Hi all,
Looking for some advice.
We moved into our house last year and inherited a horsey tenant. The tenant has 3 horses, and she rents the use of our 8 acres of fields, a stable, a secure tackroom, a shelter, a hard standing, running water and electricity and 24/7 access to our land through secure gates. She does not poo-pick, or maintain the fields/fences in any way, other than picking ragwort. She said when we moved in that she gets the fields chain harrowed twice a year - we've been here 14 months and seen it done once. We have no written agreement with any terms.
We inherited the rent of £10 per week per horse, but having been in a year, concentrating on the house, we have now turned our attention to the fields. From our research, we have found that we could be charging £30 per week per horse, that seems to be the fair market rate for our area. A cheap rent is £20, but that seems to come with other responsibilities such as the poo picking and fence repair etc.
Yesterday, we told our tenant that we wanted to talk about increasing the rent and putting a written agreement in place. She went apoplectic, accusing us of being greedy and hating her and threatening us with legal action. And then telling us how much the horses and the land mean to her.
Has anyone else had experience of increasing rent? We are looking to charge £20-£25 a week, which is still seems to be on the generous side for the facilities she has access to. Is that reasonable to you experienced horsey folk? And is there anything she can do legally to stop us putting up the rent? I don't think that there is, but want to have all bases covered. The tenant does try to use our horse inexperience against us!
Many thanks in advance.