Landlords plan to raise rent by 3% in 2015

Experts say the increase could have 'serious implications' for a rental market 'already reaching crisis point'

Over a quarter (27 per cent) of landlords will demand a three per cent rise or more (Getty Images)

In a blow to 'Generation Rent', 40 per cent of landlords are planning to ask their tenants to increase the amount of rent they pay in 2015.

According to a new SpareRoom survey, over a quarter (27 per cent) will demand a three per cent rise or more (triple the rate of inflation), while the remaining 13 per cent plan an increase of less than three per cent. Meanwhile 55 per cent will keep their rents at their 2014 rate, with just five per cent claiming that they will reduce it.

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, said: "While the majority of landlords do all they can to hold on to good, reliable tenants, those facing increased mortgage repayments when interest rates rise may have no choice than to cover the extra cost by passing it on to their tenants.

"That could have serious implications for a rental market already reaching crisis point, and there's no contingency plan."

Much attention has been drawn to house prices this year, as they rose much faster than experts had predicted in the first half. A larger number of loans for borrowers with a small deposit encouraged more buyers, and an influx of foreign money supported the top-end of the market.

If rents rise by 8 per cent – as they did this year – to an average of £546 per month; tenants would face a monthly increase of £44.

In London, tenants are reportedly sacrificing their living rooms in order to create an extra bedroom for the landlord to rent: consequently lowering how much they pay per month.

More than half (56 per cent) of tenants claimed they would have to find somewhere else to live if they had to pay just £40 extra each month in 2015.