Help! landlord's trying to increase the rent

Hello group,

My landlord has been trying to increase my rent.

My tenancy was originally a 12-month AST (monthly), which has been rolled over (without any extra paperwork) for an extra year or so. I've handed in my notice to quit next month. the timetable is this:

1/9/2002 tenancy started (£510pm). Monthly invoices for £510.

1/9/2003 end of original tenancy. New tenancy offered at £550. Not agreed to. Rollover agreed with landlord. Monthly invoices continue for £510

1/9/2004 new tenancy again offered at £550. I hand in my notice to quit on 31/11/2004. Invoices start at £550, with extra figure for 'amount outstanding', equal to the rent increase since 1/9/2004.

I have only ever paid the original rent (£510) and I have not acknowledged the increased rent, or the new tenancy other than to decline it when handing in my notice. I sort of assumed we would need a new agreement before they could increase the rent.

My questions are:

HELP! WHAT DO I DO?

Is this increase legal? What is the proper method for increasing the rent?

How do I respond to the invoices?

I'm pretty sure they're going to take the extra amount from my deposit. What do I do about that?

If I withhold my final rent payment, apart from not supplying references, what can they do? What happens if they change the locks before I leave?

I would appreciate any advice.

TIA

Reply to
J Brown
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yes,

They told you of the new rent, you did not (this time) disagree until i suspect too late.

You pay them.

Accept it. You are talking about £120. You should get the balance of th edeposit back assuming you leave the property in good repair etc.

Now the landlord can only ask for the increase since 1/9/04 The rent for 2003/4 was 'agreed' by both parties in light of him producing invoices for 510 and you paying them.

You can be taken to court for the money.

The landlord would ruin his case against you if he did that.

Reply to
Richard

acknowledged

This is rubbish.

Unless a new agreement is signed, the original agreement rolls over. The OP is under no obligation at the higher rent, whatsoever. When the landlord (finally) insisted on it, he gave notice. There is no liability at 550 and if the landlord witholds deposit in lieu of claimed outstanding rent, he should sue him.

Reply to
John Bishop

From what the OP stated, I would agree. I would reply to the invoices that the increased rent had not been agreed and that you expect the full deposit to be returned, less deductions for unreasonable damage or missing items. If you are that worried, you can get in a professional inventory clerk to record the state of the property on the final day. It will cost - but not that much.

Reply to
Palindr☻me

Good heavens, what a cad! If they don't put up the council tax, why should the rent go up. Er, wait a minute...

Fair enough. In my view rollovers are preferable to new agreements, because new agreements introduce a new minimum period, whereas rollovers provide for more flexibility to terminate.

That was very generous of the landlord, though he may simply have been taking the view that if had he tried to force an increase you would have left, leaving him with very little time to find a new tenant, and probably causing at least a whole month's vacancy, losing him £510.

November doesn't have 31 days, so technically the notice is invalid. :-)

It is unusual to invoice. Normally rent just becomes due on the monthly rent day as per the agreement, and the most usual method is to pay by standing order.

No, you don't. It is certainly customary to review the rent annually, and typically the landlord will propose a new level, and you can attempt to negotiate, but if no agreement can be reached, the landlord can kick you out (with proper notice being given, of course) if you refuse to pay more, or you can quit (with notice) if he refuses to take less.

Decide PDQ whether you really do want to leave, or if you'd rather cave in, pay more rent, and ask to be allowed retract your notice to quit. Moving seems a lot of hassle to go to just to try to save face. Are you sure you can find elsewhere, as good, but cheaper?

As I see it, you're now being asked to pay an increase, after two years, equal to what the landlord really wanted to charge after just one year, so you'd still come out quids in.

Of course, though technically notice of increase should have been given in good time, to allow for decisions whether to terminate to be made within the relevant notice periods.

Landlord informs you, say 1 month before he would otherwise give you notice to quit, telling you how much rent he will charge you. You accept or negotiate. You then either agree to stay at a revised rent, or agree to part company.

There shouldn't really be any invoices. Rent is automatically due as per the agreement. Technically you can make a fuss based on there being no mutual agreement about the revised figure. If you have definitely and irrevocably decided to move out, you can argue that you do not in fact owe the increase. As I see it, if you disagreed, there is no legal basis for the landlord charging you.

You could sue for the balance, if you think the hassle is worth it.

They could sue you. But it's hassle which will probably not be worth while, so they will probably not bother.

You sue them for unlawful eviction. This could be worth five figures.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

No. You dispute them. Send back a cheque for £510 and query why the extra money.

You sue them as noted. Your tenancy lapsed into a statutory periodic after the inital 12 month tenancy expired. Unless there are methods for an increase in the contract, the only way to increase the rent is for the landlord to propose it and you to accept.

Paying the extra could be deemed for you to have accepted. Don't do it. Send back a query with *every* letter/invoice that refers to it.

The landlords sole remedy is to give you your required 2 months notice to quit and then find another tenant, or offer you another tenancy on higher grounds. Remind him/her of this. You could have just sat and waiting until they did that, however having given your notice to quit you will have to follow through. Don't let them bully you out of it in your deposit either.

