue a s21 if they wish.

Murphybear

Is your mother of retirement age?  The rules for the financial side of renting are slightly different if she is.  If she is on housing benefit then she should tell the council about the rise.  She may find they will increase the HB.