Can rent go up?

Yes, but we don't choose how much it goes up by. Instead, rent goes up once a year at the rate of inflation.

What’s inflation?

Inflation is the average rise in price of goods and services over time.

It’s why a loaf of bread costs more today than it did 20 years ago. It happens slowly and usually doesn’t impact most people too much as long as wages slowly increase too. Generally, goods and services will stay the same kind of proportion of your wages.

The rent you already pay has also probably gone up by inflation over time.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing stopping a landlord from increasing your rent by a lot more. Which means, rent can sometimes get out of control.

Why do you increase rent by inflation?

Firstly, without matching inflation the funding partners wouldn’t be able to buy the home alongside you. Matching inflation means they make a long term consistent return on their investment.

Secondly, for you, it means rent increases aren’t controlled by the will of a landlord. Instead, increases are linked to something external and measured by the government.

An example of inflation

Inflation is usually talked about as a percentage. We use the Retail Price Index (RPI) to measure inflation, which you can find out more about on the Office for National Statistics website.

Here’s an example of how rent might increase with 3% inflation.

Rent in year 1	Inflation	Rent in year 2
£1,000	3%	£1030

For most regular tenants, rent is likely to increase more than inflation over the long term because a landlord can charge whatever they want. With Wayhome you don’t have that problem. And, if you ever think your rent is out of line with comparable homes in the same area, you can ask us for a rent review every 5 years.

Be careful though, if your rent turns out to be lower than the rent for comparable homes, we might need to increase it. You don’t have to ask for a rent review if you think your rent is still fair.