Reply to
Chris Street

Ronald Raygun wrote: > J Brown wrote: > > >>My landlord has been trying to increase my rent. > > > Good heavens, what a cad! If they don't put up the council tax, > why should the rent go up. Er, wait a minute...

:-)

Thanks for all the replies. I am not complaining about the rent going up per se. If they think they can get that much then fine, but I *do* insist on my right to budget properly.

The original rollover was on the grounds that I would be (voluntarily) moving out before long, so it provided suitable flexibility for that. I haven't really spoke to them since, other than to tell them I'm finally moving.

I would be prepared to negotiate a smaller rise (being a model sitting tenant and all), but I'd prefer out for other reasons.

They even used to invoice me when I had a standing order. It seems pretty pointless to me, but I suppose it does at least let me keep a check on what they're thinking. Like this.

Yes, I'm not having this.

It might be good experience and ultimately satisfying. I get p*ssed off with presumptuous landlords.

Can I sue them for harassment as well?

How can I tempt them ;-)

I'm sure I'm dealing with the monkey and not the organ-grinder in the landlord's office, so this might not happen. They have been quite professional really, so this latest move surprised me. I think a new rookie office manager might be the source of the problem.

I don't trust them with my deposit right now, and I will be seeking further clarification from them about their unilateral rent increase.

Reply to
J Brown

In message , J Brown writes

If you dont trust them with your deposit, dont pay the last months rent, and tell them to take it out of your deposit. This may be tantamount to breach of contract, but So What!!??

They then have to think long and hard about whether to sue you and, given that the rent equals the deposit, (??), and they will have lost nothing, they will not have anything to pursue.

The rent increase is on very shaky ground, and I would leave it to them to sue you for this. It shouldnt be worth the effort on their part, and it probably isnt a lawful attempt to increase anyway.

Reply to
Richard Faulkner

Notice must be given in 'prescribed form' and you should have been given 1 rental periods (in your case 1 months) notice. The relevant piece of legislation is The Housing Act 1998 Section 13

Given this I'd say you've got no liability to pay the increase but check the exact meaning of 'prescribed form' with someone like Shelter or Citizens Advice.

As you suspect, it indicates lack of competence on the part of the landlord/agent as it's a simple enough procedure. Given this I think you're right to be concerned about your deposit, doing as Richard suggests looks like a good option. There's loads of info. on what to do to counter unauthorised deductions from deposits; see

General info on my webpage

hth

Daytona (Landlord & tenant, not a lawyer)

Reply to
Daytona

Sorry - slightly out of date there as it was amended last year. The new notice is commonly known as form 4B and the underlying legislation is

Daytona (Landlord & tenant, not a lawyer)

Reply to
Daytona

I think both of the above are wrong. They apply to Assured Periodic Tenancies. Both versions of the form state that they should *not* be used if the rental agreement contains a clause governing rent increases and how they should be notified. Both versions also say that in the case of Statutory Periodic Tenancies a *different* form should be used. I gather that Statutory Periodic Tenancies are what ASTs normally roll over into.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

Sure, but budgeting involves planning, and foresight. You ought to have expected an annual rent review.

You do need to make up your mind whether "final" really is final.

Not willy-nilly. They do actually need to harass you before you can do that. If you don't watch Judge Judy you may not be aware that harassment is not at all easy to prove. I know, different country, different laws, and all that, but many principles are the same, and a mistake made by many plaintiffs is that what they think is harassment doesn't actually amount to such in law.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

"Guidance notes for landlords on how to complete the notice 6. This notice can either be completed in ink or printed.

  1. This notice should be used when proposing: a new rent under an assured periodic tenancy (including an assured shorthold periodic tenancy); or"

There appears to be no such clause in the ops contract otherwise I'm sure he'd have mentioned it. 'a new rent or licence fee for an assured agricultural occupancy. In such cases, reference to "landlord" and "tenant" can be read as references to "licensor" and "licensee".

  1. Do not use this notice if the tenancy agreement contains a term allowing rent increases, or there is some other basis such as a separate agreement with the tenant for raising the rent. Any provision you rely on needs to be binding on the tenant. Legal advice should be sought if there is any doubt on this score.'

An assured shorthold periodic tenancy is the same as a SPT. Perhaps they ought to amend the form again .The clause applies only if you wish to change the terms and, as a consequence, the rent -

" 9. You need to use a different form to propose a rent increase for a statutory periodic tenancy (the first case mentioned in note 15) if you are seeking to adjust rent solely because of a proposed change of terms under section 6(2) of the Housing Act 1988. Seek legal advice if you think this may apply to you. You can obtain the form headed Notice proposing different terms for a Statutory Periodic Tenancy from a rent assessment panel or a legal stationer."

Daytona

Reply to
Daytona

My mistake.

Ah, but then he'd have had to have read it first. I'm not convinced he has. :-)

I find the idea that AST rent adjustments must be notified in prescribed form absurd, especially given that they can in any case be forced at any time on an "or else" basis, i.e. by agreeing not to serve notice to quit only if the increased rent is agreed. In effect, therefore, note 8's "some other basis" always exists.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

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