Are long term rentals a thing anymore?

[hunkidore]

We rent in London and are looking for a bit more security than a 12 month contract. Are 3-4 year leases a thing anymore?

We have rented the same flat for 3 years. It’s nice enough, a bit small, but no point spending more on rent when we could save/invest instead. Thinking of asking the landlord if they’d enter into a longer lease with us so that we can plan our lives and finances a bit better.

My tenants have been in for 14 years. I keep the rent low, they don’t bother me and I don’t bother them.

You can always ask! I rent out a property and have been having a lot of breakages ~(hundreds of £ every month in repair costs...every sodding month!) so I have done a 6 month contract this time down from 12 months. If you've paid on time and not cost them a small fortune by breaking every white good, tap, door and ceiling in the place I can't see why they also wouldn't want the security. They may want to discuss a rent increase to lock in so maybe prepare for that if it has been a while, as market rates will likely go up every year.

I rent my houses out on a 1 year contract with tenant told if you pay rent on time and look after house I'll renew for another year. I've had one tenant in a house for 12 years and both DC were born there. Most of my tenants stay for 5-8 years then some have saved enough for their house deposit. Under RRB there will be no more fixed contracts. I've never had to ask anyone to leave but I know a LL who has because he had tenants from hell. When they eventually left after court order they left the upstairs taps running in bathroom with plug in and it flooded through ceiling of dining room underneath.

I usually do 2 or 3 test contracts. This will be the last one though, I'm selling due to both recent changes and forthcoming ones. I expect many landlords will, especially for the 2030 change.

My longest tenant is 28 years. Then I have a few around the 8 year mark. I think the most recent is 3 years. People move for various reasons. The one with the longest tenancy came as a couple and now they have three children. The only thing I want to do is upgrade their kitchen but they aren’t keen on any disruption. It’s their home so I’m not going to force them.

Yes, you have to negotiate it individually. It really doesn’t benefit estate agents. But landlords are often happy that it secures their income (especially if they already know you’re a reliable tenant).

There’s new legislation coming in that will actually end fixed term tenancies altogether.

Weve been landlords for 12 years. We are still on our second set of tenants. The first ones moved out after 7 years when they bought a house. Current ones have no plans to leave currently.

However the initial contract is 6/12 months as you both need to want to trust each other.

I think the longest that can be done as an AST is 3 years. We’ve been in our current property coming up 9 years now. We had a 12 month initially, then two years and now has two three year ones.

There's no point trying to negotiate a long lease with anyone. The minute the Renters' Rights bill comes in, ALL tenancies are effectively 'disolved,' and become periodic tenancies. Fixed terms will no longer be legal; all tenancies exist on a month by month basis, and, in theory, a tenant can move in and immediately give two months' notice to move out (which is a bit shocking - but I've had enough crappy LL's that I've considered doing that, so I do get it).

One of the key parts of the RRB is that LL's can only evict you if a) they or a family member need to move in, b) they have to sell it or c) you're more than two months late paying rent.

'No fault' evictions will cease to exist.

Rent rises will have to be notified by a certain set of paperwork by LLs and the tenant has the right to disagree immediately - and one of the contentious points is, they don't have to pay the new amount they're disagreeing with until it's been through court, and even then, it won't be backdated. (the Independent Landlord is a good source of information).

In short, if you're looking for a more 'secure' tenancy, that's exactly what they're about to become. And if you're looking for one with set rates of rent increases for the next 3-4 years, that's tough luck. Any contract terms you negotiate now become null and void in the near future.

https://blog.goodlord.co/renters-rights-bill-a-letting-agents-guide

Whats the 2030 change please?

Property that is rented needs to meet EPC 'C' or higher. Mine won't, and will cost too much to get it there.