My landlord or letting agent wants to increase the rent, do I have to pay it and can I haggle?
If you think your are paying too much rent you can always try to reach an agreement with your landlord, otherwise here is how you apply to see if you can get your rent lowered.
BRITS spend over a quarter of their income before tax just on paying the rent.
So any increase in rent can have a big impact on your finances.
What are your options if your landlord decides they want to put up your rent?
It can seem like you are stuck with whatever price your landlord decides to give you.
But if you know your rights and you know much you should be paying you could save a bundle.
Here is what to do if you are facing an increase in rent.
What happens if my landlord wants to increase my rent?
When you first sign your tenancy agreement with your landlord your rent should be agreed either in writing or verbally.
Your landlord can only change your rent once every twelve months from when the tenancy agreement was first signed or the last time your rent was increased.
To increase your rent your landlord must send you a section 13 notice which gives you a months notice in writing telling you how much your rent will be increased by and the date when your rent will go up.
At this stage you should try to talk to your landlord and come to a fair agreement on how much rent you should pay.
Your landlord can only raise your rent if you agree to the increased price.
If your landlord tries to increase your rent twice in a 12 month period, fails to adequately notify you of the increase in rent, doesn't tell you how much it will go up by, doesn't tell you the date the rent will go up or tries to charge you excessive rent then you may apply to the Residential Property Tribunal to have your rent reviewed.
What qualifies as excessive rent?
Excessive rent isn't just an unfair price, It's a cost that is higher than the houses around you.
Rent in the UK is based off the market rent of the accomodation in your area.
Market rent is affected by the availablity and cost of other similar homes around you.
Landlords can charge just under or over market rent depending on the house and the area it is in.
Your rent becomes excessive when you are paying a noticably larger amount more than the houses around you.
Checking the market rent on your house is really easy.
Landbay have a free rent check service to see how much market rent should be in your area.
You can find the rent check service
How do I challenge the price of my rent?
If you receive a section 13 notice from your landlord about increasing your rent and you believe the price to be excessive you should write back to your landlord as soon as you can stating that you do not intend to pay the increased rent and giving your reasons why.
Be sure to keep a copy of the landlord's and your own letters for legal evidence when you apply to the Residential Property Tribunal.
To apply to the Residential Property Tribunal you need to fill in a government form found and make sure it is received by the Residential Property Tribunal before the date your rent is due to go up.
You can also apply to challenge excessive rent if you start a new tenancy and then later find out that your rent is much higher than the houses around you.
But, if you want to do this you have to apply in the first six weeks of your tenancy.
Matt Hutchinson, communications director for flatsharing website SpareRoom.com said that if you are a good tenant then you've got bargaining power.
“Landlords may have the right to charge as much rent as they like, but they're not allowed to put your rent up during a fixed term tenancy.
"If your landlord suggests increasing rent outside of a fixed term contract it's always worth having a conversation to see if there's any flexibility."
"The first thing to bear in mind is that demand is lower at the moment than over the past couple of years.
"That means you’ve got a bit more bargaining power, especially if you’ve been a good tenant, as your landlord won’t want the expense and hassle of having to find another tenant and even potentially face a period with the property empty.
"Failing that it’s worth seeing if you can get anything thrown in with a rent increase, such as minor bits of redecorating or any bills."
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Risk of eviction
If you aren’t able to stop your rent being increased by reaching an agreement or challenging it, and you don’t pay the new amount your landlord can try to evict you.
If the tribunal orders you to pay the rent increase you must do so.
Otherwise you face a risk of eviciton.
Your landlord will have to give you two months notice to evict you.
Unless you live with your landlord, in which case your landlord can just give you reasonable notice to leave, which can be a very short time.
What happens at a Residential Property Tribunal?
You will only have to go to court if you and your landlord agree to have an oral hearing in court.
Otherwise a Residential Property Tribunal can be settled based on the documents and evidence received by the tribunal.
In an oral hearing you and your landlord will have the opportunity to present evidence, call witnesses and question each other.
Members of the tribunal may ask to inspect your home, this will most likely happen on the same day as your hearing.
Hearings are usually held close to your home and are open to the public.
After this it will take a couple days for the tribunal to make a decision.
There is no guarantee that the tribunal will lower your rent, they may keep your rent the same or even raise your rent higher than the landlord proposed.
The tribunal will send written conformation of it's decision to you and your landlord.
The rent chosen by the tribunal is binding for one year should you choose to stay in the property.
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