No, it’s not extortionate. It just shows different kinds of tenants with their attitudes. This particular T didn’t like that I didn’t join them in bashing their LL and sent me a private message, saying that I’m a real piece…, and everything I say, infuriates her. She knew that message like this on public forum would be reported, so she went private. I suspect, I wasn’t the only one with this priviledge I can only imagine how she treats her LL - again, in private.
It’s a reminder to all of us not to make emphasis on “personal relationship” but be a professional provider of goods and services. Everything else will be wasted.
dreamrealiser22 I am a landlord and I do understand that for many tenants life is a battle for financial survival. So I am sympathetic to your situation and I know that an extra £100 a month is a lot to many people.
But your situation is not going to be improved unless you find a way to put emotions to one side and work your way through the procedures that EmanNeercs has taken the trouble to explain. Tenants in your position are protected by the law and what you must do now is read the documents which have been shown to you and follow the procedures which they set out. Everything else is wasted time and energy.
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i never open private messages that do appear on this forum . I am just not curious to know what they think of me
Good idea. I just tweaked the settings, so nobody can send me pm ))) If you can’t say it in public, don’t say it at all.
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i would jump at it as it is becoming more and more difficult to find suitable accommodation. £100 is nothing at the moment.
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Wow you’re griping about £100 rise get real landlord costs have also risen. No one is forcing you to pay the increase. And I would not have a tenant trying to knock me down on the rent.
If you’re not happy with the increase you’re free to give notice and find something cheaper because there’s plenty of people more than ready to jump into the property when you leave.
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Food inflation is what, 20/30 percent, how much has your electricity gone up by, if the. landlord has a mortgage that renews any time soon it may increas by THREE HUNDRED PERCENT, now does that proposed increase seem more readonable?
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The description of S21as a ‘n fault eviction proces’ is deliberate political obfuscation, ALL it really is is an early notice to the tenant that their contractual (as opposed to housing) tenancy is coming to an end and that remaining in the property thereafter without agreement in effect constitutes a breach of tenancy, can you imagine any other contractual relationship where breaches of contract are so widely condoned, practised, and protected?
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Thats not really the case though. A periodic tenancy arises by statute after a fixed term tenancy expires, so it cant really be a breach of contract.
There is a simple solution, since tenants are at liberty to up and leave at any time.
I suggest you look at the current market situation and assess your position in regard to this proposed rent. If it is excessive then you should move, but if it is in line with current market rents or below then you would be shooting yourself in the foot considering the inconvenience of searching and moving.
Of course, you are at liberty to negotiate with your landlord, but be forewarned and forearmed with the necessary information on current rent levels and availability of suitable accommodation in your area.
I sympathies with your predicament but it’s a situation you’re going to have to come to terms with, cope, down grade, move back in with your family or seek assistance from the housing department.
Check with the Housing Associations also as they tend to be slightly cheaper considering their non-profit status.
I doubt your landlord is profiteering but simply trying to stay on top of his/hers expenses it is, after all, a business not a charity, although sometimes I wonder considering the governments’ attitude towards the PRS.
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It’s not only mortgage interest that has increased. I was recently forced to change letting agents when my business was, without my knowledge, consent or any notice, sold onto a new agent who charges VAT, there’s an automatic 20% uplift on my agent fees, plus I’ve noticed that tradesmen are charging at least double the rates since Covid, as well as mortgage interest charges increasing over 100% in the last 12 months. Not to mention capital depreciation with values plummeting which is not helped by the government loading the PRS with specifically targeted and excessive stamp duty.
Furthermore, property letting is considered an investment, not a business, so we were excluded from any government grants unlike other businesses in the Covid period or since in the economic difficulties.
Yet the government persist in interfering with our business, correction, running of our property investments as if it were, not very fair or democratic IMHO. I can think of no other “investment” that the government insist on controlling, other than those with tax incentives, e.g. ISAs.
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I believe that, regardless of any increases in spending, LL can and should charge market price for their product. It’s just a business sense. Most LL, though, are really charitable and keep rent increase below market value, us including. But I noticed that TT don’t appreciate it and decry any modest increase as unfair or even “extortionate”. We decided that every charitable act will only happen to deserving TT, not everybody.
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There’s always room for variation if say the landlord wants to mitigate void periods, saving on C. TAX charges etc. by undercutting the market rates.
What is unfair though is if the landlord does not regularly review / assess their rent levels then after 2/3 or even more years decides to uplift the rent to market levels wherein the tenant is possibly presented with a very large increase in one go, instead of steadily increasing annual increments.
