Landlord putting up rent by 25%

[Tenancystress]

I’m in a flat spin. We have rented a place for the standard rate for the area less than a year ago and the landlord has now said they want to make a 25% increase in rent due to rising costs. No date attached so I assume they mean that they will want me to start paying it by the end of this month. We’ll have to be paying it out of savings. I’m unable to work due to ill health.
I know that we will need to move out and find another cheaper place as the solution but it’s really not easy to do and we’ve only just moved. I don’t know how moving will affect school and the kids. We have been good tenants.
Is it really possible that anyone’s mortgage could have gone up by 25%? And is there any standard notice period for bringing in rent rises that I can ask for? Can I negotiate and offer to pay the exact difference of their mortgage rising? Citizens’ advice bureau? They’re not professional landlord just a single place they rent out so they may not know the rules. Please be gentle I am in a total panic.

First thing's first. There are THREE tenancy deposit schemes.

Google them, find the names of all three. They will ask for a move in date, postcode and deposit amount. Put your details in to all three.

If all three come up blank with no record of your deposit having been protected, your landlord cannot evict you, for any reason whatsoever, including wanting to raise the rent. Make sure the deposit amount is spot on what you paid, to the penny. Some of them will automatically generate a 'your deposit has been protected' email to you, others don't. But all three will say yes or no if you enter the amount and move in date correctly.

Secondly, if he failed you inform you of your deposit being protected in within around 30 days, you can get your deposit back and up to three times the amount of your deposit in compensation. AND you still have the right to live there. I am sure he doesn't want to pay you 8k+. So, this is by far the most urgent and important step imo.

Let us know re: this please, and further advice can follow.

If the landlord didn’t protect your deposit, he can’t issue a section 21 notice (give you notice to leave) until the deposit has been returned to you in full (unless you agree to deductions).

As PPs have said, if he didn’t protect the deposit or didn’t provide you with the paperwork within 30 days, you are entitled to 1-3 x the deposit in compensation. That will give you a lot of leverage…

clearly - but it’s not correct to say they can’t increase until month 13. You don’t know that without seeing the contract.

Thanks OK I will check the three schemes and see if it comes up. Thank you so much for this help everyone it means the world.

The current rent is what you've contractually agreed to. If there's nothing in tenancy about rent increases then they cannot just raise the rent until the yearly tenancy ends. Don't pay it but prepare to get notice and have to move but if you pay it they might try the same thing again!

That is the likely outcome.

There’s a break clause.

It's bad enough being bashed by the people who have no understanding of what being a landlord entails, without landlords joining in!

Yes, I want to make a profit but this is my job, I have done it for over 20 years. And yes, I am a good landlord.

It’s not coming up at the deposit sites if I give the start of the contract as the relevant date. If he had registered the deposit at any later date would that come up? I haven’t had an email about my deposit from a company, which I’ve had in tenancies before.

Plus if it then turns out my deposit isn’t protected, then presumably he could keep some or all of it saying there’s been damage or something (there hasn’t been any!) to try to recoup their mortgage costs.

No because if so, he has not been legal and you could get 3x back, so you would be in strong position

No. Even if he protected it later, the tenancy start date is the key date.

Remember he also has an obligation to let you know that it's been protected. This is probably just as important as whether it has actually been protected or not. So check your paperwork and any emails from him.

Like I said before, not all of the deposit schemes send emails to the tenant. I have had two tenancies in the last three years that did not automatically generate emails, but the agent emailed me a certificate, and when I checked the scheme online, it was legit, the deposit was there.

Given that he doesn't even have a rent review clause in your contract, I doubt he's done it. I have never had one without one, even if all it says is 'rent will be reviewed annually.'

But, if you want peace of mind, change the tenancy date to every day after the start date plus thirty days, and see if anything comes up in any of them.

My next piece of advice is that the best time to get Shelter on the phone is 8.01am, just after their lines open, and before most office workers settle in at around 9am.

This seems so unfair OP, really hope that the unprotected deposit thing works out and you have that in your corner.

There’s no cap on rent increase within the private market unfortunately. I had a two year tenancy (which had a one year break clause) and I was told that the LL was going to increase the rent. He wanted the rent increase to come in effective immediately but luckily, my tenancy didn’t mention anything about random increases.

When my tenancy was over, instead of going onto a rolling tenancy at the same rent price. I signed a new tenancy with the rent increase. The rent went from £1180 to £1450 (LL wanted to charge £1500). I’ve been told unofficially by the EA that the LL wants to increase the rent again at the end of this 12 month tenancy. We’ll have to go through the eviction process which is so shit for everyone involved.

