Q. My wife and I have been living in our current rented accommodation for years. We had previously owned a home but had to sell up to pay some debts. We get on well enough with our landlord, but are very much aware that rent is low as we’re in a controlled area. I know he has thought in the past about moving us on to get a better rent, or simply just selling up. There’s been a lot of news recently about rent controls, we’re just not sure what to make of it. Is it good for us or good for the landlord? We are a bit worried, we wouldn’t be able to afford rents for houses we see being advertised.
Dear Reader,
At the moment, it sounds like your rent is capped at a low level as the property is in a rent pressure zone. This which means up to now your landlord can only give small increases in rent, and likely below what the property would achieve on an ‘open market’ rent.
While plans remain somewhat fluid, and legislation has yet to be formally introduced, the government has indicated that it is intended that rent pressure zones will shortly be extended to the whole country.
At present, your landlord is not entitled to seek your eviction due to low rent and can only seek your removal from the property in certain limited circumstances: where they intend to sell the property, they intend to substantially renovate the property, or they need to house a family member.
It has been announced that the government intends to extend restrictions on ‘no fault’ evictions by landlords, but it is likely that it will become more difficult for landlords to evict in the event of a sale or a renovation. The restrictions will differ for landlords who own four or more rental properties.
Currently, your landlord would not be entitled to increase the rent for the next tenant even if you were to move out. It is proposed, and again these plans are not set in stone, that from March 2026 it will be allowable for landlords to raise rent to a market rate of rent, but only in circumstances where you as a tenant are the one to leave the property. They would not be entitled to increase the rent to the market rate of rent where they were the ones who initiated the termination of the tenancy.
There will also be new rules for newly constructed properties, but the same would not apply to buildings currently in being.
If your landlord does decide that he needs you to leave the property due to the sale thereof, a notice of termination would have to be served in the proper format. Your notice period can be as long as 224 days, if you have been in the property for more than eight years.
