Landlord request feels unfair

[Uberbeeboo]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice about our rights as tenants. We have lived in our rental property for coming up to 5 years and were made aware in March our landlord wanted to sell when our tenancy ended on 31st august 2024.

We therefore purchased a new build property which we believed would have been built by now, however we now have been given the completion date of 30th September 2024.

Today we asked the estate agent who manages our property if we can stay until our new property is ready to move into and they have responded with an ultimatum saying we can stay, but there will be a £400 increase of the rent per month starting next week when the rent is due.

The rental house is not sold and we've only done 2 viewings since April. We've been good tenants and were disappointed we had to move anyway. We really can't afford an extra £400 next week, so I was hoping if someone would kindly give me a little guidance with this please?

No idea but I'm sorry to hear you've hit a bump in the road.

Nothing will happen. Stop worrying. This case will not get to a court for weeks.
You have paid rent up till 30th September anyway. The court is not going to issue any kind of order this week. You have allowed the estate agent to rattle you. You are entirely legally entitled to continue to live there until an eviction order is served which will not happen on the timescale the estate agent wants. Once you have moved out there will be no case to answer.

I'm honestly just expecting the worst all the time now. There is still hope. Hopefully the inspection goes well and this stress will be a distant memory.

@Uberbeeboo listen to this advice. Good luck, hope you get to move soon, and please don’t panic.

Please don't panic. The agent is a total arsehole and a bully. You don't need to move out into a caravan. You just keep paying rent as usual, and as soon as you can move out you do. You might end up paying double rent/mortgage for a month but as long as you pay the rent until you move out you'll be fine. Also remember mortgages are paid in arrears and rent in advance so you shouldn't end up with 2 payments in the same month.

Landlord can not increase the rent IF YOU DO NOT AGREE to it. If you do not agree, they can take you to court to evict you, but they will not get a judgment for the rent increase. But- Very Important- you must pay them the 'old' rent, do not stop that. Then they will not have a legal leg to stand on.
Look into your rental agreement- does it mention any rent increases at all? If not- he can not amend it at his own will now and ask for a very large increase. Usually, the increase can only happen once a year, but if it is not in your original contract (clause of increasing your rent) THERE IS NOTHING HE CAN DO IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO PAY THE INCREASED RENT.
Also, do not pay a one-off increase, as, if you pay once, it becomes your new rent.
Go read your contract now. And stay strong

Oh OP 😔 sorry it’s all been so stressful. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that you’ll be in and this will just be a moment in the past!

Before you have to go to court to defend yourselves, you will have to respond to a court papers - and that will be months until you get papers from the court. The court system is very slow! You will be out of the rented house by then. And it is up to the landlord to find you and serve the papers on to you.
Sit tight, pay an 'old' rent until you are ready to move, take loads of photos to show condition you have left the house before moving, and you will be fine. If you have paid until 30 September, you do not give possession until then. If there are further delays, pay weekly, nit monthly. The landlord can not do anything! And do not allow any viewings, if you don't want them.
The 50% increase in the rent made me mad on your behalf! 😠

All court docs will be posted. Set up a Royal Mail redirection so all post arrives at your new house.

You know that the s21 isn't valid, so please don't worry. I know that's easy to say, especially on top of a stressful house purchase. You're doing everything right and the agent is a knob.

She shouldn't pay weekly. Rent is due monthly, she needs to pay as per the tenancy agreement. But otherwise yes.

Thanks everyone and I know you're all right, I just need to hold my nerve and make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

I'm just unnerved about how underhand the Estate Agent is and he is so confident in his ultimatums. I've also found out he's an old friend of the landlord which was a disappointing surprise.

Hopefully I'll have a great update by the end of the week and I'll be out of here.

@Uberbeeboo make sure your set up a Royal Mail redirect so if in the unlikely chance he does go to court you get the papers.

Please sit tight, even though it’s so stressful you have done nothing wrong and have no need to leave.

Awful that this is ruining what should be an exciting time for you.

