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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

New landlord is upping my rent by £250pm

147 replies

Snoophoggyhog · 15/07/2018 20:45

My landlady passed away before Christmas and has left this house and a few others to her nephew. I'd heard nothing for months other than from a solicitor to say to now pay the rent to them which I've been doing. Yesterday I received a solicitors letter saying that my new landlord can't afford the inheritance tax and therefore proposes to raise my rent by £250pm! My rent has been a bit lower than other houses in my area because it is quite dated and the landlady wouldn't do any work on it. Over the 8 years I've lived here I've paid for a new kitchen, carpet and redecorated throughout, new windows, cavity wall and loft insulation, had a shower fitted, new radiators and boiler, new fence panels and other odd jobs. There's things that need doing but it seems he just wants to put the rent up and not maintain the house. It's never had gas and electric safely checks and I had all the fire alarms fitted. AIBU to say I won't pay more rent until the house is modernized and safety checks done or will he just hand me my notice? It says in the letter if I can't afford the extra money I will have to move out. There are no oother properties suitable nearby and my ds 5 is settled at his local school. TY in advance for any advice, experiences

OP posts:
Jonbb · 16/07/2018 00:44

There are all sorts of technical defences to AST and secure and assured tenancy agreement proceedings. One is when the landlord has increased the rent without going through the proper procedures, because then the rent increase is not lawfully due. I'm a right nerd the way I enjoy this stuff I think!

cmwife · 16/07/2018 00:51

OP don't get tied up in a discussion about the law at this stage. Presently, this is a negotiation! As I said above, you have some power here - use it. If that doesn't work, then look at legal redress.

mydogisthebest · 16/07/2018 00:54

I feel a bit annoyed that we were not told we could take the matter further but we got away from our arsehole miser of a landlord so result really.

He has a new tenant now and I know the property does not have an epc. He also never declared the rent to HMRC in all the years we rented from him so doubtful he is now. He is going to get a massive shock as we have reported him

Jonbb · 16/07/2018 00:55

That's because they often aren't solicitors and the caseworkers don't check through the paperwork in enough detail to pick up the technical defences. They dont have the funding and housing is in such crisis they pick the battles that are easy to win. With legal aid being withdrawn for lot of housing cases they lost a considerable amount of funding, benefits legal aid was also withdrawn totally too. The government don't want The poor to be able to effectively challenge decision making. The property tribunal isn't used enough because rental prices are usually the market rent. In ops case though, the property is not in good condition, the statutory duties have not been carried out, and the ll doesn't have much idea, so it's worth using as a negotiating tool.

timeisnotaline · 16/07/2018 00:58

I agree you have a strong position and others have been very helpful. My letter would emphasise you’ve been a good tenant and he would be punting on a new one , he can’t
Legally evict you without the gas etc certificate and some subtle mention of the fines he could pay for not having had this and the property needs a lot of work. He probably has no idea what state it is in so go into some detail and say no rational person would pay your suggested rent increase or any rent increase for a house in this condition, and suggest a rent you would pay upon completion of a list of items.

And if he evicts go on, take a window as well as the rest of your things!

Jonbb · 16/07/2018 00:58

Sorry if I sound arrogant, just know my stuff and am aspie so don't hit the right tone, a lot, but I'll keep trying!

AudiQ2 · 16/07/2018 02:22

@Jonbb No need to apologise, I don't think you sounded arrogant at all! Just knowledgable!

AudiQ2 · 16/07/2018 02:23

@TwatSlapper You are 100% incorrect! Laughably so! I don't need to look anything up! Op hasn't signed a single thing! So how the hell can there be terms of any contract to adhere to?!

TwatSlapper · 16/07/2018 02:40

Oh dear. How embarrassing for you.

A tenancy agreement can be written, verbal or implied. All are legally binding.

If a landlord accepts rent for a property (that he doesn't live in himself) there is, in law, a tenancy agreement between himself and his tenant. If nothing else, it is considered implied by the acceptance of rent.

All tenancy agreements (ALL) are covered by statue and lay out the rights and obligations of the landlord and tenant. Those rights include the right to notice.

You are wrong. Completely wrong. But too arrogant to admit it.

Don't give "advice" on threads like this again.

Ninabean17 · 16/07/2018 06:29

I've rtft, and don't have any practical advice but wishing you luck.

AJPTaylor · 16/07/2018 06:37

the only thing that concerns me is your comment that he cant afford the inheritance tax.
increasing your rent by 250 pm (or even everybodies rent if he has inherited multiple properties) is not going to solve that. selling property is. by all means do all of the other stuff people have suggested. but also prepare yourself mentally and finacially to move.

withouttea · 16/07/2018 06:59

The inheritance tax bill is not linked to the rent - that's set by the market.

I'm both a landlord and a tenant. My advice is haggle. There's a £250 per month increase proposed, but you can go back and provide evidence for what you think is reasonable. I did that on our home at the end of the last tenancy, and saved us a proposed £100 per month increase. As a landlord, I also am happy to haggle with my tenants.

You will lose the money you've spent on the property, but you can use that as evidence of how trustworthy, reasonable and sound you are as a tenant. I don't get why people think landlords want to throw out tenants. Voids are expensive, long term tenants are highly desirable. You sound great. Use that to help secure a better deal.

The gas & electrical safety MUST be addressed, this is illegal.

