Rent increase - fuck fuckity fuck!!!

[BlondeWaves]

Moved into my house 2.5 months ago and now having to move as had a letter from the landlord to say rent is going up by 150 a month. I KNOW I am being unreasonable but I am sat here sobbing because I've just settled here with my young child and the thought of having to go through all that upheaval again is so stressful. I can't afford the extra 150, I'm already stretched with the way everything has increased. This could happen again and again and I just hate our government and the way things are at the moment. I have no resentment towards my landlord as I know his mortgage has realistically gone up by more than 150 a month, but fuck, I'm so stressed. Don't even know what I want from this thread, maybe a handhold, maybe to be told I need to suck it up (weirdly I respond well to tough love) but I need something. Anyone there? 😭

Just for a bit of info - and I can't quite recall what was side - but about 10 years ago or a bit less I was at a Young Conservatives Housing Conference in Croydon (as grim as it sounds but hey ho!) with the then Tory Housing Minister Gavin Barwell (or he went on to become one), Boris spoke there too (as mad as a box of frogs). Two friends wanted to go to this conference as they had an interest in social housing. One rented at the time but now owners her property with her partner (bought). The other has always had a council maisonette but on the flip side has rarely worked, apart from small jobs, she did have a son as a teenage single mother though.

I really wish I could recall what was said but it was a while ago!

I'm so sorry that you're feeling so overwhelmed by it all, and I don't think that this thread is helping.

Some posters have given you some really good advice of trying to negotiate with the landlord. I would explain that you simply can't find £1000 a month and offer £900pm and see if he will take it.

I'm sure finding even the extra £50pm probably feels un-doable just now, but it will be cheaper than moving into another rental and starting again.

Sending a huge hug from here - it will get easier

It's incredibly unequal though.... And as choice diminishes, it is not always a case that people "want" to live in that particular property - more nd more, it is a case of what they can get/afford, as might be the case for the OP, sadly.

I knew someone who rented a small house when marriage broke down. Largely misled by husband, who then took a very long time to sort out the marital home which had equity. The rented house was owned outright by the landlord (only one of two that he owned), and by the time the marital home was sold, she could not afford to buy as prices had increased, but he was awarded more of the small amount of equity due to having lived there "longer" (or some such BS).

Over the 10 years of living there - and not having anywhere else to go - and renting one of the only small properties in the village, the initial value of the house had been paid in rent. And the house had actually tripled in value. It had been a big fat win-win for the landlord when he then, after all those years, decided to not renew the tenancy. She had to actually leave the village.

This may not have been paying the mortgage for him, as that was not necessary (although he could have taken one out against the property) in this case. But it certainly gave him plenty of speding money and in the end bought him a Rolls Royce. This was in effect paid for by his tenant.

Paying a mortgage for them is almost worse, when you hear things like (as I did on the radio the other day - and am listening to yet another R4 programme about renting again right now) such, as, "The landlord wants to move their family in", or similar. I find it all quite disgusting - however "necessary" it is deemed to be these days.

All the more reason to get the DIY BTL muppets out of the market who on a whim can screw around with people's lives. At least corporates like John Lewis and Lloyds Bank that are getting into the market will bring some stability and standard to the product.

If you have one studio flat and rent it out, thats a business.

Surely they can't just let you move in and a month later wack the rent up thats not how things work.

I have private rented for nearly 15 years, 10 of them in this house (big housing tenancy company) and my rent has gone up twice in that time first time by £30 a month and second (just now) by £20 a month.

I would be speaking to citizens advice about the legality of all this... I dont know about your rent but £130 is over 1/4th of my rent so would be a ridiculous increase.

Well done everyone for turning this into a classic MN bun fight such that the OP had to pick her way through flying missiles to find the really helpful advice – and has now given up. 👏

The only reason Europe can have stable rents and renting is a stable option for people over there is the large ownership of property by institutions rather than individuals looking to prop up their pensions.

Are you genuinely saying your current tenants would prefer to have a massive rent rise or lose their home, than for you to have properly financed and modelled your rental business?

