Hello everyone,
Before the end of my tenancy the landlord’s agent informed us that they were increasing the rent. This was from £1575 to £1700. After some discussion we the landlord’s agent went down to £1680. At this point I requested that one of the sofas be removed as part of the new agreement.
This led to another round of E-mails and a cost of £100, the agents were really bad at replying so by the time my new sofa arrived I still hadn’t got a reply about when they would come to collect. In the end we found a set up that worked with both sofas and cancelled the request for the removal. During that chain of E-mails the agent asked if I was going to sign the new agreement and I replied Yes.
This was in March. I have been waiting for the new agreement to arrive and since it hasn’t I have now paid two months of the old rent (£1575). Two days ago I received the new tenancy agreement and its dated the 24/03/2024.
I am two minds on what to do next. I received the contract via E-mail in a PDF format, it does not have the landlord’s signature and I haven’t signed it yet. Do you think I should request the agreement be made to todays date? Does the landlord have the right to ask me to backpay the increased rent? Any advice would be much appreciated.
No, they dont have the right to ask you to back-pay. I would just cross out the date and write in the current one and also date the signature. You should, however, expect another battle with the agent over this.
If you agreed to the rent increase and got a months notice you should have paid the new rent from the new stipulated date, even if there was no new agreement
A new agreement would not be required to seal the deal when you agreed it in writing and were told when and by how much by.
I would not cross out the date yourself
It is for the agent to change that document not yourself
The new tenancy agreement and the new rent are two separate things. The rent increase can be agreed informally without any need for paperwork. A new tenancy requires a new agreement and signature. It is common practice for agents to provide a new tenancy agreement with a new rental amount annually. This is so they can justify charging the landlord for setting up a new tenancy. Most self managing LLs allow the original tenancy to remain which will become a periodic tenancy (which means it rolls from month to month with no fixed term) when the fixed timeframe ends. This doesn’t affect a LLs ability to raise the rent. The reason self managing LLs prefer not to renew a tenancy is because of the additional admin.
To renew the tenancy, the agent would need to serve again all the safety certs and all the prescribed info relating to the original deposit. This often isn’t worth it for a self managing LL.
I have done some basic training although I am still inexperienced. I would be interested to know how others would interpret the law in this situation.
The law is clear, that there is no obligation on the tenant to pay an increase that is only agreed informally. Once they do start paying it, it is agreed and binding. With regard to the moral case, when the new rent was agreed, the agent asked the tenant if they were willing to sign a new agreement and I think its reasonable for the tenant to assume that this is the point at which the rent would increase. The delay in sending the agreement is down to the agent and they should be the one to explain their tardiness to the landlord, not try to cover their tracks by unlawfully backdating a contract.
They aren’t if you sign a new tenancy agreement with a new rent!
In the absence of any previous agreement from the tenant to pay the higher rent either in writing or by actually paying at the higher level, I’d recommend the tenant to tell the agency that they will only sign a contract that starts on the next period rent is due. The tenant should inform the agency that until such a contract arrives, they’ll continue to pay the old rent. That should hurry them along.