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Excuse Me… if you are from Shelter or a similar organisation please stay off this site.
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Extortion ? and how do we whine to now that our monthly payments have gone up 100%? I think your woes are directed at the wrong people here… we are all landlords… selling at never before seen levels. When all these tenants maligning us are living on the streets or begging to move back in with Mum and Dad then who is to blame. I can assure you it’s not landlords… and a reminder - we are not charities as the Government and Shelter and most parties assume we are.
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It’s ridiculous how quick common sense leaves the discussion and somehow tribunals and solicitors are the answer to everything.
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Talk to your landlord . Many landlords are sympathetic to good tenants and will do their best to help.
But be aware that posting on a public forum before any private discussions that their proposed increase is “extortionate” could be libellous and is unlikely to gain their sympathy.
Depending on where you live and what your previous rent was 11% may not be “extortionate”
IN October 2022 - inflation was 11.2% - so depending on when your landlord takes as his base for calculations you may be paying LESS than the rate of inflation - ie the landlord is reducing your rent in real terms.
But inflation isn’t the only consideration. Landlords also consider the folowing when setting rents
- Mortgage rate
- Increased maintenance costs due to proposed changes in EPC minimum to rent - if landlords can’t pay for this they won’t be allowed to rent anymore and you will lose your home - so many landlords are raising rents to avoid thisl@
- New licencing schemes are costing landlords an extra thousand pound or so they have to pay to your local council to be allowed to rent - they are including this in their costs when the calculate rent.
- Landlords need to make a living - for them it their job - it takes a lot of hours and changes in stamp duty, mortgage rates, borrowing costs for improvements to match EPC. Many now face making a LOSS if they don’t increase rents - IN addition the proposed abolition of section 23 evictions is scaring many - we all have some rogue tenants who stop paying rent or damage property from time to time - and they can cost us thousands of pounds if we can’t evict them quickly. No sensible landlord wants to evict a good reliable tenant - but sadly government has made it much harder to evict the cheating and non-paying tenants. And that forces rents up - as we need to have funds to cover the fact that a landlord may have £5-10,000 evicting a bad tenant. Ufortutately than adds to our cost and YOUR rent!
All this makes me really sad - I became a landlord because I wanted to invest my money in a way that helped people. I’d previously given many volunteer hours to working with a housing association providing homes in a disadvantaged area . Putting a roof over peoples heads head seemed much more ethical than buying stocks and shares in a carbon mining company, or eve in a bank account that is invested who knows where… Once upon a time I was homeless and skint myself after a marriage breakup after selling a house in negative equity! By working every hour of the day improving[quote=“dreamrealiser22, post:1, topic:51453, full:true”]
My landlord has proposed an 11% rent increase from £900 to £1000 should I choose to renew in September.
I completely understand the need to increase rent in line with inflation, but I feel an 11% rise is unfair considering my good tenant record over the past 3+ years. I have always paid on time and rarely raised any maintenance issues.
With this in mind, I am going to see if he will meet me in the middle and counter propose at £950.
Is there a maximum percentage that landlords can increase rent by, or does it depend on the area and rental demand?
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property (including evening and the usual sleeping hours) I managed to become a landlord! I have always tried to be sympathetic to my tenants but need to earn living too !
I hope you have a good landlord who will chat with you and be sympathetic - but bear in mind they may not have much wriggle room, And if they are a bit harsher than me and are struggling to make ends meet may issue you a section 23 notice to vacate the property. Lots of landlords are selling right now as they can’t make ends meet without big rent increases. You can help by voting against the government and their massive increase of taxes and fees on landlords that are being passed on in rent increases !
Just yesterday we talked to one estate agent who confirmed that many landlords are selling up. That means that we’ll see more of the posts complaining about “unfair” rent increase. I really dispair seeing how short-sighted TT are. Much good their complaining about LL will do them.
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As others have said, £100 increase is not extortionate, but if it’s going to cause you financial strain, talk to your landlord. Be honest with them and upfront about your situation. Tell them that £100 will make life really difficult for you.
If I was having to increase a tenants rent, I’d welcome the opportunity to explain the reason for the increase and have that two way conversation with a tenant and I’d do my best to help (I appreciate not all landlords are the same), but I’d rather keep a good tenant.
The issue is, long gone are the days when a rental property will sit empty for a few months, so if you were to move out, the landlord would likely have new tenants within days.
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