A landlord has sparked a heated feud by trying to increase the rent after discovering his tenant had received a pay rise.
Josh received a random text from the property owner saying he planned to put the rent up, while still keeping it below market value at ‘mates rates’.
The rent hike only came to light after the landlord got wind of Josh’s pay rise from Mia, who is thought to be a mutual friend of the tenant and landlord.
‘Hey Josh. I heard from Mia you got a raise?’ the landlord texted.
‘Yeah… Didn’t realise we were sharing that around,’ Josh awkwardly replied, to which the landlord responded: ‘It came up. Not in a weird way. Congrats though.’
Stunned, the renter pointed out that Mia should never have shared his personal income details.
‘Cheers. I’m not sure Mia should be passing that on though. I thought we agreed to keep things separate,’ he replied.
The property owner then hinted at increasing the rent.
A landlord has sparked a heated feud by trying to increase the rent after discovering his tenant had received a pay rise
‘Look … your rent’s been the same since you moved in. Meanwhile I’m paying more on everything: insurance, mortgage, repairs and I’m sure you understand it adds up,’ he explained, to which Josh replied bluntly, ‘Right’.
‘And I’ve let things slide, haven’t I? Bit of a leeway with late payments. Extra guests. Mia vouched for you, so I’ve kept it relaxed,’ the landlord continued.
The tenant said he didn’t realise the landlord had been keeping track of all the goodwill gestures he’d made for him.
Refusing to back down, the landlord said: ‘Josh, I’ve got responsibilities. So, I’m raising the rent next month. I’ll keep it under market rates, so it’s still mates rates.’
Taken aback by the rent increase, Josh furiously asked: ‘Is this a wind up, because I got a raise?’
The landlord explained that the rent ‘barely’ covers his mortgage.
‘I’ve tried to keep it as low as possible and now you can afford it. It’s only fair,’ he said.
However, Josh didn’t agree, saying: ‘This feels completely out of line and illegal, you shouldn’t even know my income at this point. Isn’t that like private information?’
The landlord replied: ‘I promise it’s not personal, I think I’m being quite reasonable.’
The landlord said he was being reasonable with the rent hike, as it was still below market rate
Josh ended the conversation with: ‘Right. Well next time Mia’s got an update, I’ll tell her to keep it to herself.’
The heated text exchange was re-shared by British property strategist Jack Rooke, who sided with the landlord in this case.
‘Utilising someone’s raise to increase rent that’s a no-go. However, a landlord is entitled to raise rent,’ he said.
‘Imagine your rent going up the moment your boss gives you a raise. Fair adjustment… or crossing a line?’
His video has been viewed more than 40,000 times, with many suggesting the landlord’s rent increase was reasonable – but that the conversation could have been handled differently.
‘Landlord shouldn’t have started this conversation with “I hear you’ve got a raise”. He should’ve kept it to himself and the statement wouldn’t have been so weirdly conducted,’ one shared.
‘Honestly, I can kind of see the landlord’s POV. If I were paying significantly under market rate, and the landlord never increased the rent as a favour so I could afford to live there, I wouldn’t be too upset to pay a bit more once I’m able to. The way they brought it up was weird though,’ another said.
‘Landlord should have just said he’s putting it up and not mentioned he knew about the raise because that not only stitches up his source and burns bridges, it also makes him look like an a**h***. Dumb move,’ one added.
While another said: ‘This is scandalous.’
Meanwhile, many defended the landlord over his decision.
‘I understand both sides. Based on other landlord stories this sounds reasonable,’ one shared.
‘As horrible as it is late payments… I mean he doesn’t sound like a bad landlord,’ another pointed out.
‘Instead of being thankful for the time the rent was kept super low, this guy is annoyed at a rent increase that is still kept below market. People seem to think “landlord” means rich and greedy. Being a landlord is often one apartment or a house that was purchased as an investment. There are TONS of expenses and risks that come with owning a rental property,’ one added.
