Date Published 05 November 2024
Over the coming days we will break down the changes to The Renters Rights Bill.
The objective of the Bill is to ensure private renters not only have access to a secure and decent home but that they can exercise their rights to challenge poor treatment and bad practice.
Today's post looks at restricting rent increases to once a year and enabling tenants to challenge them.
Challenging Rent Increases:
- Only once per year and only to 'market' levels.
- Notice periods increased from 1 – 2 months.
- Tenancy terms which allow rent increases outside of statutory mechanisms to be illegal.
- Tenants can appeal 'above-market' rent increases to the First-tier Tribunal.
This measure aims to stop tenants being ‘forced out by the back door', where unscrupulous landlords hike rents to a level that they know is unaffordable for their current tenant. Under the Bill, landlords will no longer be able to write rent increases into contracts and will only be allowed to raise the rent once a year, which must be in line with the current market rate.
This is another way of expressing a provision that was in the previous Bill, which required that landlords always had to put rent increases on a Section 13 notice and allowed tenants to challenge them in the First-Tier Tribunal as being above market level.
One interesting extra element is that, as it stands, if the matter goes to the First-Tier Tribunal, the rent could actually end up being increased to a higher rate than the landlord was proposing if the Tribunal felt that was a fair market rent.
The new proposals prevent this, meaning tenants will be able to challenge rent increases in the future without the risk of ending up in a worse financial position.
There has been much speculation about Labour introducing a form of rent control, but this is unfounded. The party has itself confirmed that it does not plan to introduce rent caps.
If you are a landlord or tenant and wants to know more, speak to our qualified team today who will guide you through the changes.
