A petition calling for a cap on how much landlords can raise rent has reached more than 42,000 signatures in just one week.
It was started by Bridget Chapman, of County Durham, with the support of campaign group Generation Rent, after her landlord increased her monthly rent by almost 20%, or £100.
She said: “Right now, landlords can increase their tenants’ rent by whatever they want. Rents can, and do, suddenly go up. Sometimes by hundreds of pounds a month. Much faster than the cost of living and faster than our wages are increasing.
“This is what happened to me and my family after my landlord recently hiked my rent by £100.
“I’ve been renting privately all my adult life, but getting a sudden rent hike still comes as a shock and has been very stressful, especially as the landlord gave us just one month’s notice. This is nearly a 20% increase!
“As a single parent living with my two children, with one income to live on, the impact will ripple through my life. I feel broken down by this system. Extreme damp in my previous home led to me being rushed to hospital with pneumonia. I hoped this new home would be better, but once again, I’ve suffered a huge blow to my security. Rents in my local area in County Durham are high, and I cannot simply jump to another more affordable option.
“This will have a huge impact on my finances, with my home now so much more of a struggle to afford each and every month. I was already struggling to cover my essentials; this shock rent rise will put even more of a strain on me. My mental health has been badly affected, and I worry about the long-term impact this will have on myself and my family.
“Important reforms in the Renters’ Rights Bill are currently passing through Parliament. These will help to make renting fairer in England, including ending Section 21 evictions, which currently allow landlords to evict you without needing a reason.
“But they do nothing to stop shock rent rises like the one my family has faced. While the government says tenants will be able to challenge “unreasonable” rent rises at tribunal, decisions will be based on what the rent would be if your home was re-let – not what you can afford.
“As long as landlords can price their tenants out of their own homes with unaffordable rent rises, renters will still effectively face unfair evictions and be threatened with homelessness. Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showing more than a third of private renters are living in poverty after housing costs. Meanwhile, Generation Rent’s research has shown 9/10 renters say the experience of renting has negatively impacted their mental health.”
Chapman points to Generation Rent’s winter 2024 survey which found that the majority of renters (61%) reported that their landlord had asked them to pay a higher rent in the past 12 months with almost a quarter (24%) reported an increase over £100. This compares to just 9% reporting hikes of this size in July 2022, almost a threefold increase. Meanwhile, the 2024 English Private Landlord survey found one in five landlords hiked the rent by 15% or more he last time they renewed or extended a tenancy.
The most common reason that renters reported they had been given for their rent increases, was not because their landlord faced increased costs, or was struggling more, it was simply because of the rising rewards of “the market”. Almost a third (31%) of landlords had blamed higher market rents, while a further 7% stated that the increase was because of letting agent advice.
“This is indefensible,” she continued. “If renters are to finally feel secure in our own homes, we need protections from shock rent rises.”
“Private landlords should not be able to raise the rent higher than inflation or wages. The government can and must act to change this.”
The petition can be viewed here.
I hate to point out the obvious — but rent controls don’t make housing more affordable. They just make it cheaper for the people who would likely have secured the property anyway.
This isn’t a dig at tenants or landlords — it’s a structural issue. A system that punishes reliability and discourages long-term investment doesn’t serve anyone well.
Tenants who quietly pay their rent on time every month, regardless of circumstance, ought to be recognised and valued. But they’re not — because landlords and agents are left second-guessing policies that change with every shift in government.
Housing should be an apolitical department. It shouldn’t veer off course every few years or whenever a Prime Minister calls an election.
Until there’s stability, we’ll keep patching over symptoms while the real issues go unaddressed.
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We need more properties, not rent controls. Although landlords have become greedy with their excessive increases, interfering Government and lobby groups (like Generation Rent) have pushed landlords into selling, and excessive taxation has discouraged new or existing landlords from purchasing properties. More supply will reduce rents, not more regulation.
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I disagree to greedy landlords – 9”% of landlords we have do not want to increase rent but after show them the end of year figures and these costs they have no choice but to add £25 a month or £50 maximum a month ..
No Landord I have has hiked 100 a month… unless the tenant has been in 6 years and never had an increase !!!
Moats long term tenants get away with cheap rent over the years and once the landlord increases
Then they are now a bad Landord !!
Really !!!