Good luck 💐

NynaeveSedai · 16/07/2018 07:08

Audi - there is a de facto agreement because the tenant has been paying rent and the landlord has been accepting it. If there was an original signed agreement the tenancy would be periodic, not de facto.

By the way there is no such thing as a sitting tenant for those who mentioned it above. That law was removed in the early 80s.

LakieLady · 16/07/2018 07:15

Haven't RTFT, but if you haven't got a contract, and you've never had a gas safety certificate, you may have a lot more rights than someone on a shorthold tenancy.

Please get advice from a specialist housing adviser, ideally from a law centre or similar, as this is pretty complex and will need someone who's familiar with case law that is relatively recent.

LakieLady · 16/07/2018 07:25

If fixed term, then can serve notice at end of term. It's rare to have more than a 12 month fixed term tenancy

If there was no GSC in place at the commencement of a shorthold tenancy, a Notice to Quit can NOT be enforced. There was a case about this very point and the judgement (by Judge Luba) is clear on this point. Iirc, it was about 3-4 years ago.

I'll see if I can dig out the judgement later, if I can log on to work stuff from home (am on leave this week).

cinnabarmoth · 16/07/2018 07:30

OP I have no advice to give I'm afraid, but just wanted to say I fully understand why you would make improvements to the property yourself if the landlord refused. My DP and I are in a very similar position, he having taken over the tenancy from a relative, although my DP does have a written tenancy agreement and the landlord does at least provide the gas certificate etc. We pay well below market rent and our property is badly in need of updating and although our finances are stable now, they haven't always been, and my DP particularly has been reluctant to push for repairs and modernisation in case the rent is increased. We had been reluctant to carry out any work ourselves due to the lost money, but decided in the end that, as we are not sure how long we will be here, we would rather lose the money and at least have a property we can live in more comfortably. The downside is of course that there is always more significant work we can't risk doing ourselves, and that we could be asked to leave anyway.

I think these situations are more common in rural areas, perhaps due to the history of landowners renting properties to their workers, and also because in these situations the landlords have often inherited a lot of properties and view it just as a bit of extra income rather than necessarily want to be landlords it maximise the profit from them. As I said, no advice, just wanted to give you a bit of moral support that you were not entirely crazy to carry out the improvements, as I think a lot of PP have been a little harsh in you for that.

Isleepinahedgefund · 16/07/2018 07:37

Actually an Assured Shorthold Tenancy has implied terms so the lack of written contract is a red herring here. Certain conditions are met here which means an AST exsists. Have a look at www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk which will give you details. It is not the contract which gives you protection as a tenant, but the legislation. The legislation conveys core responsibilities on both landlord and tenant. In fact, a written tenancy agreement that purports to alter these core responsibilities(usually in favour of the landlord!) is invalid.

Also, when he inherited the property he inherited the tenancy on its original terms. It’s not a new tenancy by virtue of the change of ownership. It would be a new tenancy if you sign a new fixed term tenancy agreement.

LakieLady · 16/07/2018 07:38

De facto agreement only if there was an original agreement in place so that is all incorrect. Never an agreement = never any rights

Quite the contrary. It is possible that a secure tenancy has been granted, with all the rights, including rent controls, that that entails.

numptynuts · 16/07/2018 07:40

£250 a month to pay IHT? What is the IHT bill....£500 in total? Hmmmm

He needs to offload a property or sell some more cows.

The whole thing sounds odd.

OliviaBenson · 16/07/2018 08:02

You have the power here because they can't issue a s21 notice without a valid gas certificate.

Speak to Shelter and offer a counter sum subject to certain repairs and a gas certificate etc.

OliviaBenson · 16/07/2018 08:02

You have the power here because they can't issue a s21 notice without a valid gas certificate.

Speak to Shelter and offer a counter sum subject to certain repairs and a gas certificate etc.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 16/07/2018 08:20

Definitely get some decent legal advice!

We had hideous landlord - who wanted to (illegally) evict us giving 2 weeks notice... It's a minimum of 8 weeks. They were returning from overseas and wanted to live there themselves. We had lived there 10 years...

One thing I recall. The solicitor said that unless they us served a correctly written s21 notice (they hadn't) -it would take best part of 6 months til we would have to leave if they went via the court.

I suspect all the cards are in your hand!

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 16/07/2018 08:34

OP- What sort of percentage increase on your present rent is £250?

seven201 · 16/07/2018 08:46

Sorry if this has already been suggested or if you've already done so, but the new owner may not know that you've spent anything on the house over the 8 years. I know it doesn't mean you're owed anything because of that but it might make him realise what a good tenant you are, so list the work you've done with approx costs. I think your suggestion of saying he can put the rent up (maybe not the full £250) once they work has been done sounds a good idea.

Barbaro · 16/07/2018 09:00

To be honest, you may as well stay rather than move. Other houses in your area you've said will cost the same if not more and not be in a nice an area. So even if you move, you're accepting an increase regardless.

Plus you said you'd take all of the stuff you changed but how? There was no inventory when you moved in I imagine as you didn't bother to sign a contract. The landlord just has to say it's all his and you're screwed. Even if he doesn't, how are you going to remove the shower?

Put it down to experience, you've been naive and pay up. Your bill is going to increase either way, may as well be somewhere that you did up yourself. Could try buying the place then. But if you do, please for the love of God get a lawyer.