If youve been a landlord for 30 years then you are unlikely to have a huge mortgage to cover. Increase a little and see. She may choose to leave and you dont have to evict. Why not have a chat with her or is that too personal. Ive had ppl live in my properties for 5 years without a rent increase, it covers my costs and a bit more, im happy with that as they were amazing. Other have left and ive upped the rent to market for those new ppl. I always tell my tenants im unlikely to up their rent during their whole stay unless there are very exceptional circumstances which there havent been yet. Pls dont be greedy as it cd bite you in the bum with the tenant unable to pay and causing you huge stresses and costs.
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I am definitely not being greedy but when you have houses in same road going for £1200 plus and tenant is paying £935 I’ve offered to meet in the middle @1035ish which I think is fair ,I also am concerned about the future with this tenant as well so that’s in the back of my mind and the tenant hasn’t had a increase in 2. 1/2 years!
why are you concerned with the future of this tenant. have you offered her this already? what has she said? do you need the money to cover the costs for this property? It does sound like greedy landlord syndrome to me. And i am always on the side of landlords over tenants! I’m a good landlord, my tenants have even in the past offered to pay more!!! Tenants this isde of covid are a nightmare tho, so beware, they are incredibly demanding, especially knowing they are paying more. Even i have had it with them!!
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Rebecca3. I think your reply is presuming that renting property is a hobby, rather than a business. To leave your rent at ‘covers my costs & a bit more’, is not sustainable for a Landlord who is relying on the rent income to fund their life. They may be running their rental portfolio as an important source of income. ‘A Bit more’ doesn’t put the food on the table.
If a landlord leaves rent unchanged for years as you suggest, then their ‘real’ income is constantly reducing with rising inflation. The Landlords own living costs are likely increasing along with everyone else’s, and in the same way many employed people would want their income to rise to offset this, it is not unreasonable for a Landlord to aim to increase their rent.
An increase over the ‘rising costs of living’ would be a different consideration to a ‘cost of living’ increase. That said, if a ‘business owner’ can now sell his goods for more money due to the balance of Supply & Demand, is it that wrong for him to do so?
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i do this and its my income to fund my life. it works. better good tenants longer than the crap thats out there. the risk at the moment is too great to do ppl over for the supposed sake of a few quid. It may not be wrong bt if you dont make other ppl’s lives easier ti will come back to bite you on the bum! 
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I have a handful of properties, I know I charge below market rent, but.
1/ My tenants rarely leave
2/ I put a lot of time and effort to get the right tenant.
3/ They look after the property.
4/ I dont get void periods, so probally get as much as someone charging a higher rent, who then gets lots of changes
5/ I make a good living from them and cannot understand landlords that want to rack up rents at such a bad time.
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Yes everyone increases their prices and asks for more so it goes around and around with ever increasing prices and stress for everyone. Thank god for decent landlords like Rebecca 3, Leslie 1 and Colin with common sense and a sense of responsibility.
Landlords who are racking up their rents to stay in line with other properties are just adding to inflation, if you have a decent tenant, value them, only put the rental up if you really do need to.
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It seems on here that most think I am a greedy landlord which I can tell you I am not, if I was a greedy landlord why had the tenant paid £265 below market rent for over 2 years .
Yes I could keep at the same rate but as above I run a business and costs have gone up a lot ,
I said I would be happy with 1050-1100 still a big saving for the tenant.
Anyway I have decided to give the tenant notice as I am putting it up for sale,
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I like the last comment you said if you have decent tenants , in my post I never made comments about the tenant ! Well I can tell you I get more hassle from her than all the others put together,
There’s is always two sides to a story especially with a tenant.
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I think the comments about greed may have arisen because of how your second post was rather unfortunately worded.
But as you said no one knows your situation which of course is true and landlords costs have risen too.
For what it’s worth meeting in the middle between the two numbers seemed a fair compromise and if the tenant is recieving any Housing Benefit, that possibly would have increased if the rent you were charging was below LA allowance.
There’s also a discretionary housing benefit payment she may also have been able to claim to make up the shortfall.
But good luck with getting it sold.
Mrs T.
I keep all mine about £100 below M V especially the shops Tenants of many years I make enough . love it
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What if it was £265 below mv ? £100 below i think is fair but £265 thats over 3k on the year!
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2 of my shops are in a row where either side of them the Landlord charges £200 a month more. .He had one vacant.for 2 years The other one has changed tenants after two years . both my tenants have been there for 12 years. I am a firm believer that the tenant of a business has to make money, not give it all to the landlord. This probably stems from the fact that 50 years ago I rented a shop selling toys, hardware, fancy goods, garden gear etc made a lot of money , then bought the shop and rented it out to the same person for 22 years Made even more money. That started me out buying property outright and renting out. Works for me
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One aspect not raised is the enormous wear and tear caused during lockdown and continuing WFH. Quality Taps now showing marks.
I think you are correct to raise the rent particularly your experiencing her being more work than others which in my view equals stress and uncertainty. How well does the tenant look after and care for the property would come into my equation.
3 additional considerations:
- you let the place to someone who only just could afford it. I think that implies a moral obligation as they have with difficulty honoured.
- Your timing is badcas a tenant like this is in a perfect storm
- Sit tight. With COL rising as it is the tenant will need to downsize to meet other bills
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to charge market value. Landlords that own property out right have far more freedom with what they can charge. Those with mortgages are impacted for obvious causes.
Key is to stay on top of rent increases rather than do nothing for years and then a knee jerk huge increase.
Personally I would struggle to force a good tenant out but sometimes I imagine that needs must. You can’t always assume it’s greed.
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There are legal limits you may increase the rent by. Sounds like as the rent is below market average in the area, that you are a decent person. The estate agent is a vampire who is not looking out for you, rather their wallet via the commissions they take.
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Hi
When the tenant moved in rent was approx £100 below market rate , and she in a decent job and passed all the income criteria.
I later found out from a previous landlord that when he gave her notice she threatened to go to a famous Bristol bridge .
Out of all my tenants she is the hardest work and I’ve got tenants in some properties for 10years ,
I am definitely not being greedy and I’ve had enough.
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I don’t agree with you about the letting agent who I have known for years and is very fair .
If he wanted commission he would be trying it on with my other properties!
I also be looking around and his figure is on the low end for 2beds
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Lot of practical responses here, but as for the mechanics of increasing the rent, If your tenancy agreement mentions anything about increasing the rent, you’d have to follow that, and if it doesn’t specify any % or amount, you decide the figure. # BUT #
If there is mention of increasing the rent in Tenancy agreement, YOU DON’T use Form 4 ( this is explained on Gyuidance Note 9 of the Form 4 itself.
You just inform your tenant in a recordable manner.
They have 2 choices, 1) Give you a months notice and leave, so don’t pay it, or 2) stay and Pay.
(3rd party referral / service removed) give Free Advice.