| Full
Article:
Rent Reviews and rent
increases - Residential
Tenancies
Most residential tenancies don't
need a rent review as the tenancy is often so short on
an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (6 months or 12
months) that there is no need for a review.
However, if the landlord allows
the tenancy to continue on after the term certain (the
initial shorthold period) the tenancy becomes a period
tenancy, which in theory could continue for many
many years.
The landlord cannot, under
contract law, unilaterally change the terms of the
tenancy agreement, therefore, unless there is a rent
review clause or review procedure built into the
agreement the rent cannot be increased.
Even so, there is a rent review
procedure built into the statutory rules of the Housing
Act 1988, (section 13) which can be used to over-ride the
contractual obligations, though this procedure can be
quite complex to implement. It involves the serving of a
prescribed form notice.
In practice, under the terms of an
assured shorthold tenancy it may be easier for the
landlord to serve notice to end the tenancy and
renew on new terms with a new rent.
Under the terms of other types of
residential tenancies such as Regulated or Rent Act tenancies
and full Assured Tenancies it may not be possible
to increase the rent unless the agreement has a rent
review clause.
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LandlordZONE 2006 |
