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Original poster

To ask what landlords plans are long term...

127 replies

Oopsusernamealreadytaken · 21/10/2018 14:04

Bit of background, we’ve lived in our current rental property for over 6 years. Our landlady is lovely and has improved the property by putting in a new bathroom (4 years ago) and also is up to date on checks. She rarely bothers us for an inspection - maybe once a year or so and always gives notice if she needs to pop in for whatever reason.

A few weeks ago we had a letter about a rent increase. There wasn’t really an update given as to why other than she hadn’t given us one yet and she felt it was fair. Which I guess is fair, although we couldn’t contest it either way.

In the property we have made a lot of upgrades to decor (I know, fancy wanting to make it a home) and have done a lot of minor repairs (fixing a broken pipe, resetting fence posts, fixing small leaks) everything we’ve done has improved the property and subsequent value if she wanted to sell. We have done all of this with her permission, and she’s never offered to pay/pary pay.

I feel a bit sad that she’s decided to up the rent, it’s going to push us into the bracket of coasting week to week with no luxuries to having to cut other areas such as food etc. We already work all the hours we can due to having a Sen child.

So anyway enough of life story, would it be unreasonable to ask her what her plans our for the house? I know she’s well within her rights to not tell us, but equally we don’t want to pay out of our own pocket to improve a house that is going to be sold within a year. (I know that it can happen regardless)

I know we are lucky to have a roof over our heads, I know we are lucky to have a well maintained home to live in, I know we shouldn’t have probably done those repairs, but I fear if we start bugging her for every small repair now she will want to sell up Confused and as a tenant that’s probably your worst fear come true.

What should we say? We have a meeting in a few weeks.

OP posts:
MsOliphant · 21/10/2018 16:52

Penny are you being serious?

If so you are an idiot.

NotANotMan · 21/10/2018 16:52

I didn't even know that was possible

Really? Confused

Warpdrive · 21/10/2018 16:53

I imagine the landlady has no intention to sell which is why there's been a rent increase. She knows if she increases rent, there will be risk that you'll vote with your feet and move out. If she had any intention of selling she'd not have raised the rent.

penny455 · 21/10/2018 16:58

@MsOliphant I think it's completely unfair, you sign a tenancy agreement of a set monthly rental price. Why should it have to go up every year? Why am I an idiot, landlords are obviously idiots. It's like the tenant randomly saying can we reduce the rent now. No obviously not it should be a set price and that's that.

penny455 · 21/10/2018 16:59

@NotANotMan yes like I said I've been renting 6 years and never had this happen so why would I know !

MsOliphant · 21/10/2018 17:00

Oh dear Penny. Seriously....

penny455 · 21/10/2018 17:02

@MsOliphant I don't have to agree with something just because it happens. Unless there is a good explanation for wanting an extra £50 a month then I think it's bang out of order

MsOliphant · 21/10/2018 17:03

Penny.

Assuming you don’t have additional needs, You really need to arm yourself with some street smarts. Start my doing some reading on inflation.

Of course your rent can increase. I can’t believe someone could be allowed to sign a tenancy agreement and not be aware of that.

TwoBlueFish · 21/10/2018 17:03

£50 increase after 6 years sounds pretty reasonable. Are their other things in your budget that you could reduce? For example switching insurance, utility providers, dropping tv packages, switching to pay as you go phone, not buying coffees or lunches when out etc.

If your child needs at least a. Hours extra care per day that a typical child wouldn’t need them it’s worth applying for DLA. If your daughter is awarded then you may be able to claim carers allowance and may possibly be able to claim tax credits as the threshold is higher if you have a disabled child.

MsOliphant · 21/10/2018 17:04

So you seriously think the price should stay static, forever? If I’d started renting a house in 1983, should I still be paying £100 a month?

anniehm · 21/10/2018 17:04

I would swallow the increase, say how much you like living there and request a longer tenancy so you can feel settled. As to repairs - decoration is up to you, you are fortunate she allowed it, many say no, small repairs costing nothing/just a couple of pounds I also think is reasonable for tenants to do if they live in a property longer term, if it costs more but you have the skills to fix it, offer your labour but ask to deduct the materials from your rent/be reimbursed, I did this when I had tenants (we were overseas) and I was most grateful as tradesmen are £££, consequently I only put up the rent by inflation each year. 6 years before a rise is very unusual, count your blessings, you have a good landlady

dreamingofsun · 21/10/2018 17:05

penny u sound deluded. the rental agreement lasts for a fixed period. After that period things change in much the same way your fixed gas and electric would.

otherwise you would in theory pay the same rent if you lived in a property to 40 years. and nothing happens that way in reality....only in people's dreams

EvePolastriSorryBaby · 21/10/2018 17:07

penny I suggest you read over your tenancy agreement.

Also, the OP saying she'd have to cut out certain luxuries makes me think of the term #firstworldproblems.

