Rent increase - what is reasonable?

Hibiscouscous

I rent a flat to my friend, they have been renting it since August 2023.

Since then I have never increased the rent, however I am about to be made redundant and wondering whether I should consider increasing their rent, in line with inflation.

I want to keep the rate good for them, I do it privately and we are close so there is no estate agent fee, which means I can keep it lower.

Just wondering what kind of percentage rise would be appropriate since summer 23?

theartfullodger

Reduce rent as a prudent considerate landlord. HMRC up to date?

El_Torro

Personally I would be sure to charge them either market rate or a bit below that (given the circumstances). This doesn't necessarily mean a rent increase, depending on what the market rate is and what they are currently paying. Ascertaining what the market rate is can be done by studying Rightmove or asking for a quote from a local letting agent (don't pay for the privilege).

I am a landlord myself and my current tenants who moved in in January are paying less than the previous tenants who were there for 18 months. This is because the market rate has gone down. This doesn't necessarily mean that the market rate has gone down across the whole of the UK, it depends on the location of the property.

Exodi

I think it depends how far you are from the market rate. Without that, no-one can know whether what you charge now or want to charge in the future is reasonable.

You mentioned not using a letting agent - are you meeting all the obligations of being a landlord, e.g. you have a formal tenancy agreement, protected their deposit in an approved scheme, get an annual gas service and provide them the certificate every year, etc? You can find the house of cards comes crashing down fast when one tries to impose a double digit increase to offset a personal issue.

On "what kind of percentage rise would be appropriate since summer 23" - that depends on the type of property and area.

But for a broad brush percentage, scroll near the bottom to the tools with the maps, input the dates and details and you should get some general data-driven answers:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/privaterentandhousepricesuk/february2026

saajan_12

I would look at the going rate for comparable properties in the area and move the rent to a bit below that (assuming you want to give a discount for a friend).

The % increase (or decrease) doesn't matter, as it could have started out super high or super low, or the rentals in your area may not have changed in line with inflation.

Hibiscouscous

Thank you - I got a rental value of around 2k in 2023, and charge them about £500 less than that.

Yes HMRC is up to date.

We are in North West London.

Hibiscouscous

We are actually having her boiler checked and a gas safety certificate done this week!