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I live in a houseshare, we've all lived their roughly 6 months and just got served a notice today that our rent is to go up 8% on the 1st April.
We dont have a proper tennacy agreement just a contract the landlord drew up which I suspect this is not legally binding.
I think the rise is a bit steep and we havent been served enough notice, any thing I can do?
I worry that he can just do this whenever he wants. I think we need to get a proper shorthold tennancy agreement sorted out
Move?
Your landlord is a fool, he needs a legally binding agreemt as well, I think you should get some legal advice
where else is he cutting corners .... not telling HMRC about rental income id guess 😉
Could you clarify if you're renting a room in a house, or renting a whole house?
I think there's quite a big legal difference. Could be totally wrong, but at least the better informed on here would have more to go on.
Real advice needed for sure.
I think notice has to be given and longer than that and you should have a proper contract - if you haven't you may have gained extra rights you don't usually get
find steve austins profile - he usually has a link to advice onthis sort of thing
Just write back with the following:
"Dear capitalist pig,
We very much enjoyed your April Fool about an 8% rent rise. Which deposit protection scheme have you lodged our monies with?
Yours,
Squatters"
get the right information from people who deal with it every day. http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/downloads_and_tools/tenancy_checker
my understanding would be that you dont have a tenancy agreement so leagally the landlord is up a creek full of poo
Yeah 3 of us rent rooms in a house, our 4th roommate is the landlords son.
I have done these informal lets before and they have been fine, in fact in 9 years I have never lived in a house where the landlord has put rent up during my stay but I have moved around a bit.
I spoke to a solicitor today and I will send him our 'contract' to look at tomorrow, his initial assessment is that the contract is not legally binding so he can do what he wants but maybe try and negotiate.
I could move but the house has a secure garage for my bike and there isnt so many other options where I can get use of a garage.
Is the 4th roommate a friend as well as the landlord's son? Talk to him. I'm no expert but I had an informal arrangement many years ago in london and it worked very much in my favour when the owner's daughter came knocking asking us all to leave. I arranged a deal with her (she wanted to cash in on the house) that she paid a month's deposit on a new place and paid me the difference in rent that I would be facing for 3 months.
She had no legal right to evict me as there was no written agreement at all. Four years of living there and never a cross word with her mother - the landlady.
sounds like it might be a hmo, report to your local council housing office.
sounds like it might be a hmo, report to your local council housing office.
What's his sexuality got to do with it? 😀
He's not a friend as such, but obviously supports his dad side on this so he can carry on living rent free. We pay rent to his dad so i assume that makes him my landlord even though his son signed my contract.
According to that Shelter link i should have an assured shorthold tennancy but I dont.
you should have a shorthold tenancy agreement already sorted out, get one from whsmiths, get him and yourselves to sign it when all is agreed. I wouldn't trust friendships when it comes to paying for a place to call home.
HOME OR HOUSE OF MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY,
WHERE THE ONES LIVING THERE ARE NOT RELATED.
You could make a deal with him, perhaps? He doesn't increase your rent, and you don't shop him to HMRC? How's that sound?
shelter is right..
get a shorthold tenancy agreement signed.
Ive no idea if he declares his income or not. Sounds like he can do what he wants then.
I looked st those HMO's but it sounded liek there needed to be more rentpayers than we have in the house to qualify.
Im more annoyed about how he went about it than anything wlse, I got home last night and there was a note shoved under my door saying rent is going up from the 1st April. No discussion, the guys here all the time so he could have at least mentioned it.
In Scotland a HMO is where 3 or more unrelated folk rent together.
Same in england. And you probably do have an assured shorthold, its a set of rights, doesnt need a bit of paper. Please contact your local council housing office, these types make us landlords look bad and he needs his arse kicked. Council will do that.
In England each council has it's own rules I think however it's effectively the same as what cynic-al said. Or that might just be towards student housing
I'd just move
The rules about hmos pertain to licencing, a hmo is what Al defined, whether it needs a licence is at the councils discretion, but 4 unrelated people essentially on separate agreements is almost definitly licencable. Contact council.
OK thanks for the help guys something to go on at least. Ill try and contact the council, I dont really want to move so i have to think how far I want to push this really.
I think its just greed, he says its due to rising interest rates, pretty sure they have been a record low for a few years now.
man up frepster, go to the landlord armed with a shorthold tenancy and see what he does but he should sign if u are a decent tenant.. The ball is in your court.he could just be a dick though.
