Rent increase by £300!!! What do I do? Is this normal? Please help!!!!

[Lele101]

Just got a text from landlord

“mortgage gone up and I’m paying 300 more for service charges and insurance to the council I have no choice but to raise rent by 300”

we live in ilford, Barkingside. It’s a 2 bedroom flat. Currently paying 1400, now he wants 1700.

last increase was 16 months ago. (From 1225 to 1400)

im shocked. Is this normal?? Please advice. I don’t know what to do.

Its a rare area that has a surplus of rentals where prospective tenants can take their pick.

Its much more common that people applying for properties are turned down while competing with other prospective tenants, no matter how expensive the property.

In this specific area that OP is living, the landlord will not be short of options.

Also there is a lot of focus on the LL texting OP at 1am, he may not have expected OP to be up, perhaps thats just the time he messages and is expecting to follow up formally and legally, not sure why this is being seen as significant as no one knows his intentions in that respect.

There has been a surplus of tenants but, if asking rents are falling, it suggests that the tables have turned in some places doesn't it. You can guarantee that some LLs would continue to raise rents if they could. Who knows whether the LL will or won't be short of options. If he does decided to issue a S21 to the OP, he would lose a couple of months of rent, possibly need to pay to repaint, etc and pay agency fees. He needs to weigh up all those costs.
Texting at 1am is very unprofessional. Who cares what his reasons were. It's still very unprofessional to send a text message in the night that is going to upset any tenant in this way.

Did you visit the forum I recommend for advice?

100% this. Buy to Let mortgages were an absolute disaster.

They’ve created a group of greedy millionaire rentiers, forcing up house prices and rents for everyone. Instead of only people who need somewhere to live competing to buy homes, BTL ‘property portfolio’ investors (backed by favourable interest-only mortgages) have been outbidding them. Totally skewing the market. They often let family homes to sharers for huge amounts per room or as holiday lets.

So, ordinary families can’t afford to buy as they’re outbid by BTL investors. And they can’t afford to rent because they’re outbid by sharers or lose out to holiday lets. If you’re a lone parent, forget it! You’re facing homelessness. Families are being driven out of all but the most undesirable, crime-ridden, isolated areas.

They should end BTL mortgages immediately. And make separate use classes for holiday lets, so it’s unlawful to convert residential into a holiday let. Then, limit existing landlords to charging rents affordable on average local incomes.

If they want to sell, they should pay huge amounts of capital gains tax, which would deter them from fleeing the market and cashing in. This tax should go in a ring fenced fund for councils to buy them out and let to the existing tenants as council housing.

Then the tables will be turned, they’ll be as snookered as tenants are now and they’ll have to put their hands in their pockets and cough up some of their huge capital gains.

And families will be able to afford a home again, both to buy and rent.

Won’t happen, though. Because existing homeowners will lose equity in their home when the heat goes out of the market. And everyone likes getting off on how much their house has gone up in value, while the rest of us are shafted or homeless. Because greed is now a virtue to be bragged about.

Apply to your council to go on the social housing waiting list straight away. You should get extra points for disabilities and maybe for being a pensioner household.

And you’ll qualify for over 55 accommodation, some of which is two bedrooms.

Claim local housing allowance in the meantime.

You should get tax breaks for letting at sub market rates.

We are in an endless circle where high property prices and rents are built in but I wonder to what extent the feedback loop of housing benefit and tax credits over the last 20 years has fed the rise in rents? In much the same way that moving from a nation of predominantly 1 income households to 2 income households fed the property prices since the 70's.

Im yet to see on the ground that asking rents are falling and Im not sure what is the research on asking rents vs paid rent differentials. Its a bit like asking prices for houses, often the paid price is far higher

I might send a text at 1am, Im not necessarily expecting the other person to be awake and up at that time, they would read it once they're awake. What difference does it make sending it at 5pm or 7pm or 8am.

Personally my phone is off at night anyway, I woujld read the message once Im up.

@m00rfarm
My mortgage comes to an end in July at the low rate and will increase by around 500 a month. It is a large mortgage. Currently the rent already does not fully cover the cost of the mortgage, insurance etc. So in July, it will be way down. No increase for 8 years so far. I can either raise it by 300 or 400 a month (which still leaves me losing a significant amount of money) or I sell. I cannot keep going at such a loss. I have only 8 more years or so on the mortgage, which is why I have been struggling to keep the property

If you only have 8 years left on the mortgage have you had it on capital repayment? So your tenants have paid for you a huge asset?

