Sorry I've only just got online, been busy all day. Thanks for the advice and links

We can afford the increase in rent but it isn't really about that, it's the fact that he wanted the increase to come into effect from the next day that has pissed me off the most. Looking around at other properties in my area I think that a £50 increase would have been fairer because we are good tenants and he's certainly not given us a formal notice of increase. It seems to me that if we leave it'll be his loss and it'll cost him quite a bit to get new tenants in here and the loss of rent while it's empty plus he wouldn't know who he was getting in here.