Confused

[Never-In-Doubt]

My mate asked me if his landlord can put his rent up when they like. Obviously I don't have a scooby so can they do this? Ok some history, he's rented there a year or so and only ever signed a 6mth tenancy agreement which now seems to have expired but they're happy leaving him alone renting long term apparently.

Then this week a valuer came. They told matey boy it was to release equity but was it? Could they be upping the rent / selling? He's a tad paranoid and wants to know if they can kick him out or increase rent at their will.

Cheers

[PlanB]

Re: Confused

The Landlord can only increase the rent if it says he can in the tenancy agreement. It would also say by how much it can be increased which is usually a % over the Retail Price Index, and what notice of the increase must be given.

If a valuer came round this week (do you mean a surveyor?) on behalf of the owner/Landlord then that sounds like a remortgage or further advance application from his current lender to release equity. If the valuer was an estate agent then that may indicate that the Landlord is planning to sell, or it could mean that the Landlord is getting an up-do-date valuation before he makes up his mind which way to jump.

I think it's unwise to let fixed term contracts roll into periodic tenancies because both sides are then vulnerable to changes. The Tenant can quit at one month's notice, and the Landlord can get rid at two month's notice. Nobody wants that to happen in the run up to Christmas.

So maybe your mate should tackle this head-on to remove the uncertainty. Perhaps ask the Landlord or their agent to tell him what the Landlord's intentions are because the valuer's visit was unsettling. Asking him won't make any difference to the decision he's already made so your mate might as well know the truth now.

With the likelihood of bank base rate rising in the not-too-distant future, it doesn't seem all that unreasonable for a Landlord to increase the rent to cover the inevitable mortgage increase. Or maybe he's remortgaging to a fixed rate to avoid that scenario.

If your mate is happy in his home and there's no history of discord with his Landlord then I see no reason why this shouldn't be settled in an exchange of phone calls. If the Landlord intends to sell there's nothing that can be done to stop him except sabotage the viewings of prospective buyers to stall for time A sale takes months to complete anyway.

If your mate wants to stay in the property and the Landlord isn't planning to sell it, then maybe it would make sense to ask to renew the tenancy agreement for a further six/twelve months to avoid another worrying moment.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Confused

Thanks. I'll report back

[PlanB]

Re: Confused

I don't know your mate's overall financial circumstances, but if he does go for a new fixed term tenancy agreement then this would be an opportunity to change/negotiate other contract terms if he wants to.

For example if he established the AST as a sole Tenant but now wishes to make it a joint tenancy then this can be done in the new contract. The advantage would be if he or his partner ever fell on hard times then either/both could claim housing benefit. You can't do that unless your name is on the AST as legally liable for the rent.

There are other times when it benefits to have more than one name on an AST such as claiming some of the rent against tax if self-employed and working from home. And so on.

[Pat]

Re: Confused

As PlanB says rent can be increased if the contract allows for it. Mine was recently increased by a large amount after 10 years of no change but they do have to give you notice. I am on a rolling tenancy which they won't convert to a new AST as it means protecting the deposit (when I moved in the scheme didn't exist)

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Confused

Thanks guys.

Mate says it's joint tenancy but expired after 6 months - about 10 months ago. It was a surveyor and the LL apparently said he's releasing equity. Matey boy is asking does it matter that the AST is expired? Deposit is in a scheme (don't know which as didn't ask him) and they both been at same employment for 20+ years so no likelihood of benefits.

Thanks again. I'll ask him to pop in himself if he needs more as I'm going away for the weekend now

[PlanB]

Re: Confused

Mate says it's joint tenancy but expired after 6 months - about 10 months ago. . . . Matey boy is asking does it matter that the AST is expired?

The AST hasn't expired. Only the fixed term has expired, everything else in the contract carries on as if nothing has happened. The terms of the AST stay the same and cannot be changed.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Confused

Ooooh thanks. That's handy to know