Read your favourite news website and chances are you’ll see a story about rising rents. It’s a trend driven by a simple fact; in many areas of the UK the number of tenants looking for homes is greater than the properties available. Landlords know it and are tempted to increase the rent.
But remember that there are several rules that govern how much and when a landlord can ratchet up the rent.
Whilst if you move, the rent in a new property could be higher, if you’re already renting, the opportunities for your landlord to increase the rent are limited, by law.
The rules of raising the rent
If you have a fixed-term contract such as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy running for a set period – usually between six months and year – then your landlord cannot increase the rent without your agreement. If you refuse the rent rise, the landlord can only raise the rent after the fixed term period has ended.
The only exception to this is if there’s a clause in your contract that sets out how and when your landlord will increase the rent, and by how much. When you sign a tenancy, you need to watch out for this.
Or, if you have a rolling tenancy that goes from month to month or week to week, then your landlord can only raise the rent once a year without your agreement.
How much can your landlord raise the rent by?
The government says any rent increases must be “fair and realistic” and landlords can only raise your rent to be in line with the local average.
“Fair and realistic” is a bit vague, though. One person’s idea of realistic can be very different to another person’s.
One strategy to overcome this is not to look at the whole local rental market on, say, Rightmove and try and work the average locally. Instead, try and find apartments or housed that are like yours – i.e. similar location and size. And then a couple that are also being rented out.
If you think the rent rise is not fair and realistic and your landlord won’t budge or negotiate, then if you live in England you can take the dispute to a tribunal, although there are different ways to solve rent disputes in Scotland and Wales.
In England, you will apply to what’s called a First-Tier Tribunal. These are independent and, after listening to both sides of the argument, will make a decision that will be binding on both you and your landlord.
These tribunals can also be used if you think your rent is too high at the beginning of the tenancy, instead of just when it comes up for renewal.
But be careful – some less scrupulous landlords may evict you from your property if you take them to one of these tribunals. Tenants in the UK renting via an Assured Shorthold Tenancy have fewer rights and renting security than in many other European countries.
Improving your credit score
CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score
If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all four of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money.
CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.
Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.
