Are you planning on putting your rents down?

[Berlingogirl]

Mine will be going up,for the most part. One of my tenants is leaving a £450 pcm property and I'll be asking £525. I already suggested £556 to one person who didn't flinch, but found somewhere else as my property isn't available just yet. It's a 2-3 bed . The LHA is £498 for a 2 bed and £593 for a 3 bed.

[jpucng62]

... despite them having being cut from 2011 to 2016 and then frozen for the 4 years before Covid.

At the beginning of Covid the Govt pretty much erased all their savings and put LHA rates back up to the 30% level again. I deferred some rent rises and now find I am at the LHA level - not where I want to be!! Very little available in my areas (Bedford / Rushden / Nottingham) and what is available has shot up in price.

All my rents are increasing again and empty properties are going out at significant rises with no problem finding tenants.

Putting up LHA just fuels rent increase in my opinion because of the lack of social housing.

[AndrewDod]

The last few of mine over recent months went up from circa 850 (a year ago) to 950 and there were many dozens of applications for each. All of the extra 100 will be going on costs (EHIC and its consequences) and risk cover.

[nukecad]

Of course they may want to keep LHA low to maybe force more small LL's out of the lower end market? So that Housing Associations who do Social Rentals can then snap their properties up?

I'm seeing some of that where I live, single properties on othewise privately owned/rented roads/estates being offered for rent by large HA's on the Social Rental website.

I'm failing to see what it gains for the government though.
As Social Rentals are not subject to LHA then HA's can get higher rents paid by benefits, costing the government purse more.

The only upside I can see for the government would be that they could be able to say that there are now more properties in the Social Rented sector?
The winners would seem to be the large HA's who can get more properties to rent and so get a bigger slice of the benefits purse.

[Dan_Manchester]

Rents continuing to rise in Manchester, I've relet a couple since March and demand was the same if not higher (one had a decent garden and was super popular, rent 10% higher than 2 years ago)

[flyingfreehold]

This is a blip. Values will go up. I say that because the Government is creating credit through so called Quantitative easing. Increasing the supply of money always pushes up property values over the long term in the UK. Don't worry if you have to charge a slightly lower rent for now. It is small beer. Play the long game.

[Section20z]

I've let two since March. One at £75 more and one at £50 more. I am planning on increasing rents on all new tenancies to pay ever increasing costs of meeting legislation and to mitigate the risk of no longer taking deposits.

[JK0]

Yes, I've let two since Covid, and get about £50 pcm less than previously.

[Section20z]

Sth east rents have increased.

That is Conservative speak for "potentially going down" 😁

[Jon66]

Sth east rents have increased.

[nukecad]

Apparently the government thinks that you will all be generous and put your rents down.

Or at least they are using that as a justification for freezing LHA rates again, despite them having being cut from 2011 to 2016 and then frozen for the 4 years before Covid.

When questioned about it in the House of Commons yesterday Thérèse Coffey said:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/common...A-2F75D872AF9F

On consideration, we felt it was right to continue the cash freeze as we recognise that around the country we are seeing rents potentially going down, although I recognise that in some places they may continue to rise.

What planet do these ministers live on?