@Uberbeeboo definitely do what @FawnFrenchieMum said and sort out a mail re-direct. Are you sure they’re friends? Might just be a load of noise to unsettle you. Have you explained to the developer that you’re being evicted and the Agent is bullying you? Does the developer have a progress chaser on site? They are usually keen to complete so should be doing all they can to assist. So sorry - just hold your nerve and hopefully all will be well. Is your local council involved with the developer? And are they aware of what the Agent/LL are trying to do? Pretty sure bad LL can be reported to council …

I'm definitely going to write a complaint, which I will escalate if he doesn't address my points. I was reading his complaints blog on his website and he prides himself nobody has ever had to contact the ombudsman and only the royal family has the right to complain about property. It's all very odd.

The developers have been ok with me so far and I know they're chasing and they always keep in contact. They were quite firm with me on Monday however and insisted that we have rights as tenants.

You've unwittingly given wrong advice here @ccchan.
Landlords can put up the rent once a year, by issuing a section 13 notice giving one month's notice. In England and Wales, the landlord can increase it by any amount he so wishes. The tenant can (and must) challenge that if they disagree, by following the advice given on the section 13 notice and applying to the Rent Tribunal for a ruling on a fair market rent in line with other similar nearby properties. The application MUST be made by the tenant before the increase is due to be paid. The tenant must also continue to pay rent at the old rate when due while the Tribunal process is happening.
If the tenant doesn't pay the increased rent but doesn't apply to theRent Tribunal, then the tenant is still liable for the new rent, and the landlord will probably be able to take the increased rent from the tenant's deposit (depending on what the deposit contract states) after the tenant is evicted. Most landlords would probably evict if the tenant is refusing to pay the increased rent or hasn't gone through the Rent Tribunal.

Hi, I've given notice to be out by 30th September or I'd have challenged the rent increase. I've requested a check out appointment on the 30th which has been ignored so far. I really don't trust them doing this without me there.

Following on from my last post, OP needs to apply to the Rent Tribunal before the increased rent is due! Otherwise the landlord may be able to take the 'arrears' (the increased rent) from her deposit. Check the deposit scheme contract to see whether landlord can claim for rent arrears as well as damage etc.
If OP moves out at an early stage of the tribunal process, it's fairly likely that the landlord won't bother continuing with it. It's a process that usually takes three or four months.

The section 13 says the rent increase is valid from 1st October, so I'm fine. I'll not be there, that's the risk I took. There is no damage to the house at all, it's spotless however I don't trust this agent and I want a proper checkout. So far he's ignored this request meaning I'll probably have to just post the keys in the letter box and record it.

OP doesn't need to do anything about a rent tribunal if the Section 13 rent increase notice hasn't been correctly served yet - last I saw that hadn't been done (it may have been done since, but them saying "the rent will go up" and OP saying "please put that on a Section 13 notice for our consideration" does not count)

The issue the agent has and doesn't seem to realise, is his tenancy rules state that all notices will be served in writing via mail however he emails everything which can't be tracked. S21 and s13 were a form on an email which I haven't acknowledged. He hasn't cottoned on to this. Fortunately for him, I genuinely am looking to move out as soon as possible.

Cross-posted with my previous.
I would take the keys to the Estate Agent's place of business during office hours with a pre-printed paper saying "I acknowledge receipt of the keys to [address] on [date]" and require a signature from whoever is in the office in order to hand them over. If you just put them in the letter box you won't have much proof - although you could get someone to video record you putting them into the box - the important thing is to have proof of some kind.

@OpizpuHeuvHiyo
Yes, I didn't realise the s13 hadn't been issued yet. It's a win for OP then!
Even if the s13 is issued, the timing has to be so the month's notice expires the day before the rent is due again, which should buy her even more time.

The whole thing is confusing to be fair. Initially I was informed of the rent increase via email and with little notice. The agent wanted increased payment on the next due date which was 5 days away. I told him no and to issue a section 13, which he did. This gives me until 30th September however, I'll be gone anyway. I think I'm irritating him by sticking by the book.

@Uberbeeboo Irritate the agent even more by asking him for 😂details of his company's redress scheme, so you can ask them whether it's reasonable for an agent to demand an increase 5 days before the rent is due and without a s13...
You'll be helping out a lot of future tenants by reporting him. Do it after you've got your deposit back though!

Please please don’t post your keys through the letterbox you know he will shaft you.

when we moved in to our rental the agents used a impartial checking in company. I’d almost be tempted to use them on the 30th. if he does come through on the 30th, please record it, it will help you keep your cool and give evidence of any silliness