Three in five private renters (60%) were asked to pay a higher rent in the past year, according to a survey by Generation Rent.
The campaign group found that the number of tenants who reported that their landlord had passed on rising interest rates has tripled since the last survey in November (from 4% to 12% of all private renters).
Evictions are also up, with 20% of private renters being told to move out in the past 12 months, including 12% being served a no-fault Section 21 notice. This is up from 14% in November, when 9% had been served a Section 21.
Generation Rent is calling on the government to abolish Section 21 evictions and make it easier to challenge rent rises through the Renters Reform Bill.
With many landlords struggling to cover interest rate rises, the group said tenants need protection from unaffordable rent hikes and where landlords need to sell, the government should introduce measures to encourage them to sell with sitting tenants.
Rent increases
Generation Rent surveyed 1,021 people who rent from private landlords in June and July. It found 60% have faced a rent increase in the past year, up from 50% in November and 45% 12 months ago.
One in five (20%) of all private renters (i.e. a third of those who faced a rent rise) were asked to pay more than £100 more per month, up from 12% in November.
Two thirds (66%) of people facing rises of £100 or more per month are now paying those – 15% negotiated it down and 10% have moved out as a result.
In contrast, 90% of people facing rises of £50 or less are paying those increases. One in 10 (10%) respondents whose rise was between £50 and £100 successfully negotiated it down. Just three respondents said they had challenged the rent increase at tribunal.
Reasons for rent increases
The survey asked if the landlord or letting agent gave a reason for the increase in rent. It found 12% of private renters had their rent increased because of higher mortgage payments, up from 4% in November.
However, the most common reason given was “higher market rents” at 17%, up from 16% in November. The cost of living or inflation was also given as a reason for rent increases in 11% of cases, compared with 7% in November.
Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey said:
“A cost of renting crisis is forcing tenants to bear the worst of the economic turmoil right now. While many mortgage holders have yet to see their monthly payments increase, most private renters have already faced a rent hike this past year.
“So far only a minority of landlords have been affected so badly by rising rates that they are passing them on to tenants. But the rising cost of rent is a much wider problem caused by the failure to build enough homes where people want to live, and the ability of landlords to raise rents regardless of what their tenant can afford.
“The government’s response to this needs to put tenants first: prevent unaffordable rent increases, and protect tenants in their homes if their landlord needs to sell. Tenants relying on benefits need their housing support raised to cover what rents actually cost, and, to meet demand, we need a massive programme of building, particularly of social housing.”
