How much to raise rent?

Kez100

You'd need to find him.

I've known landlords all full of the big 'I am' and then, when faced with a far cleverer tenant, lost two months rent, a trashed home, all fittings and worthwhile inventory and couldn't trace them for love nor money.

Not saying a 10% rise would do that but not being a reasonable landlord could.

neil9313

I am a landlord with a 2 bed house I let out! The same tennant has been in since May 2001, £715 per month. I have never ever put the rent up! She has always paid on time!

Im not even thinking of putting the rent up, i have had no down time with the house and she is getting rewarded for not mucking me about!

She was only staying for 6 - 12 months!

pickles110564

Kez100 wrote: »

You'd need to find him.

I would just wait for pay day down at dole office

Kez100

pickles110564 wrote: »

I would just wait for pay day down at dole office

You're a bit out of date!

Incisor

Innys wrote: »

... your views, if I may.

I am a landlord and am considering how much to raise the rent on my house at renewal in August. If the present tenants choose to stay on, it will be their third year. There was no rent rise last year.

The tenants have always paid their rent on time and I have always fixed appliances promptly when they failed.

As ever, the cost of renting in the immediate area has a big influence on what I should expect to receive. However, with such variability in condition of houses, number of bedrooms, size of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, appliances supplied etc, this is always a bit hit and miss

I have done some research and feel a rent rise of just over 10% will take it to a little under that of similar properties in the area ...

Have your costs gone up? I would reckon that inflation only hits a small part of your costs. Mortgage doesn't count, because that goes up and down, and if it went down, never in a 1000000 years would you cut the rent to a sitting tenant. As for local rents, don't forget that these are asking prices and the negotiating margin might have increased since you let the place out.

I would agree that 10% is too high. 3% sounds OK, but at 4% you will be making your tenants uncomfortable.

Innys

The key mistake I made, as Silvercar has pointed out, is not increasing the rent after year 1.

As someone asked, the original rent was £1,625 and I was thinking about asking for £1,800, but based on the comments here, have suggested £1,750.

If I had increased after year 1 to, say, £1,675, and this year to £1,750, I don't think I would be in this position.

Just to be clear, the rent has been:

Yr 1 - 1,625
Yr 2 - 1,625
Yr 3 - ????

This is for a house in South London with three double bedrooms, one single, a lounge/diner, kitchen, one bathroom and a separate WC. There are four tenants in the house at present.

I have checked and there is currently a house on the same street with two double beds and a single asking for £1,830 a month, though there's now way they'll get it. The bedrooms and kitchen in that house are a lot smaller than than in my house but the house seems to be in better condition. It also doesn't have a separate WC.

Bearing the above in mind, I think a new rent of £1,750 is entirely reasonable.

Yes, a great tenant is worth their weight in gold, but a landlord who deals with problems promptly and doesn't stuff tenants with their deposit is equally as rare (they moved in before the requirement for the TDS).

PasturesNew

Innys wrote: »

This is for a house in South London with three double bedrooms, one single, a lounge/diner, kitchen, one bathroom and a separate WC. There are four tenants in the house at present.

Is this one tenancy/family?
Or this this an HMO?

Tassotti

In the current climate, rents are rising..Most of the repilies have been from tenants saying 'don't put the rent up'...What a surprise!?!

At the end of the day, it's a business, and you can put whatever price you like on your property.

However, one needs to adhere to market prices and then increase to whatever you think necessary...For me, 5% per annum is realistic..

Someone mentioned costs..If you have fixed mortgage, then okay, but what about insurance, and other costs.

Everything increases each year.. Rents are following..Sorry but that is the way it is.

Tass

Incisor

Tassotti wrote: »

If you have fixed mortgage, then okay, but what about insurance, and other costs.

Everything increases each year.. Rents are following..Sorry but that is the way it is.

Yes, I mentioned it. Insurance goes up as insurance goes up, largely with the cost of building, but there will be plenty of spare builders soon. Mortgage goes up and down. RPI goes up as retail prices.

Don't make RPI the excuse for a rise, if the real costs have not risen with RPI, because only a small fraction of the costs to the landlord are actually based on RPI items. And as I said, only put rents up with mortgage if you will take them down when mortgage rates fall.

Innys

PasturesNew wrote: »

Is this one tenancy/family?
Or this this an HMO?

As there are four tenants I understand it does not fall under the terms of the Housing Act 2004, see HMO licensing section in:

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/EnvironmentandTransport/EnvironmentalServices/hmos.htm

While Tass takes the business driven view, I feel that keeping good tenants is as important. Obviously, the key is to arrive at a happy medium.

I feel that as the rent has been static for nearly two years a rise of approx 8%, what I have asked for, is fair. This is particularly so in light of the rents being asked for similar properties.