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I value good tenants more than rent increases. However capping rents I know I could increase my rents with a clear conscience as mine are well below the local average. I rent a one bed flat for £550 the local rent cap (if introduced) for a one bed flat is £795. One tenant who has been with me for many years has only had one rent increase of £20 pm. I had a tenant move out, she was paying £550 but the new tenant will be paying £670 because that is still below the going rate. I believe capping rents will only lead to an increase in rents because more landlords will be increasing rents every year. Maybe I will?
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Short term win, long term loss.
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We all know how much landlords costs have increased !
Insurance gone up by 40% in the last 4 years !
Repairs costs up by 100% in the last 2 years
Wages increased by 100% in the last 5 years
Mortgage rates increase and have been fixed on new remortgages in 2022 and 2023!
So for any tenant that also have wages increased why do they think that the Landords have to keep the rent low and suffer the cost just because they are a Landord !
Check outs are costing Landords 1000s of pounds just to get the house to a decent standard after a short let!
Deco costs £2000 pounds for a 2 bed house!
That wipes out any remaining profit a landlord makes in a short term let of 2 years..
Tenants think a landlord is a bank and have money coming out of the ears.. they don’t they work hard too and have a lot more bills than an average tenant had..
Landlords need a break !!
The government over the years has cripped the system and allowed tenants to take advantage of..
5 years ago tenants income was 18k to 20k on an average rental £600pcm
Today average income in £48k an average rental of £900 a month
So who’s really winning here!
Greed hiking wages!! More more more
Inflation will keep creeping up !!
Food prices hikes have been going up and the economy is on its ass!
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I had a tenant move out after several years. Took months to find a plumber to fit a new bathroom and to renovate. During this period I have had to pay the full council tax. I use an agent to find a tenant and carry out referencing etc. First tenant failed and we are now going through the process again. 7 months, no rent and over one thousands paid by me for CT.
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Ah, 42,000 turkeys voting for Christmas.
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What about tenants who have a landlord who hasn’t increased the rent for several years, but then is finding with the cost of everything else going up, they have to increase the rent or sell the property? I have a lot of equity in my house, but when I re-mortgaged it still increased by £85 a month, and if I hadn’t taken that deal, the variable rate was a lot higher. Can I go to the lender and whine? No.
I know of a couple who’s landlord was a lovely old chap, who never increased their rent in the 18 years they lived there. So, when he passed and the house was sold, they were horrified to find that they either had to pay a little bit extra to get a little mid terrace in a town centre, or pay around double what they had been to get the same sort of detached cottage with large gardens, parking and garage. So I do recommend slow increases every year, it doesn’t have to be to market value, as we all know the benefit of a trusted, good paying tenant, but even £25 a month will help both in the long run.
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This is happening every day. I also know landlords who just could not afford to bring properties up to an EPC of C. Their tenants had lived in the properties for decades paying very small rents. Landlords obviously had to sell. The tenants had no hope of ever finding another rental they could afford and were mainly elderly. Local council could not help. Some landlords are hanging on hoping that when Labour are gone EPC’s will no longer be a problem.
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I appreciate £100 might have been a big jump for the person concerned, but there it no context here. When was the last rent increase? What is the going rate for the property ? The real issue here is supply and demand, more demand and less supply and the way to fix this is not making it even more difficult for landlords to operate, further reducing supply . When is someone in government going to join the dots…………. The soundbites and policies of appeasement towards the vocal clammerings of charities supposedly helping tenants in reality do nothing but make things worse. What is needed is more housing full stop, we simply have too many people and not enough homes. If government was serious about fixing the issue why are they not building on old MOD sites, or making remediation of brownfield sites so attractive developers would be stupid not to do it. There is money but it is being spent in the wrong places………….
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All very well Generation Rant and this tenant screaming at the top of their lungs about the increase being unfair, but what is the context.
How much is her current rent?
When was the last increase?
TBH if I was her landlord I would replace the rent increase with a S21. Don’t need a tenant like that thanks.
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I inch the rents up by £10 or £15 every year now, because when I have left them alone for a couple of years I’ve always had a bad reaction to a rent increase – as if the rent was always going to be frozen as long as they lived there. Typically about a 2% increase. If a rent cap / freeze / other control measure came into play I’d increase them by whatevr the law allowed, and between tenancies re-set to market value.
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