what are your rights if your landlord wants to increase your rent?
- Written by Tom Simcock, Research Fellow, Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Huddersfield
A lack of affordable housing and growing demand for rental properties have sent the rental market into a state of crisis, and young people are particularly affected. New data[1] suggests that nearly four in ten renters under the age of 30 pay more than 30% of their income on rent, and some are turning to house sharing[2].
According to Rightmove, asking rents on property listings outside London are up 12% on the previous year, and growing at the fastest rate in 16 years[3]. And the Office for National Statistics[4] reports that for the year to August 2022, rents increased by 3.2% across the UK.
If you rent, you may be worried about what you can do if your landlord wants to increase the rent. There are some circumstances where a landlord can increase rents, but only by following the rules and sticking to the tenancy agreement. Tenancy law is complex, and your rights depend on the type of contract you have and where you are.
The final way your landlord can increase the rent is by serving you a Section 13 notice[12]. Your landlord can only do this once a year, they must give you at least one month’s notice, and use the correct form.
If you do not agree to the rent increase proposed under the Section 13 procedure, you can challenge the increase at a first-tier tribunal. The increase usually doesn’t apply until the tribunal has decided on whether to increase your rent, keep the rent the same, or possibly decrease it.
The Scottish system
In Scotland, the government reformed private renting and introduced the Private Residential Tenancy[13] agreement in December 2017. This banned “no fault” evictions, introduced open-ended tenancies, and protected tenants from frequent rent increases.
Rent increases in Scotland under this system are different than in England and Wales. There are different protections on rent increases[14]. These include that your rent can not be increased more than once every 12 months, your landlord must use the correct form, and provide you with at least three months’ notice.
If you think the rent increase is too much, you can apply within 21 days to a rent officer[15] for them to decide on whether this increase is fair. Based on local market rents, the rent officer could decide to increase the rent even higher or lower the rent if they think it is too high.
Negotiating with your landlord
You can negotiate rent increases with your landlord. Getting a new tenant can be costly and risky, with the upfront costs of tenancy checks and letting agent fees. If you can not afford the increase, Shelter[16] recommends having a conversation with your landlord and explaining your financial situation. To prepare for this conversation, look at what similar properties in your area are charging – you may be able to argue that your landlord is charging above the market rent. They may be understanding and agree to not increase your rent or increase it by an affordable amount.
While there are options to challenge and negotiate a rent increase, if you are on a periodic tenancy in England and Wales, your landlord can serve a Section 21 “no fault” notice[17]. This gives you two months’ notice to leave the property without reason for eviction.
If you stay beyond the two months, the landlord can take you to court – and if they have done everything by the book, the court has to grant possession to the landlord. The UK government has announced plans to end Section 21 evictions[18], but so far, there is no date for these changes.
This article is not intended to be in-depth legal advice. If you have questions about your situation, talk to a housing advice charity such as Shelter or Citizens Advice.
References
- ^ New data (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ turning to house sharing (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ growing at the fastest rate in 16 years (www.rightmove.co.uk)
- ^ Office for National Statistics (www.ons.gov.uk)
- ^ This article is part of Quarter Life (theconversation.com)
- ^ How soaring inflation can be particularly harmful for young people (theconversation.com)
- ^ What a £350,000 average house price means for first-time buyers in Great Britain (theconversation.com)
- ^ What trade unions do and what joining one means (theconversation.com)
- ^ The government (www.gov.uk)
- ^ Shelter (england.shelter.org.uk)
- ^ Brookgardener / Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
- ^ Section 13 notice (www.citizensadvice.org.uk)
- ^ Private Residential Tenancy (www.gov.scot)
- ^ There are different protections on rent increases (www.gov.scot)
- ^ rent officer (www.mygov.scot)
- ^ Shelter (england.shelter.org.uk)
- ^ Section 21 “no fault” notice (www.gov.uk)
- ^ end Section 21 evictions (theconversation.com)
