The increase in rent follows certain rules which, sometimes, are not respected by landlords.
“Annual rent review”. Receiving a letter with this title is never good news for a tenant. However, if the contract signed with the owner provides for it, it is completely legal that each year the amount increases. However, this must be done within certain rules. The owner cannot freely decide on the increase. Everything is regulated by law. However, many tenants have little or no knowledge of the regulations and may be harmed.
In large cities in particular, where competition is fierce to obtain housing, owners do not hesitate to disregard the laws while tenants, not wishing to lose their homes, often comply with the requirements. However, rights belong to them and it is entirely possible to assert them, in particular to contest the increase in rent.
First of all, the first rule to know is that this increase can only occur once a year, on the anniversary date of the lease, if this is provided for in the clauses of the contract. If nothing is written, the owner cannot demand additional remuneration.
Then, this revaluation is capped. Each year, it cannot exceed a certain amount. Since 2022, the rent could not increase by more than 3.5% per year. From April 1, 2024, the maximum rate of increase will be 4.10 or 4.20%, according to calculations on the Boursier.com website.
So, if your rent is €500, it cannot exceed €521. If it is €1000, the new amount must be, at most, €1042. We must also keep in mind that if a landlord does not increase rent from one year to the next, he cannot apply a higher increase in compensation, it is illegal.
Furthermore, it is prohibited for certain landlords to increase the rent. Since August 2022, all housing whose Energy Performance Diagnosis (EPD) is classified F or G cannot be subject to an upward revision of the rent. This is strictly prohibited by law. This document must have been given when the tenant enters the accommodation. If the rent increases despite a DPE F or G, you can take action against your landlord, as well as demand the transmission of the document if he did not give it to you upon your arrival.
These regulated or prohibited rent increases discussed here only concern the part paid to the owner for housing, not charges. The latter can "freely" increase according to the trustee's invoices for the common areas or according to your water and/or gas consumption and their increase is not regulated.
