to think landlord can't evict family just to increase rent?

[thinkingaboutLangCleg]

Our neighbours' landlord wanted to put their rent up by £250 a month, which they can't afford. So they have been given notice to leave. The parents both work, but their income has been reduced during lockdown and they have two small children. They're excellent neighbours, so I can't imagine they've done anything to break the terms of their tenancy.

I thought the government had put a stop on evictions at present? (I can't find where I read this now.) Does anyone know if there's anything my neighbours can do?

This should be criminal. Rent increase with inflation rate may be fine. But this greed is absolutely criminal. I am sick of the way we treat property and homes in this country. It’s as important to have a home as to have food and water and air.

Evictions are back to normal now. The suspension was only very temporary during the initial lockdown period.

Yes unfortunately this does happen and is not criminal. It's awful but legal.

From 29/08 eviction periods are six months. Before then think it was three months. Court proceedings for evictions start up again on 20/09

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/coronavirus

If you google it you will find lots of results, have you tried? Eg www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53860154

And on the gov.uk ban on evictions

Sorry that should say notice periods not eviction periods.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eviction/section_21_eviction/section_21_eviction_process

They need to contact Shelter ASAP for advice on their rights etc.

Are what they are paying now way below market rent for the area? Reality is he can put it up he needs to find someone who can afford to pay it

They could maybe try Shelter or Citizens Advice? Do you think the rent they pay currently is right for the area? If the rent plus £250 is way too high then the landlord is going to be able to re-let anyway.

A landlord can evict people for any reason they want, perhaps the rent has been below market for some years. They need to abide by the new laws though, six months notice is required now.

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts here.

I will give them the contacts for Shelter and Citizen's Advice Bureau, but it looks as if they haven't got much chance. The landlord has been having loads of work done scaffolding up for ages, big stuff including new roof so probably has increased the value of the place.

What a shitty thing for our neighbours, putting up with all that disruption for months and then having to move out. Saved the landlord the cost of having the place empty while the work was done.

maybe he's selling it?

trouble is that being a landlord is getting steadily more expensive & maybe landlord either has mortgage on property, become unemployed or this property supports an older member of family in care home & the latter happens more frequently than most people realize.
Or as others have said maybe his rent hasn't increased for years.
& if there has been problems with the property (you don't usually do the roof unless their is something wrong & that can be seriously 4 figure expensive - especially if scaffolds are used- so I doubt that was a cosmetic improvement)

Depends entirely on whether your neighbours were paying market rent.

If they were, then its absolutely shocking that its allowed.

From August 28, the landlord has to give six months notice of eviction, up from three months notice (brought in as part of the Coronavirus Act).

Extra protections for renters have also been announced today www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-comprehensive-support-for-renters-this-winter

It is shitty for your neighbours OP. But if the LL has spent a lot of money on significantly upgrading the property to make it more valuable then he or she might need to collect more rent to reflect that.

And this is precisely why we need more social housing on long term lets for people who want to stay in a place for a long time with predictable affordable rent.

The landlord can serve a section 21 notice to evict if they have an AST, but now has to give 6 months notice. It's not valid to evict them using a section 21 notice if they had a fixed term AST and the tenancy period isn't over. In that case the landlord would have to serve a section 8 notice, and would have to prove they have acceptable grounds for doing so - wanting to increase the rent isn't covered by this.

There are also multiple reasons that a section 21 notice can be invalid - anything from not using the official form 6A to give notice, not having previously provided the property's EPC to tenants or if the deposit hasn't been put in the tenant deposit scheme & details provided to tenants. It's worth reading up on this on Citizen's Advice Bureau or Shelter websites so they are clear on their rights & the process the landlord has to go through. But the main point is that the landlord, assuming he does everything correctly, still has to give them 6 months notice to vacate the property.

Landlords are people as well who have family to support. Maybe they need extra rent to cover the mortgage. Or the rents in that area have gone up. Ultimately it is their property.

Thanks for all this useful information. I haven’t seen the neighbours since they told me yesterday, they’ve been out a lot, but I hope to pass it on to them over the weekend.

If the landlord now has a property that is worth £250 more each month, then I can’t see how it’s unfair, although that does seem like a huge increase in one go. Have they been paying well below market rate for some time now?

Tenants have the law on their side, I wouldn’t worry about your neighbours too much.

I have little sympathy with landlords who do when they are unable to re-let them, I’m afraid. Our LL served notice on us, as they “wanted to sell”. It went on the market, briefly, sale fell through as LL wouldn’t negotiate re repairs as LL had failed to maintain anything in the decade (& more) we lived there, & it’s back on the market to let with a new paint job & carpets, at 50% higher than we were paying (massively overpriced for the area). I think it was just a tactic to get us out, TBH. I’m sure the mortgage is paid off as we are are aware of who owns it - a big local owner developer - so they’re not struggling for money. We were though, when they made us homeless.

Is he 'evicting' them, or is he declining to renew a contract at a below market rate? Surely these two scenarios are different?

If landlords are over pricing their properties they are very unlikely to find tenants. It's not that different to properties for sale. People generally aren't stupid, do their research and won't look at over priced homes.

Or they can negotiate the rent down of course. But then, unlike with sales, it's not a matter of public record how much rent they actually are paying.

Look at it this way.
If he's put the rent up to make it expensive in the area, the chances are your neighbours will be able to find a house where they are still paying the same, and he will end up with no one paying as he's not going to get someone paying that much over the odds.
He loses.

If landlords are over pricing their properties they are very unlikely to find tenants. It's not that different to properties for sale. People generally aren't stupid, do their research and won't look at over priced homes.

So far, the OP has only said that the current tenants can't afford it. This doesn't necessarily mean it's over-priced. They could have been there for years with no increases to keep it on a par with other houses in the area.

Was the property rented out before at a lower rate and now he’s just making it market rate with all the upgrades?