Ignoring rights/wrongs; is the rent expensive, average or cheap for what you get in the area you live in - and after April's rise, is it expensive, average or cheap.
If its cheap, pay it.
If its average, pay it or move.
If its expensive, move.
[i]I think its just greed, he says its due to rising interest rates, pretty sure they have been a record low for a few years now. [/i]
Depends what mortgage he's got, as Halifax for one have just put up their rates (and few pay the base rate).
He needs to give a month's notice, so at least don't pay the extra until May.
Having just evicted a tenant for not paying rent, it seems you can pretty much stay there for months rent free before they'll get you out - took us nearly 8 months and £2k to evict non paying tenants!
I think its just greed
This sums up Thatcherite landlords.
Look GaryGlitter we've had this crap from you before. As you well know I'm a landlord, do you think its greedy of me to come on here and help this tenant, to recommend that he gets the council involved?
It seems that this guy is greedy, and I think operating illegally and unfairly, but that doesn't make all of us like that.
I advise all my tenants of their rights and remedy's and point them at all the free resources I know of to help them understand their position as a tenant. we tend to get along well as they find I am honest and decent. I make a profit on the supply of a service. I wonder where your wages come from?
You may as well say it to me straight directly, you think I'm greedy?
toys19 - 😆
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh!!!
😆 😆 😆 😆
Sorry is this the edingburgh defence or are you just saying you don't care?
Sorry is this the edingburgh defence or are you just saying you don't care?
I don't understand the question.
I worry that he can just do this whenever he wants. I think we need to get a proper shorthold tennancy agreement sorted out
as far as I'm aware they can't just put it up whenever they like, there's a certain limit (and the tenancy agreement cant' override the limit.)
It might not be this, but it's something like 10% a year. But if he doesn't put it up for 3 years, he can't then put it up 30% in the third year - so any years he doesn't put it up he's effectively lost the inflation for that year.
I worry that he can just do this whenever he wants. I think we need to get a proper shorthold tennancy agreement sorted out
he cannot do whatever he likes, you have tenancy rights, the law in the uk is that, since 1988 (I think), if you have no contract then its the same as having an AST.
OP sounds like you have an informal agreement that works for both you and the landlord, and now they have put the rates up by 8% to cover their costs. Understandably you're not too happy about this. I agree that the notice given is a bit on the short side.
However if you don't like it move out. If I was in your landlord's situation and you tried to pull any crap on me I would kick you out as soon as I could. The rental market is extremely buoyant and I would imagine the landlord would have no trouble finding a new tenant immediately.
Sorry if that's not what you want to hear 🙁
Random - if you were in the landlords position would you really want to lose the rent you are getting for the x number of months that you won't get paid while you go through the legal eviction process? Oh and don't forget losing that rent will be "offset" cos you'll also have to pay for the legal cogs to work and evict this tenant. OR are you the type that will "send the boys round" and then face legal proceedings for that?
Or you could negotiate an increase that is acceptable to all parties?
@speaker2 *I* wouldn't be in the landlord's position as all of my tenants have proper contracts. I would set the price increase and if they didn't want to pay they could terminate their tenancy agreement in accordance with the terms and conditions.
What happens in the real world only too often is what you describe - "the boys" would make it clear to the guy causing grief that he needs to move out for the benefit of all involved. It's not right but that's what happens.
And then the landlord gets prosecuted.
TJ, yep I hope so. Just needs the OP to dob him in.
What you really mean TJ is that private landlords are the stinking garbage of late Capitalism.
Might I politely suggest asking independent professional advice rather than the ill informed politically biased but rather amusing variations on a theme that you will get here! As can be said for virtually every topic raised of course.
Sounds to me like its set up so you are merely the sons lodger .....
It does sound as if you are in a lodging as the Son being a blood relative will be your landlord. It may be though that your agreement that was drawn up will give you more rights rather than less. As a lodger you do not have security of tenure. However the landlord should give you notice which matches your frequency of rent payment. i.e. if you pay monthly he should give a months notice or if weekly a weeks notice etc. This would be for any change to your agreement or if giving you notice to leave.
Ultimately it is your choice if you want to stay, as asked earlier -how will the new rent compare to the market, will you be able to find something similar for the rent you are currently paying? If not then it is a simple decision on whether you want to continue living there or not. I should add that the landlords notice period requirements also apply to you so you can give a months notice or a weeks notice etc.