Landlords planning rent rises BEFORE tenants fees bill kicks in

ARLA’s prediction that landlords will implement rent rises rather than pay the government-imposed additional costs of running their rental properties is already turning out to be true, it has been claimed. As the Tenant Fees Bill makes its way through parliament agent MakeUrMove reckons renters will pay an extra £23 a month ahead of the new law kicking in next year as 40% of landlords are forced to raise rents. The landlords affected are mainly those with a single property and who are running the tenancy on tight margins, the agent says. Additional costs As well as landlords soon being expected to pay the additional costs of referencing, inventory checks and contract renewals, many are planning to increase rents to cover the recent extra income tax and Stamp Duty burdens forced on them by the government. These rises will impact some two million tenants this year, it is claimed. But the impact will be heaviest in London, where half of the landlords MakeUrMove canvassed said they were planning to increase their rents. But it’s not much better outside the capital. The research also shows that, for example, in the North East 46% of tenants will see rent rises this year,…