Anyway I wasn't speaking about your specific tenants, but the rental market in general, which 100% does require better regulation and a far better quality of landlord than currently in place.

This ^^

Plus the Council team will also advise you about your rights in this situation, of which you have more than you would appear to think (assuming you are in the jurisdiction of England & Wales).

I know. It's pathetic. I doubt the OP gives a fuck about someone's £1.2 million in London.

You aren't the problem to be fair to you, few public service workers on low wages will be renting properties like yours.

I'm pee'd off because we are seeing less n less locals able to work in the locality, as BTL LLs move in, many then switch to AirBnB, so we have less nurses, teachers care workers etc etc.

I also spent time and money supporting a dear friend whose LL upped the rent by a £100 a month, she was close to hysterical, been there 17years and earns 21k p.a, as she has no dependents, cannot get HB.

LLs either don't know or i suspect don't care how much misery is inflicted on tenants.

In my friends case, the LL bought the house for 47k, its now worth 270 to 300k, she has paid 97k in rent.

I'm sure you can see the unfairness in this?

😞

@BlondeWaves just wanted to add my advice - is there any way you can negotiate a pay rise or promotion at work..? Or get a better job? Or chase the father up for help? Good luck, hope you find a way to stay x

I have properly financed it, and they’ve lived there for three years so far without any rent increase. You are writing as though an assured shorthold tenancy should bring with it a fixed rent for ever, which would be ludicrous.

These objections are getting less and less sensible now, and are displaying utter economic ignorance.

@Lilithslove

have you any idea (clearly not) of the prices of apartments at Canary Wharf.

@ToInfinityAgain

‘I’m going to lose 30k a year- why should I suffer”

mobile.twitter.com/JoshBerryComedy/status/1584187622221844480

And then one missed payment and it will be the computer says no. Ever defaulted on a loan with a particular organisation ? never mind what the six year credit score crap says, they have their own internal systems and score cards so then that’ll be computer says no. The consequences aren’t too dire if it’s just a case of you will never get a loan or a credit card with that company but if they own all the Real Estate in your locality you’re a bit fucked aren’t you?

All landlords are horrible since there should be no private rental housing in this country. A home is a necessity FFS not a bloody luxury.

I outlined my preferred option in a previous post.

Indeed. ALAB all the way.

I advise anyone with young DC to just allow themselves to be evicted and wait for SH. Yes it’s utterly shit in the meantime but while you stay in the private rental market, you will never have security.

Councils and housing associations all work together now. The wait times they quote (understandably) are worst case scenario. They are also designed to put people off. A couple I know with a toddler (no other issues going on) got a lovely 2 bed flat after 9 months, zone 2 London, where the wait times I’m sure are quoted in the decades.

Even if you somehow resolve your current issue, you are at the mercy of your landlord. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to move yourself further forwards.

Re the art work on your sons wall, could you maybe take photos and have them blown up into posters? I know it wouldn’t be the same but at least you wouldn’t lose them completely.

In exchange for a place to live.
In exchange for a home that is maintaned at the landlords expense
In exchange for a landlord that pays for any plumbing call outs, any eletrical issues, and roof leaks.

The other option, is the landlord sells up, makes the OP homeless, and someone else buys the house and lets at a higher rate

I am not massively keen on landlords and the fact that they get other people to pay their mortgages but I accept that some people need or want to rent and people need to provide that service.

But I am struck by the fact that every time there is a story like this, there is a single mum at the heart of it. Why oh why does this government not do anything about getting dads to pay their contributions? Or support widows more generously?

If you're being upheaved anyway what about getting a council or housing association place?

You get a letter from the landlord to say he is evicting you, which you, take that to the council, and they have a duty to put you in temporary, then permanent accommodation.

I have a housing association home and it's a wonderful permanent home with a slight rent increase, all repairs done for me free of charge, and it's mine, forever.

I don't need to retire at 65 but if I did I have £185 in pension that would pay rent easily. I feel very secure.