Hello, how do I go about doing a rent increase. I have rented for over 2 years and feel I need to ask for a rent increase of 25 pounds a month, the tenant is on a rolling month by month contract after their tenacy ended and they just wanted it rolling. Do I just send an email giving them 1 months notice of the rent increase or should I give 2 months notice of this. Is an email enough or do I need to do something more official? thanks
If your AST mentions how often and by how much the rent can be increased each year you have to stick to this and have to give a clear months notice.
If there is no mention of his you need to fill out a Section 13 form available on Gov.uk website.
At least one months notice needed and they do have the option of appealing this with a Tribunal. They would need to provide evidence it was not in line with market rents for the area.
Do you need to serve a section 13 on a contractual periodic? I thought it only applied to statutory periodic
Unless there is a rent review clause, from how I understand it, (although I could be wrong) you serve a Section 13 on Form 4 for all periodic tenancies.
You can mutually agree on an increase with your tenants and both sign to this effect without the need for a Form 4.
The months notice (or the start date) has to coincide with the rent date.
Open Rent have produced an information sheet. Somewhere!
It does not appear to me ruin in AST. ThanksI will look at the gov website for this section 13.
Hi Debbie, please start by trying to agree with your tenants on an increase rather than doing it formally. Why not kick things off with a request to increase it by £50, then allow the tenants to shake you down to £25? Let us know how you get on.
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Thank you.
‘‘Section 13 cannot be used in cases where a rent review clause is included in a contractual periodic tenancy’’.
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Hi.
I did say about the rent review clause in both posts and Deborah said there was not a rent review clause in her AST so therefore the Section 13/Form 4 would apply?
If you have a good relationship with the tenants might be worth mentioning to them first as receiving an official form without warning can sometimes get people’s backs up.
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I agree with the suggestion to write to them informally about the increase first. If they start paying it then it becomes the new rent and they are bound by it, so you then don’t need the s13 notice.
Thanks everyone, I am going to email the tenant first. I will let you know how it goes. thanks for your help.
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Do you not think it is taking the mick slightly, asking for a rent increase at this point in time?
Or are you thinking that the bottom is going to fall out of the rental market soon, like us tenants are hoping it will?
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There are not enough rentals available thruout the country., so I think my bottom is safe
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Just spent £4k on a rewire ( 25% more than before Brexit and the pandemic) in advance of upcoming legislation.
The labour cost was the same. Materials have increased. Timber has increased 100% in the last twelve months.
Council tax will go up 5% in April ( the government have authorised this).
Food costs have increased since Brexit ( in some cases more than 10%).
Utilities are rising in April to pre pandemic levels.
If you have a money tree in your back garden then it is taking the proverbial. Otherwise how
do you recover costs if this is your primary and only income source?
Some landlords are only landlords and don’t have any other source of income.
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Mr T is WRONG about How to Increase rent.
The first part of what he says, - you must follow what’s in tenancy agreement is correct, BUT if there is something in the tenancy agreement mentioning a rent increase, - You Do NOT Use Form 13 - if you look at Guidance Note 9 on the rear of the form, it tells you this. The reason is that if there is anything on the tenancy agreement about increasing rent, the First Tier tribunal have No juristiction to hear a claim. Tenant has a months notice to Leave or pay increased rent. see Rowen v Contour Homes Ltd 2007
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The rent increase was agreed by my tenant. I went the informal polite friendly email route. I only asked for what I wanted and explained it has been over 2.5 years they lived there and that I hoped they would stay. I offered a new tenancy or for them to keep on the rolling tenancy. They did not reply for a week but then sent me a simple email back saying they agreed to it and would amend their standing order. The apartment even with the increase is lower than anything they would get of a similar standard so I felt justified asking. Thank you for all your advice.
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I said, if there is no mention of anything in the AST about how often/how much etc. increases in rent are allowed, then you are able to use Section 13/Form 4.
Is this wrong then?
Sorry Mr T, I read your post as suggesting the opposite.
Just a comment about Mr Shamplina’s article, you can serve a Sec 13 ’ during the fixed term,’ as long as the date of the rent increase doesn’t start until the expiration of the fixed Term.
To answer another query somebody put. If Tenant has been served a form 4 ( Sec 13 Notice ) it does not matter whether they disagree with it or tell you that.
The tenant must Appeal to the First tier tribunal within the time allowed. Thereafter, they have no right or late appeal ( unless the tribunal granted such leave to late appeal )
Another point from Mr Shampliina’s article, for a Form 4 Sec 13, - yes the rent increase has to be reasonable, as it could be so determined by a Tribunal.
If the Tenancy agreement just states the landlord can increase the rent, there is no legislature on what the increase should be ( i.e - it being ‘reasonable’ ) as there is no right of Appeal - challenge by tenant.
Tenant’s choice is to immediately give a months Notice to terminate their tenancy, or stay and pay the increase which becomes lawfully due.
I’m not aware of a Possession claim case for rent arrears based on an alleged 'unreasonable element of a rent increase - but I refer to the Rowen case I mentioned.
For Specialist advice, see (3rd party referral / service removed)
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Could you post the link you are referring to in Mr Shamplina’s article please
It’s on Mr T’s comment thread