Q. My current tenancy is just about to expire on my rental investment and my tenants have asked my agent if they can renew, I am happy for them to do so but feel that I am due a rent increase, my agent is telling me that they paid over the odds when they first took the apartment a year ago and that the rent they are paying is current market value, on request the tenants have refused to increase the rent and are now looking for another property. Do you think I should let them vacate or agree to let them remain for the same rent?

A. There are a couple of issues to consider here. Firstly, are they good tenants, and secondly have you investigated the current market value with regards to the current level of rent they are paying from another source? If the answer to both these questions is yes then I would strongly advise that you continue with the current tenancy. Any landlord that has good tenants that are not only paying the rent but also looking after the apartment would be very unwise to dig their heels in to get a little more rent, especially if they are paying market value anyway. There are no guarantees that even if they did vacate you would in fact achieve a higher rental yield.