A rent rise mid-term is not allowed
Where a lease states the rent and the term, the landlord cannot raise the rent while that lease is running, unless a review clause was written into it from the start. A contract is a contract, and rent is a term neither side may change alone.
What makes this confusing is that most people do not know which kind of lease they are actually in, because the original one expired months ago, they are still paying and still living there, and nobody has signed anything since.
That situation has a clear legal answer, and it changes both sides' rights more than people expect.
Staying on without a new lease creates one with no fixed term
Where a lease has run its course and the tenant remains in possession while the landlord knows and does not object, the law treats the two as having made a fresh lease with no fixed term.
No fixed term sounds like a good outcome for the tenant, but it removes two things at once. The tenant has no security about how long they may stay, and the landlord has no assurance about how long the income continues.
An open-ended lease is ended by either side giving the other notice of at least one rent period, and notice of more than two months is never required. So where rent is paid monthly, one month's notice is legally sufficient.
This is the part tenants do not realise. Staying on comfortably without signing anything leaves you in a position where you can be told to leave in a shorter time than you assumed, and having lived there five years adds nothing at all to that notice period.
Once the term ends, the landlord may set a new price
When a lease reaches its end, renewing means making a new contract, which both sides must agree on again from scratch, price included. The landlord is under no duty to renew at the old rent, and the tenant is under no duty to accept the new one.
What a tenant can actually do is negotiate, and the strongest lever is not how long they have been there. It is being the tenant who costs the landlord nothing.
Think about it from the landlord's side. Changing tenant once carries real costs: the vacant weeks with no income, cleaning and repairs, advertising or an agent's fee, and the time spent showing people around. A tenant who has paid on time for three years, looked after the place and never caused trouble is the person who saves the landlord all of that.
The negotiation that works is the one you open about two months before the lease ends rather than after a rise has been announced, and it works better when you offer something of value. A two-year renewal instead of one year in exchange for holding the rent is an offer many landlords take, because it means two more years without the risk of an empty unit.
A right to renew exists only if it is written down
Many tenants believe they have an automatic right to renew. They do not. If it is not in the contract, the landlord may simply decline, and does not have to give a reason.
The clause to ask for when the first lease is signed reads roughly: the tenant has the right to renew for one further term of the same length by giving notice not less than thirty days before expiry, and the rent for that term may rise by no more than a stated amount.
That ceiling is the whole point of the clause, because a right to renew with no cap on price protects nothing. A landlord who would rather not renew simply prices you out. Ask for a figure or a percentage, not a phrase such as at a reasonable rate.
Landlords should be equally careful about granting an unlimited number of renewals, which ties the property to one tenant with nothing left for you to decide later. One renewal with a clear ceiling is where the balance sits for both sides.
Some landlords face extra restrictions
Renting out residential buildings as a business is a contract-controlled activity, and the notification governing it places various prohibitions and requirements on landlords who fall within it, including on changing the rent and service charges before a lease expires.
The important point is that it does not apply to every landlord. There is a threshold based on how many units are let, which means an owner renting out a single room and a company renting out dozens sit under different sets of rules.
Before relying on any of it, check whether your landlord falls within scope. The threshold and the details are in how many months of deposit a landlord may take, and the tenant protections under the notification are in the rental contract control law and tenant rights.
What to do two months before the lease ends
Both sides should open the conversation two months out rather than in the final week, because a short runway makes both parties decide badly.
Tenants should check market rents nearby first, since negotiating without numbers is asking for sympathy. If the offer is still below market, take it quickly. If it is above, you have something to talk with. Work out your real cost of moving too: transport, the new deposit you must put down before the old one comes back, and the time it takes. That figure is the true ceiling on a rise you should accept.
Landlords should estimate honestly how many months the unit would sit empty in today's market if this tenant left, then multiply by the monthly rent. That is the cost of pushing the rise too far, and it is usually more than the extra you would collect across the year.
Whether or not you agree, finish on paper. If you renew, sign a new lease or an addendum stating the new term and rent clearly. If you do not, give written notice with the move-out date and how the deposit will be returned. Leaving it in chat messages is how deposit disputes start.
The deposit at renewal
A common question is whether a new deposit is due on renewal. As a rule it is not, where the original deposit is still held by the landlord and the new lease continues from the old one.
If the rent rises, the landlord may ask for a top-up so the deposit stays proportionate to the new rent, which is a reasonable request and a matter for agreement. What matters is stating in the new lease exactly how much deposit is held in total and that the original sum is counted within it, so nothing is disputed when you move out years later.
Renewing or not, photograph the condition of the place every time a new lease is signed. Several renewals with no record in between means that when you finally move out, nobody can say when the damage happened. What to do when a deposit is withheld is in the landlord will not return the deposit.
Frequently asked questions
Can the landlord raise the rent while the lease is still running?
No, where the lease states the rent and the term, unless a review clause was written in from the start. Rent is a term that neither side may change alone.
The lease expired and I am still here. What is my position?
Where the tenant remains in possession and the landlord knows and does not object, the law treats it as a fresh lease with no fixed term, which either side may end by giving notice of at least one rent period, and never more than two months.
Does five years of tenancy earn a longer notice period?
No. Notice is tied to the rent period, not to how long you have lived there, and it is never more than two months.
Do I have an automatic right to renew?
No. Without a clause in the lease, the landlord may decline without giving a reason. Ask for a renewal right with a stated ceiling on the increase when you sign the first lease.
Is a new deposit due when I renew?
Usually not, where the original is still held and the lease continues. If the rent rises, the landlord may ask for a top-up to keep it proportionate. State the total clearly in the new lease.
What can a tenant actually negotiate with?
The cost of replacing you: vacant weeks, cleaning, repairs, advertising and the time spent showing the place. A tenant who pays on time and looks after the property is the one who saves the landlord all of it.
In short
- While a lease runs, the rent cannot rise unless a review clause was written in from the start.
- Staying on after expiry without signing creates a lease with no fixed term, endable on one rent period's notice and never more than two months.
- Years of tenancy add nothing to that notice period.
- There is no automatic right to renew. It must be written down, with the increase capped as a figure.
- Start the renewal conversation two months out and finish it on paper, not in chat.
- A tenant's strongest lever is what the landlord would spend to replace them.