You can avoid the rent increase to your tenants by lengthening the mortgage term or going interest only. Yes it will reduce your return, its the less greedy option given the return you are making is passive and involves little actual work on your part. If you don't like that then sell up.

I only have eight years because of my age. It cannot be extended further. The bank won’t go interest only as I’ve no way of repaying the capital when I’m 70. It already goes slightly beyond retirement age. It’s been rented for 8 years. I’ve never made a profit on renting it. I’m not greedy. It’s way under market value. It’s a standard repayment mortgage. You’ve made a lot of incorrect assumptions. I want to sell up. But the couple in there won’t find anywhere else to live in the area at their current rent. They’ve not paid for a huge asset. I’ve been paying for it all my life. They’ve paid towards it for 8 years, under market value for 7 of them. Edited to say it’s actually ten years left on the mortgage. So it’s five years past my retirement age when the mortgage will be finished. If I sell, at current interest rates, I’ll make significantly more than they pay in rent. So the title greedy is misplaced. Guilty is how I’m feeling it I sell.

You are one person. This data is national and, I would suggest, carries more weight.
Hopefully, if you are LL, you have now learned from this thread that it is unprofessional and unkind to send this sort of message in the night. I would have thought it was obvious but clearly not to some!

The national figure states rents in the private sector have risen;

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/privaterentandhousepricesuk/january2025#:~:text=2.-,UK%20private%20rent%20and%20house%20prices,of%209.2%25%20in%20March%202024.

If you only have 8 years left on the mortgage have you had it on capital repayment? So your tenants have paid for you a huge asset?
You can avoid the rent increase to your tenants by lengthening the mortgage term or going interest only. Yes it will reduce your return, its the less greedy option given the return you are making is passive and involves little actual work on your part. If you don't like that then sell up.

@InDogweRust why on earth should a LL lengthen the mortgage term or go interest only? Being a LL is not a charity, it’s a business! Would you expect Waitrose to run at a loss to decrease the cost of groceries? And if the tenants have indeed paid for a “huge asset” well that’s kind of the aim, isn’t it?

Yes, the tenants did it out the goodness of their hearts. Didn’t get to live there, nope. Were not paying for the privalge of living there, nope. They just paid for the asset as an act of mercy . 🙄

Landlording is an investment activity, the profit comes from the appreciation of the asset. The fact that you can charge someone to live in the asset whilst it is appreciating in value is an extra bonus!

Eh no. That’s not the only reason people become landlords. What an odd thought,

Then they are amateurs who don't understand what they're doing.
Landlording is an investment activity.

Again not always. Being polite, it is you who seems to lack knowledge on this.

@Mrsbloggz Investments also generate income though and some people live on that income. I’m self-employed and the building where I rent my office is owned by two brothers in their 80’s. They used to run a business in the building, now it’s divided up into smaller offices and the rental income forms part of their pensions.

Obviously small LL’s have to invest in their properties, do repairs, etc. , but longterm, many are hoping to generate some income from them. I imagine that many are now finding that the higher interest rates and charges are preventing this, so they’re raising rents or selling up altogether.

I think that my business landlords fully own the building now so they’re not affected by interest rates. They increase the rent annually by 2%.

I have just done this with my tenants today...

Rent will go up from your renewal date.

-It's the bank, not him..
-BTL variable rates are 8%+
-Landlords are stuck on variable rates as they can't pass the stress tests unless they charge 2% above the banks rate x 145%
-I'm similar situation as bank won't allow new deal remortgages unless I increase rent from £885 to £1200+ in fact I've already been declined
-If your LL owns the house outright then it's unreasonable
-If he has a mortgage he's as screwed as everyone else

BTL is leading to feudal france type rental situations. Hope rental legslation is further improved. 300pm is ridiculous.

It's the risk you take and should not be passed on to renters.

That amount sounds ridiculous for a 2bedroom flat! You could get a 4 bedroom house for that much surely?

This could also happen on a residential mortgage, like under Truss crash, many residential home owners are expecting a collosal jump, especially those 5yrs ago were paying interest in 2% and will now jump to 7% svr unless they remortgage, the pain is not exclusive to renters, of which I have been for many years previously .