When you initially take on a rental property, the chances are that you will look to sign a term lease, which ensures that you will stay locked to the property for a certain amount of time and that your rent will remain the same throughout this period of time. Once this period has finished, the landlord may choose to increase your rent, depending on the financial climate and the current property situation, and if this occurs, you may be served a rent review notice.
In general, your landlord must give you plenty of notice before they look to increase your rent, and this is generally a minimum of two months before the rental increase takes place. In addition, the rental increase must be kept within a reasonable amount, and there are often limits put in place that restrict how much your landlord can increase the rent by on an annual basis.
What is a reasonable rent increase?
In general, many landlords will look to increase their rent significantly when they choose to issue a rent increase, and this could be annually or once every couple of years, depending on the market. If the rental market is good, then a landlord could capitalise on this by increasing the rent regularly. If the rental market is bad, then a landlord may be concerned that a tenant will leave their property vacant, and they may choose to hold their rental price until the market starts to pick up momentum again.
What can you do about a rent increase?
If you feel that you have been served an unfair rent increase, then it’s important that you respond to the letter immediately, as in many situations there is a deadline for any opposition to a rent increase of this type. Once your letter has been received, the landlord may choose to reconsider their rent increase, or they may come to an agreement with you over a different figure. If at this time you are still unhappy with the figure, then you may choose to take proceedings further.
At Roger Hannah & Co., our lease advisory team can support you through a rent review with specialist knowledge of the legislation, as well as the current market conditions and comparable leases.
Contact Mark Keirl at 0161 817 3300 or see our Lease Advisory Page.