Joint AST - Change of Tenancy

Hi all,

I have a query about my(tenant) AST. A tenant wishes to leave as part of 1 year break clause in a 24 month AST - another person has already been found and passed all credentials and searches.

There is no rent review clause, nor a explicit point made about fair rent increases within the contract however the landlord wishes to increase the rent by an unspecified amount - and wishes to talk to us about this next week.

As a long term renter of previous properties I’d usually have no problem negotiating a rent increase or accepting a small rise however the problems we faced with the properties in the first year of tenancy have been aplenty: Unclean facilities upon moving in, broken window pane brackets, poor insulation causing dire noise pollution, dire plumbing due to the landlord cutting corners - causing a bathroom to be unusable for nearly 3 months… the list goes on. We have finally got the property in a place which could be classed as habitable after entering 50% into the contract.

My question based on the above is what ground do I have to stand on when it comes to declining the rent increase? And does this affect the other tenants ability to join the property?

Apologies for any waffling or unclear points! I have ADHD so tend to get carried away!

If there is a rent review clause in the tenancy agreement then the landlord must follow it if they want to increase the rent. This cannot be declined by the tenant. If there is no such clause then the landlord can either try to impose one informally, which can be declined or they can serve a section 13 notice, which must be paid or appealed to the First Tier Tribunal.