The rent is so low for a 2 parent family!!! One of you could afford that alone working full time!

mumsastudent · 21/10/2018 17:07

Penny do you think social housing, council housing & housing associations don't put rent up ? What planet/country/county are you living in????

penny455 · 21/10/2018 17:09

I can understand if you are given a lot of notice and if it's a set percentage every year but suddenly having to pay an extra £50 a month out the blue is unfair.

letsgetreadytosamba · 21/10/2018 17:11

If your child is awarded DLA it is more than £50 a month. Just as an FYI.

A £50 increase in 6 years is amazing, less than £10 increase per year. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it is completely reasonable. However, stop paying money to fix things and ask the LL to do it.

EvePolastriSorryBaby · 21/10/2018 17:12

Ours just goes up when we resign tenancy.
penny- do you resign every year?

DerelictWreck · 21/10/2018 17:12

You are of course well within your rights to ask what her plans are for the house as I understand why you wouldn't want to make improvements if you're not going to live there.

However I don't understand - if the increase in rent is going to push you to the brink of just getting buy week to week, then how were you going to/why would you spend money on improvements?

Maursh · 21/10/2018 17:16

I disagree with the consensus here: £50 / £675 is a 7.5% increase which amortises at 1.7%/yr over six years. I don't know what mortgage rates are, but this is well above risk-free rate over the past six years. This is over a period when rents are generally stagnant.

OP, you need to look at over properties for rent in your area and benchmark against those. If you were looking for a new property right now, what rent would you have to pay? Does 725 seem reasonable? If there are too few properties to measure then look at the rental yield ( ie rent per year as a percentage of the value of the property). 2-3% would be normal at the moment

penny455 · 21/10/2018 17:18

@EvePolastriSorryBaby nope, I was at old property 3 years and now into my third year at second property. I think the agency's I'm with are very laid back I never hear from them and landlord has loads of property so I'm guessing he's not bothered about increase cos I'm a good tenant. Painted whole house, done all the garden up, always pay on time etc

QuizzlyBear · 21/10/2018 17:19

I know it's unintentional but penny you have made me laugh!

Obviously costs go up every year in line with inflation - utilities as well as living costs. The base rate is set to rise again soon and tax changes mean that landlord's costs will also rise - and that's in a 'normal' market.

With the changes proposed post-Brexit, most landlords, us included, are going to have to raise rents considerably or go bankrupt. Sadly, a chunk of that is necessarily passed to the renter. I'm a bit shocked that you don't know that's how it works. If a landlord can't afford their mortgage anymore, the renter will be homeless regardless... 

Dollymixture22 · 21/10/2018 17:24

Oh penny - life is going to be a rollercoaster of surprises for you😂

ShalomJackie · 21/10/2018 17:25

Most AST agreements allow for a certain percentage rise per year whether they are re-signed or roll over.

£50 per month after 6 years a minimal rate and would not be considered excessive.

If you were to move you would need to find the deposit (usually 1 1/2 to 2 months rent and a month in advance); you would not get your former deposit back until after you left the property you are in so will need to find this upfront. If the £50 is meaning you have to cut back I am assuming you would not be able to fund an actual move which may lead to other costs such as removals, new curtains or blinds (as they may not fit next property) etc.

I'd be thankful you haven't had to have a rise this long.

Previously the landlord would pay tax on the rent less expenses including mortgage interest. The rules have changed on this so she will have higher outgoings as her tax bill will be higher.

Think carefully though as to what a move would actually cost you before handing your notice in rashly.

skyesayshi · 21/10/2018 17:28

OP, the tax laws changed with effect from the 17/18 tax year and LL's can no longer claim 100% of the mortgage interest. It is being tapered off over 4 years until they can only claim a basic rate allowance.

Not your problem, however it means that ll LL's will have much more tax to pay. You don't know what her mortgage payments are, or how much she makes out of it or what her financial circumstances are.

That aside, a £50 increase in 7 years is nothing. Most rents around here have gone up £50 this year. A 3 bed house ranges from £750-£850 depending on the size of it. (South West).

You also chose to spend money on the property yourself, knowing that it was not your house. Yes it may be your home, but it is not your property, you pay rent to live there. Your LL should pay for all necessary repairs. If it is not necessary but you want it anyway and they agree that it is at your cost, then that is up to you. Anything structural the LL should always pay for. But you can't pay for stuff then complain about it.

Everything you have done sounds like routine maintenance so I don't see why you think it has improved the value of the property.

You can of course ask her not to increase the rent, but she doesn't have to do that. If you don't want to pay the increase, then you can give a months notice and leave, if you can find somewhere cheaper.

scaryteacher · 21/10/2018 17:29

I don't propose to raise the rent for my tenants, as they seem to be looking after the place, but I will be giving them notice next year as we are moving back to UK, and so will need to reoccupy the property. I will give them more than the statutory two months notice as well.

Have rented the house out for the past 13 years, and haven't raised the rent once I've had a tenant in there. I rent abroad and there is an indexed rise here each year written into the tenancy. The last landlord always raised it, the current one hasn't, but he does own the house as part of a family estate, and there is no mortgage on it.

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