Don’t worry about the rent increase. Try your best to negotiate and don’t just accept the first number thrown at you. If your tenancy doesn’t mention anything about a rent increase then your rent will stay the same within this time

If the landlord has protected the deposit late, the same law applies as if it were unprotected. Ditto, if you weren’t provided with the correct paperwork within 30 days. He can’t serve notice until the deposit has been returned in full. You can still ask for up to 3x the deposit as compensation. The minimum the courts will award is 1x the deposit.

You could search for the deposit entering every month since you moved in to see if it was protected late. You can also call the scheme helpline to ask for help.

Your dodgy landlord has shot himself in the foot - he clearly has no idea a what he’s doing if he hasn’t protected your deposit in an approved scheme.

This puts you in a very strong position, OP!

england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/costs_of_renting/rents_and_rent_increases/statutory_rules_for_rent_increases_for_assured_tenants

This is from shelter

It is not just protecting your deposit - he also needs to provide you with the gas certificate, EPC and a right to rent guide (landlord here). If he hasn't given you all of these things you can claim compensation and also negotiate. He should not be increasing your rent within the first year of the contract - the first year is a fixed term/amount.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/what_to_do_about_an_unprotected_tenancy_deposit

This is unfortunate, the dimwitted rent seekers are getting squeezed by the return to normal rates from emergency levels over a prolonged period. No doubt they will try to pass this higher cost onto tenants and appease the bank via their (the tenants') productive work. However rates are still very accommodative, historically speaking, worldwide - so it is just warming up.

With yields attractive on a more diverse range of assets than bricks and mortar the smarter landlords will likely diversify away from the illiquid property market. Sounds like you are left with one of the highly leveraged kind who has incorrectly assumed that negative real rates are the norm.

Call their bluff, tell them you can't afford it and will move out. A void would be disastrous for this debt junkie, given the 25% rental increase demand.

Thank you very much everyone you have really helped with my anxiety around this. I am feeling a bit calmer now and trying to get my ducks in a row. Hopefully we can use these rights to stay until the year contract is up.

That is totally untrue. Interest only did not force up prices. Foreign investment in housing stock was the main driver in increasing property prices post 2008 crash. London is or at least was known as the money laundering capital of the world.

As for forcing up rental prices, the recent government changes in policy has done this. I’ve been a landlord for over 25 years. Rental prices only increased slowly (less than double in 2 decades). Then the government introduced the tax changes along with other changes and rents sky rocketed. In the same 2 decades that rents crept up slowly, house prices trebbled and more albeit internet rates flattened so mortgages were more affordable.

Every time the government messes with the private rental market, the costs are passed onto the tenant. I have kept my tenants at well below market rate. As labour will likely win the next election, I will be asking for large increases of around £150 pcm to bring my rents about £100 below market rate. I have no choice as they’ll possibly cap the rent and if I don’t do it now, I will be stuffed.

@Tenancystress bot sure but I can say my mortgage has gone up 54%.

I'm a LL and on one of my properties my mortgage rate went up from a1.38 five year fix to now 5.9 percent, so yes mortgage rates have gone up a lot if a LL comes out of a fix ATM they have no choice but to either sell the property or get another mortgage at a much higher rate. By law a LL must give you 1 month's notice of rent increase and they can only increase the rent once in a 12 month period. General LL have to pay higher rates than other lenders. 25 percent is a huge rent increase though. I have put some rents up 6 percent and others not at all as still in a low fix for another year. I only put rent up if my mortgage cost goes up.

If you have a year rental.conyract they can't ask you to leave before the year is up. You should have your bond protected in the deposit scheme, have a valid gas and electricity certificate and the Right to Rent booklet given to you. I also get the tenant to sign to say they have received them all and print out a photo of each room to show the condition of the property. I get them to sign inventory, photos of gas, electricity and water readings too. I've never had an issue and it's because both I and the tenant both have copies of everything, always signed and witnessed too.

As far as I know they can only put the rent up twice a year and only by 5%

Landlords in London have been putting flats up for sale to get new tenants to get round this.

I'm not sure if it's the law or just the standard rental contract type thing.

Your rental contract if the first place to check. Then maybe the Shelter website?

It’s once a year on a periodic, not at all during a fixed term unless the tenant agrees and there is no price cap, the increase just needs to be in line with current rental prices.