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:)

Yes but then what happens with a landlord who hasn’t raised the rent in 3, 4, 5, even 10 years? They might have felt they were doing a good thing for their tenant.

But then their circumstances change and they need to bring it up to the market level. Which could be 20, 30, 50% less than the tenants have been paying all these years.

If there is no way the landlord can do this, then they will just evict the tenant! And start again with new tenants and a clean slate.

So I think it would lead to landlords evicting tenants paying very low rent rather than trying to reach an agreement with them. Also it would mean any landlord would put the rent up each and every year to make sure it never fell behind the market. So tenants would never get the advantage of all the cheap years.

“20, 30, 50% more”!!

The problem here is that both sides have a point, and both sides are unhappy.

The LL needs to cover a higher mortgage payment so has to increase the rent.
The OP is on UC and that wont cover the rent the LL now needs.

The OP has a whole support setup for her child based on where she was expecting to continue living, but wanting that to not be disrupted by moving away doesn't mean the council will suddenly fund more than they are committed to, and theres no property available where the OP currently is that can be paid for by the available money from the council.

Its painful for everyone sadly, but it does look like the OP is going to have to move away from all their current support setup for their child unless a flat suddenly becomes available there for what the council will fund.

Apologies, but that's out of order.
I pay almost £50,000 a year in tax and national insurance having a good paid job. Living in a rented ex council house 40 miles outside of London. Couldn't dream of living in London with prices. Your comments are well out of order. 😤

OP the waiting time for Council properly in London can be 10 years even for high needs vulnerable families. People end up in these one room complexes even with babies and multiple children.
If there are no properties available then sadly you cannot be rehoused into one so although it sounds like that was your long term plan/ hope its possible it may never happen. Hence why pp suggested looking at alternatives for the longer term.
yes its more complex because of your Childs needs but there are services available for them across the uk!

Well, this is almost three months old.

OP, how did things work out for you in the end?

@KievLoverTwo wow thanks for asking. I randomly looked at this thread today as I wanted to check a bit of advice that I’d been given on this thread.

Funnily enough, the Estate Agents called me today and said the Landlord will increase the rent to £1450 instead of £1500. The LHA will be £1346 a month so I’ll have to top it up by £104.

I’m happy with that so I’ve agreed. Last week we came bid position 7 when bidding for a council property so hopefully we’ll get somewhere before the end of the year. I’m happy we can stay in this property in the meantime as it makes life easier for everyone!

That's a good outcome. In an ideal world, LLs who rent to folks who rely on benefits shouldn't be able to put the rent up to match their mortgage requirements. I find the amount they are making you find horrible.

Glad you can stay put.

@KievLoverTwo it’s awful really, especially as the council placed me in this flat from temporary accommodation when I was homeless.

The alternative is not paying the rent increase, asking to be evicted and waiting until the bailiffs show up. I can’t take that stress at all so I rather just find the money to pay it!

That’s a crazy price rise OP, definitely contact your local council if you haven’t already or keep an eye on rightmove for anything cheaper

That's a fairly good outcome, with no more stress. Glad you could find a way to stay in the property and that the LL was willing in the end to negotiate slightly on the price.

Thanks for the nice replies all.

I actually had a call again from the EA yesterday whilst I was at work and was told the Landlord wants to serve me with a Section 21 Notice. I’m so fucking confused as literally the day before I said I’m happy to accept the rent increase.

I have no clue what’s going on and was told that they’ll speak with the Landlord again and call me on Monday. I’m so stressed and anxious I had to leave work 2 hours early. I’m really hoping there’s been some miscommunication as opposed to the Landlord actually wanting me out.

I really don’t want to go through the whole temporary accommodation situation again especially with two children. I will update again when I next hear from someone

God, that's upsetting! Surely the LL wouldn't bother to go through all that now you have agreed to pay more and they are only losing £50 a month from what they ideally wanted. Hopefully it is a miscommunication.

@Twiglets1 this is exactly what I’m hoping!! It doesn’t make sense as I’m more than happy to pay the increase. It’s not as if I’m fighting it and making his life more difficult.

I have no clue what’s going on but I hope to hear back on Monday, if not I’ll give them a call during my lunch break

Please keep us updated and I'm hoping you get good news on Monday.

It's the Lanlord that is taking the piss surely? How can an increase of nearly 30% be fair ?

I think this Landlord must be an overleveraged debt monkey, who has been paying interest only on his BTL. Quite a few of them about unfortunately - but on a positive note is does look like many of them will be flushed out of the industry by the normalising costs of borrowing :)

Get letters from gp and all and every agency involved with your dc and get them to the council and any and all housing associations in your area. Your dc disability should bump you up the list a bit

@DrySherry it’s funny you say that because when the EA initially contacted me to let me know about the rent increase. They said that there’s a cost of living crisis for everyone including the LL and my rent amount is only covering his interest rates. Like ok??? How the hell is that my problem, I didn’t tell him to take out whatever mortgage he has!

@clpsmum thank you for the advice! We very luckily already have priority when it comes to bidding for Council/HA properties due to his condition. The last property I bidded on we came bid position 7. So we are really close but unfortunately these flats don’t come up as often as we need. It’s just stressful all around

@GoAgainstNicki it’s your problem because you rent the property? I understand why you want to stay but I genuinely don’t understand what you think should be happening? Do you think the LL should keep the rent the same? Even if that means paying a £1500pcm mortgage so essentially paying £400pcm personally for you? Or sell up so you’re evicted anyway? Or just no pay their mortgage so you’re evicted?

What are you talking about have you even read my most recent posts? It’s not my problem that the rent I pay barely touches the surface. I’m happy to pay the new rent amount of £1450 so why now does he want to serve me with a Section 21 notice?

I forgot how ridiculous this thread was at one point with people jumping down my neck when I really don’t need the aggro. I won’t be watching this thread and won’t be responding anymore

OP, what I think has happened is this. Your LL could never really afford to not raise your rent by what he proposed (let's assume it's a BTL LL mortgaged up to the hilt both with your property AND their own home). LL is just about holding out financially by not getting that £50 a month and figures it's more hassle and expense to get a new tenant in anyway.

Then on 22nd, the BoE base rate rose, and anyone watching the news knows that's likely to happen again in August.

Added to that, he may have had a 'well I can just evict her later if it's completely unaffordable' discussion with the EA, which the EA has countered with 'yes, but there's a lot of pressure to get the renters reform bill through parliament, and you may not be able to issue a section 21 at some point in the near future.' That means issuing one now, before parliament makes them illegal.

I think you need to call Shelter. The best time to get hold of them is 8.01am. I am not entirely sure what they can do because it seems to be section 21s are all powerful, but I think you may have a case for an unfair rate rise (i.e can they prove rents have risen in the area by 30%) and unlawful eviction (because they have already agreed to keep you on, which shows you are a good tenant - did you get that new rate agreement, even if it's just you agreeing, in writing?). There may also be an element of disability discrimination Shelter can help you get down because of your child.

Like I said, I really don't know if it's possible to counter a section 21, but Shelter are your best option for trying. Don't even bother trying to get them at lunchtime, you will be on hold for half an hour.

Keep us updated please.

@GoAgainstNicki I can only imagine how stressful it must be for you. I really hope a solution becomes available for you x

Not having a go at OP at all but the real crime here is that 1100 of UC per month is going straight into a private landlord's pocket. What a stupid system.

You sound like a bit of a cunt. Have some empathy. What an awful and scary situation for OP.

OP - no words of advice, but I’m sorry you are facing this. I hope you get the help and outcome you need for you and your child.