By Venessa Afonja
VA Company Director

A typical area of concern for landlords:

“Venessa, how I can increase my rental income without losing my tenants?”

With mortgage rates still high, I understand your investment may not be paying off as well as you had hoped!

After 15 years’ of helping hundreds of landlords to raise rents without upsetting tenants, I’ve got five essential tips to help when reviewing rent:

1. Review Your Rent Review Terms:

First things first - familiarise yourself with the terms outlined in your tenancy agreement. Remember, tenancy law typically permits rent reviews just once annually.

2. Assess Tenancy Status:
If your tenancy is within its fixed term, refrain from adjusting any rent until the fixed period concludes. During this time, all tenancy terms, including rent, remain fixed!

3. Understand Market Dynamics:
Recognise that ‘in-tenancy rent’ and ‘market rent’ can be very different - especially if you've had long-term tenants.

You’ll need to strategise rent adjustments carefully to maintain tenant satisfaction.

4. Prioritise Property Maintenance:

Before proposing a rent increase, ensure you’re fulfilling your landlord obligations. Address any outstanding repairs or maintenance issues & avoid potential disputes.

5. Consider Tenant Affordability:

Can your tenants even afford it? It would be wise to conduct a financial review. Determine if proposed increases aligns with your tenant's budget to avoid potential payment defaults.

I trust these five key tips will help you to navigate this process with confidence.

You can download the full guide on this here.

Should you require support, VA are always here to assist you.