OK So I've just got a break at work and decided to phone the VOA - I explained my situation to them and I was told that they only dealt with Regulated/Protected Tenancies. That they had no power to intervene and couldn't even tell me what the rent should be set at or what formula is used to calculate it. Although i guess this another example of how confusing this is. As soon as I've made headway somewhere I get someone else telling me something different.

Thanks for all your help. What a lot of the people, (especially the LL), fail to acknowledge is that this has been our family home for 50 years. While the property has never been ours, I feel a particular bond with the place. I look around and see so much of my parents there still and were it not for their hard work, money or effort it would be nowhere near as nice. The old LL didn't do a lick to the place in the time that he was around and his son, (my current LL), has only done essential work like electrics etc in the last year. There's actually a similar post on another forum in which a LL tried to remove the son of a protected tenant and lost on the grounds that the son had lived there his entire life and was granted protected status so there's some hope yet but of course this runs contrary to the law in which I am legally an assured tenant only. Of course, the law doesn't say that I'm obliged to pay market rent so I'm hoping when that the VOA and Shelter give me some good news. I told the LL i wouldn't sign anything until i had taken legal advice. He wasn't best pleased. It just seems odd that someone can inherit a protected tenancy like mine, have security of tenure in their home but the LL can literally price them out.

Hi Guys To answer an earlier question, we were in court for several reasons. Primarily, he refused rent from me and then took me to court under the guise i was a non-paying tenant. He denied ever saying that he wouldn't take the rent and painted a picture that made me out to be a problem tenant who owed him thousands. Fortunately I guessed his plans early on and recorded him telling me that he was unable to accept rent until his solicitor had confirmed I was allowed to stay. They tried to stop me playing it in court but the judge allowed it - i told them i had it but i think they thought i was bluffing. I still had to pay all the rent that was due, (paid in full immediately), but he lost a fortune in barrister/solicitor and court fees as well as being lumbered with my own legal bill. At the hearing he stated, on the record, that there was "never any intention on his part to let me remain in the property" - I thought that his admission would have helped me lodge a case for compensation for harassment but still the LA refuse to handle it. Not so much as a stern talking to about it. **Edit: Just so no one thinks I was trapping this guy, in letters to his solicitor and in my witness statement I made it abundantly clear I had him recorded. No one asked me for a copy or to hear it. When i went to court with it, the barrister asked for it be disregarded as they had never heard it but the judge allowed it given all my other documentation. I will admit to allowing him to take me to court even though I could have paid him immediately when the small claims letter arrived from the court, but I did not want to admit to being a late payer on my rent; my own solicitor advised me that in doing so he could still apply to have me evicted on the grounds i was unreliable and i was better playing it safe! Anyway, thanks for all your replies, it's nice to see a community dedicated to helping people out of a jam. As we've seen with Mariner51 and 45001, there are so many conflicting views on my legal standing that I just don't know where to turn I've had someone at the council tell me that they consider me a regulated tenant given the amount of time that I have lived at the property, (regardless of the tenancy being my mothers prior), and other people, (at the same LA), telling me that I now have an assured tenancy and that I have to pay what is asked. Edit* My mother had lived in the property since 1964 up to her death in 2012. I have lived there since I was born in 1977 It's the definition of "market rate" that is more confusing. Market Rate would imply that the LL has an obligation to see to things like major redecoration, carpets, fittings etc. I've been informed that this is all still down to me yet the rent is inline with something like a fairly modern home I could rent from someone else where a LL is obliged to make sure I have a carpet or light fittings. I have an appointment booked with Shelter next week for advice but should I call the VOA? I only ask about that because I'd already called the VOA after I received notification from them that the LL had applied for a rent increase but they sent a letter back telling me, and the LL, that they couldn't calculate the rent as it was now an assured tenancy? I'm wanting to get this resolved because the LL is pressing me to sign a document agreeing to the new rent level and wanting it to start next month. I'm also concerned because he wants to do "work" to the house after the rent increase and I've been advised that if i pay a higher rate and now and he claims that he's done works he can raise it again? All I want to do is remain in the house, in peace. I know he's probably miffed that he cant just tell me to leave but it seems odd that they have the right to succession but then give a LL the ability to price someone out of their home anyway.

Thanks for that. It's odd though that the Local Authority has told me the complete opposite; essentially agreeing that I should either cough up or move out and that it's perfectly ok for him to price me out of a home.

I am currently an assured tenant after inheriting my mothers regulated tenancy. It's a home I've grown up in all my life and after my succession I've had nothing but trouble with the LL - they actually said, in court, they never wanted me to stay there and begrudge me living in the property despite it being my home all my life. I had a feeling this would happen but it appears the LL wishes to put the rent up. I was open to an increase because I can appreciate that the rent previously had been very low however I'm effectively being priced out of the property. He's increased the rent 4x for a property in which all the fittings, fixtures, carpets etc are mine. I don't think this is fair and when I've challenged it I was told my option was to leave. I know exactly what his game is.. I know that my situation is relatively rare so I can't find much in the way of advice on Assured Tenancy rent increases. Is there a limit to how much he can raise the rent by? I feel begrudged being strong armed into paying what I feel is quite steep for a property that has been maintained by family and myself in recent years; market rate is one thing for a place that's got all the amenities but the bathroom and kitchen need some essential work and I don't want to be paying him over the odds if he's not going to come in and put all that right either. I've also been told there are no fair rents for people in my situation; the tribunals are all gone. All help or advice is appreciated