We had the same tenant for 2.5 years. The tenancy changed because one of them moved out. He has paid in full throughout covid so I haven’t increased the rent when it changed.
Now the second guy is moving out and the original one is staying with another friend. I now would like to increase the rent by £25 a month because I feel the price is below market value and also because my service charge increased along with everything else.
There has been quite a bit of wear and tear and we have never charged them anything extra when things broke or were damaged, so I feel that as landlords we have been very accommodating too.
What would you do? Keep the good tenant? I feel like this is not a huge increase and it is a compromise for both sides.
How much more do you think you would get if you rented it to another tenant?
Example: flat is now rented for £1000 pcm. You want to increase it with £50 (2% per year). The tenant refuses and moves out.
If you can’t get a tenant in for two weeks you’ve lost your whole year’s rent increase, not counting refurbishment costs, council tax when empty and fees for referencing/agency.
If your flat is empty for one month you’ve lost two years rent increase etc.
Making a good tenant pay, for instance, £25 more a month is not worth it if causes him to move out. It’s not the ten quid or so that makes you lose money: it’s void periods and a potentially bad tenant. If you get a tenant in who stops paying after a month you will kick yourself.
I would not bother raising rent unless I’m unhappy with them.
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I have raised rents this year and all of my tenants have understood and stayed.
I have just advertised and rented three properties above the estate agent band and rented them
If your properties are above market average I think people will pay. If one has to stay at home one wants a nice home.
I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m saying, think about the consequences and whether it’s worth it. For £10 a month it’s not worth it if the tenants might up and leave.