Unable to pay rent increase

[GoAgainstNicki]

I wonder if anyone is able to give some advice on what the next steps will be?

I had an email from the estate agents a couple of weeks ago to say that the Landlord is requesting a rent increase from 1180 to 1500 a month. He wanted this done effective immediately but as my tenancy doesn’t say anything about allowing rent increases, he’ll have to wait until my tenancy is finished this summer.

If I’m unable to pay the rent increase which I totally can’t, what happens next? I already bid for council properties and I know the council won’t help me at all unless I’ve been served with a section 21 notice. Do I just ask the Landlord to start the eviction process and still pay 1180 every month?

The Landlord isn’t open to negotiation at all which is quite silly because it’s probably not worth going to court over just to get an eviction notice but hey, ho! Thanks for any advice given:)

Ah right, I didn’t know there was a specific homeless prevention fund. Thanks so much, that’s really helpful. It’d certainly be helpful if the LL allowed us to stay a while longer however I know he really won’t budge on the rent increase which is his choice.

Funnily enough, there’s never really much HA property’s on the housing list. A small minority do have external registers which I’m already on but yeah I’m not fussy at all! As long as it’s suitable for my son, I’ll take it regardless of whether it’s council or HA. Really appreciate your help:)

Thank you! Someone who gets it haha. I felt like I was going crazy earlier on but you’ve hit the nail on the head.

It’s so difficult to rent privately when you’re on UC, no one wants to accept you at all. I’m lucky enough to be housed here through the council as it is

@MrNook oh sorry, I can apply for a DHP however this was given to me at the start of my tenancy as a deposit towards the Landlord.

When I spoke with the council last, I asked if it’s best for me to apply for it again to make up the shortfall between the LHA and the rent increase. However they said it’s unlikely I’d be given two payments for the same property. I’ll most likely still fill in the form and apply for it and see what happens

Definitely worth applying still, I was accepted for it twice previously for the same place, I think if there's an option to explain why you need it again and you can show that you're doing what you can to move then they're more likely to accept you.

When I re-applied I was asked what I had done to change the situation and move and then I was awarded it again.

Good luck really hope you can sort it and fingers crossed it's not long until you're at the top of the council housing list!

What's the average rent in your area and how close is the 1.5k to it? The problem with waiting for section 21 is it puts landlords off renting to social tenants in the future as it is them that do it to get a council house!

OP have to you looked to see if you can afford to stay in the area in a private rental? The council can put you back in temporary accommodation and house you outside of the area if no properties are available.

My friend was in a similar situation and the council couldn't house her straight away. They advised she stayed out until they could find something but still lag her rent the amount before the increase.

She had nowhere to go and did get houses fairly quickly as she was a priority.

Put not out*

Pay not lag* 🤦🏻‍♀️

That makes complete sense, thanks so much for sharing your experience.

My only question is, wouldn’t I have to accept the new tenancy with the rent increase to receive the dhp? Surely the council wouldn’t award the payment if I say ‘my rent will be going up X amount.’ Wouldn’t I have already needed to sign my tenancy with the new rent increase first?

I will be contacting Shelter so no pressure if you don’t know the answer:)

If you have a look at the full thread you’ll see that I don’t have money for a deposit. Most landlords will not accept someone on UC so I’m hardly going to get anywhere.

The council can put me in temporary accommodation but can’t place me outside of the area due to my son’s disability and his appointments. That’s already been confirmed in writing by the local MP

That makes a lot of sense and I think that’s what I’d be advised to do in this situation too. What happened to your friend in the end if you don’t mind me asking? Did she move to another private rental or go to temporary accommodation etc?

Op are u in England?

I am. London to be exact

Is there nit a 7% rent increase cap since December default check with shelter tomorrow that's some increase!!

I believe that’s for social housing rents and not the private sector however I’ll definitely confirm when I speak with them. Thank you!

Only a tenant or a court can end a tenancy. Without a new agreement you automatically move to a rolling contract. Check Facebook for 'tenancy matters' and 'acorn support' groups.

If you pay the increased rent you are deemed to have accepted the increase. You can appeal the increase once the rent increase has been formally served but if it's a fair rent for the area then they are likely to find in favour. Rents are so ridiculous right now :(

I'm a landlord and really think other landlords that increase the rent by over 10% are extremely unfair. We always "propose' a new rent amount in rolling contract and would be open to negotiation, which the tennants never have. They should incorporated a slower buffer in case of scenarios like the COL. I didn't see it coming but my margins was never dangerously tight so now I pick up the slack in the system which was already there

I’d start looking now for other properties if I was you. There are more people looking for rentals then there are properties.

This is really helpful, thank you.

So even if I have a rolling contract, it’s still myself or the court that can end that contract is that correct? That’s what I thought but I wasn’t sure.

So in the grand scheme of things, until I’m evicted through the courts, I can’t be made to leave unless I decide to leave myself. I seriously wish the council could help prior to being evicted as it all seems so drastic!

I would suggest the alternative is for you to sell the property.

I’m a landlord and the mortgage on the property has gone up by £220/month and will rise again if base rate goes up further. It was already operating at a loss and we have also had to do £2000 of works for an unexpected repair. I’m not a landlord as a business, it was my home before meeting DH and renting it out seemed the best option at the time.

We had discussed renewing the tenancy and the tenant wants to stay long term but I can’t afford to keep it and even if we proposed a big rent increase the risks (further interest rate increases, further repairs) are too high.

No matter what option we choose the tenant is likely to be upset.

Well the Landlord has had to do £0 worth of repairs so you’re not quite the same.

I’m not entirely bothered about the rent increase because I know I can’t afford it and won’t be paying it! I just wondered what happens next

well Giggly, we could sell the property.

Or we can put up the price to cover the costs, which is the model other businesses use.

I suspect my price increase will put some people off, and they will have to buy an alternative within their price range. That’s how things work though isn’t it?

Rental of holiday properties is very different to rental of homes, though. People can choose not to go on holiday. Successive governments have failed to address lack of social housing, instead pushing responsibility for this onto private landlords.

it’s all very well saying that they ought not to have been allowed the mortgage on them - this assumes that either (a) they’d be bought by a nice family who would otherwise be at the mercy of a landlord or (b) they would be bought by a landlord who doesn’t need a mortgage.

Arguably, that nice family may not be able to secure a mortgage, particularly if they are on benefits, and there’s nothing to suggest that the wealthier landlord would not put the mortgage up in line with its market value.

Coupled with increasingly stringent regulations (which I can see the need for), it does appear that the government are using landlords and their investments to provide the social housing that would previously have been provided by the councils. I think a lot of landlords will want out of this business model before long, and that’s going ti be catastrophic isn’t it?

It must be a nightmare at the moment for someone on UC to find a new tenancy. So not as simple as just find somewhere else.

We went into rental in 2021 (work relocation). We were only allowed to have viewings because we had two incomes, could pay deposit and weren't claiming benefits. Viewings were back to back with a queue of other prospective tenants also viewing. You had to compete to be the 'preferred tenant' for the landlord to accept your application to rent.

Sorry OP, I don't think some PPs realise how much the London housing market has deteriorated over the last decade. I'm in favour of rent control. I hope you get sorted.