Renters face paying up to £270 A YEAR extra – here’s how to fight against your landlord’s price hike
Almost half of landlords say they will have to put up rents this year, blaming policy changes like the impending tenant fees ban
TWO million tenants could face forking out an extra £276 a year on rent this year, new research claims.
That's another £23 a month, bringing the average monthly rent up to £941 from £918, pilling the pressure on tenants already struggling with stagnant wages and the rising cost of living.
Over a typical 18 month tenancy, renters will have to fork out an extra £414, according to online letting agent .
Experts put the hikes down to landlords passing on the costs of impending tenant fees ban, loss of mortgage tax reliefs and other regulatory changes.
Unsurprisingly, tenants in London will be hit the hardest with half of landlords planning to increase rents, despite already paying out on average £1,274 every month.
In the North East and Scotland, tenants will almost be just as badly affected, with 46 and 45 per cent of landlords also planning a hike.
How to haggle with your landlord and bring down your rent
WHEN you first sign your tenancy agreement with your landlord your rent should be agreed either in writing or verbally.
To increase your rent your landlord must send you a section 13 notice which gives you a month's 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.
Matt Hutchinson, communications director for flatsharing website SpareRoom.com said that if you are a good tenant then you've got bargaining power.
"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."
Landbay have a free rent check service to see how much rent you should be paying in your area.
You can find the rent check service
Find out more about how to haggle with your landlord to bring your rent down here.
And it's the younger generations that will be hit the hardest, with the majority of UK tenants (59 per cent) all aged between 18 and 34.
Out of the 1,000 landlords survey, 40 per cent of them said they were planning to put up prices this year.
But the agency reckons that 97 per cent of the landlords surveyed believed that putting rents up was a last resort.
Alexandra Morris, from the online letting agents said: "Rents have already been increasing year on year, and it’s likely that 2018 will be the year that sees UK tenants feel the biggest impact yet from the recent changes introduced to the private rental sector.
"From our experience, we know many tenants are already stretching their monthly budgets to afford rental properties, and additional rent increases could be the final straw, tipping them into debt or rent arrears."
LATEST ON HOUSE PRICES
This year has seen a real blow for renters, as it's revealed tenants in Southern England - including London, the South East and the South West - are now forking out on average up to 2.2 per cent more a month, bringing the bill up to £1,372.
While its better news for renters in Northern England who have seen bills drop since last year, it's only by an average of £1 a month.
Many renters are still waiting for a law to be bought in, banning high letting agents fees, almost two years after it was announced.
But there are ways of getting around the fees even before the law comes into place, like using online letting agents.
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