Landlord's increasing our rent

[missscarlett]

He's increasing it by £50 per month due to inflation. We could just about afford it but our contract is only for a year each time and we're worried if we pay it this time, he'll increase it again next year. We could move but obviously it's a big hassle. Any ideas?

check out market value rents from housing associations. you'll pay full whack rent, but you'll have an assured tenancy and very few - if any - rent increases. you can still get housing benefit if you qualify as well.

ha @ "due to inflation". wasn't inflation 2% last year? so your rent should be 2,500 per month for that to be the correct figure.

landlords are bastards

find out what inflation is - work out that in relation to your rent, then offer him that as an increase !

We rent also. When I signed the lease we agreed a maximum 5% increase each year. When the lease was up at the end of year 1, they sent me a new lease with an 8% increase. I said no way no how. We went back and forth, but in the end they went down to 5%. I'm sure I'll have to agree 5% again at the end of this lease.

YEs, landlords like to jack the rent up because tenants usually find it less than the cost of moving. It's playing dirty in my opinion.

We rent out a flat, but always keep our rent below market value to keep the tenant, and only increase to £50 below market value on an annual basis. If our tenant was to move out, we'd lose more in a month than we'd gain by having it higher, so have you though of trying to negotiate? We probably would come down, but we go through an agency, so have higher fees when tenants change.

i think we'll try to bluff it out a bit...I think we'll say that we're sorry but just can't afford it & we'll have to move if they insist. I did make a point when we first looked at the house that we were already at the top end of our budget and there was absolutely no way we could pay any more, but we don't have much to do with the agency and they probably didn't bother to pass on this info to the landlord (who we've seen every now and again throughout the year and actually seems alright, unlike every other land lord we've ever had.) I don'think I can even offer the 2 per cent - money's pretty tight as it is. We do qualify for a bit of rent allowance but our area has recently had it's 'lines' re-drawn and virtually all housing assoc stuff/council flats etc have ended up in a different borough.
It's tough being a young family with only one partner working!

Check your tenancy agreement. There should be some clause relating to rent increases. See what that says.

uwila
what a twat of a landlord! can't believe he tried to pull that over on you. no, that wouldn't have gone over well w/me. but i'm not the bashful type, either.

Expat, I actually think the agency gets the twat title. After all, their commission is based on our rent. They told me that the landlord insisted. But, I recently met the landlord and in our little chat I realised that the agency has been telling me one thing and them another on a few subjects. So I now thinks it was probably the agency digging for higher rent.

i will check the tenancy agreement, thanks Freckle.
Re: agencies - God yes, they are evil. I once lived in a shared student house which had rats. We kept on and on at the agents, they told us the landlord was on holiday for three months and we had to pay for extermination ourselves and in the end it turned out the landlord hadn't even been away and knew nothing about the rats. The agency didn't want to tell them because we'd only just moved in & they didn't want to upset them (apparently) That's David Daniels of Stratford, btw folks!

Well that sounds familiar. One of the things that came up with our Landlord is that was that the agency has been telling us that they are very hard to get hold of. And, apparently, that is tosh. They ddo live in Kuwait, but he assured me e-mails don't go unanswered for more than a day or so.

I think the agency is playing silly buggers with both of us. So, I have given the landlord my work e-mail address and told him he is welcome to contact me directly if he ever wants to.

Good...hope you don't have any more problems (pigs might fly, eh!)

He has to prove that other rents went up to the tune of £50 a month too, which as they most certainly are coming down in most area's I find it hard to believe that he'll be able to.
Could you cal his bluff next year ???

I think we will, Angela. I mean, he can only say 'go on then, move' can't he? We're going to have a look round at the estate agents in the next few days and get a feel for what's around and if it'd be worth us going, then we will. If we decide in the end we do want to stay, all we have to do is give him the extra £50. Might even try to negotiate like Laura said. I think he's pretty reasonable. (hope so anyway!)