should a landlord have a reasonable expectation of receiving rent if the individual has no income?

Question

renting a house on the housing voucher program they are paying the entire monthly rent. landlord raises the rent thinking that the housing authority would pay the full amount. housing authority decides they are not going to pay the increase. they tell the tenant who is on maternity leave and even when working income is not sufficient, that they must pay the difference of the increase. because a lease was signed the tenant cannot move with out written authorization from the landlord or they will lose the voucher landlord refuses this and also refuses to lower rent to previous amount. both the housing authority and landlord know that there is no income coming into the household. Should the landlord have a reasonable expectation of receiving rent from the tenant under the circumstances inorder to hold them to the lease.

to those of you who seem to not have read the entire question under housing rules I am required to sign a lease. the LL was expecting to be PAID the entire rent BY THE HOUSING AUTHORITYnot by me. and futher more I am married I do work hince the term MATERNITY LEAVE and I am also a COLLEGE GRADUATE along with my husband who was sick and unable to work so for you people who pass judgement i hope you never get in a position where you need help because the very system you knock maybe your only hope not everybody is out here abusing the system some of us trully need the assistance

Answer 1

not sure where you are, but here landlords are not allowed to raise the rent more than once per year, and that is a regulated percentage as well.

if you are not able to vacate due to signing a lease, i would assume that you have not been there for one year and thus, your landlord is not legally able to raise your rent.

i would suggest that you contact a legal clinic in your area in order to find out the exact course of action that you should take.

good luck. i really hope things work out for your family.

Answer 2

If you have signed a lease in the State of Illinois, stipulating that you will pay a specified rent, you will pay that amount in rent (unless the State Housing Authority will pay for you.) I'm not sure beyond that. i've never lived in State where property owners can increase my rent without me signing a lease. A lease is a contractual document. If you sign it, you're bound by it. If your landlord presented you a new lease that raised your rent by $50 a month, then you are obligated to pay that amount to live there, even if the Housing Authority isn't playing ball. That's why I bought a house. Tired of those "landlord people who increase rents without increasing value." So, get the $50 and pay the rent, while the issue is in arbitration... or get a lawyer, which seems very expensive right now. All leases can be broken. There is just the question of how to bear the expense of doing so. I say get the extra money to pay the balance of the rent. Ask your parents. Ask his parents. Ask friends. Ask the Red Cross.
Ah... the question of reasonable expectation. Well, if you've exhausted every option, I'd say the landlord didn't have a reasonable expectation. Not based on pity, but on your industriousness...

Answer 3

The law is this: once a lease is signed by landlord, housing authority, and tenant, then the HA and the tenant are legally obliged to pay the agreed rent for the duration of the lease. If the tenant runs into problems, the HA may agree to pick up more of the rent. The lease continues until its agreed date of expiration, or violation of its terms by the tenant (such as failure to pay the agreed portion of the rent), whichever comes first; the landlord should contact the HA in the event of a default to see if they can fix the problem before the landlord goes to court to secure an eviction. Once the term of the lease has expired, everybody is starting from scratch: the parties may do a new lease, upon mutually agreed terms, or the landlord may seek an increase in the rent to whatever level he thinks he can get, and if the tenant cannot pay the new rent the tenant must move out. In short, the landlord has more than a reasonable expectation of receiving his rent -- he has a legal right to it.
I rented to Sec. 8 tenants for several years, mostly with results satisfactory to all parties.

Answer 4

I'm a bit confused by your statement of facts.

If you have a lease then how can the landlord raise your rent. The essence of a lease is a fixed term of occupancy on a promise to pay a fixed sum of money.

I take it that what happened is that the lease term expired and that the landlord chose to raise the rent if you wished to renew or extend the lease.

I further assume either that you then remained in possession but without paying the increased rent or wish to remain without paying the new amount.

Its an unfortunate situation but if the original lease term has expired the landlord may increase the rent unless there is some specific lease provision or agreement with the housing authority that he will not.

I'm not sure why you focus on the phrase "reasonable expectation of receiving rent." I take it that you have some belief that if he did not then you can escape paying the increased amount of rent. If there is such a legal principle I have never heard of it.

Answer 5

Being a landlord myself, the short answer is simply, yes.

However, laws exist to protect you if you are an established tenant. These laws differ from state to state.

In most cases, a 30 day notice must be submitted to you for any change in rent. If you do not respond to that notice with your own 30 day notice to quit the premises, it is inferred that by staying on the premises, you agree to pay that rent.

On a side note, regardless of how long your lease is, any lease can be cancelled with a written 30 day notice.

In most states, when a tenant has failed to pay the full amount, a landlord can serve a 3 day notice to pay or quit the premises. If you pay, you can stay. If you don't, you have 30 days to move out, and if you're not out within 30 days, the police come along and move your stuff for you.

But simply, if you were given a 30 day notice of the increase, if you did not respond to that 30 day notice are still on the premises, then yes, the landlord fully expects to receive the full amount of the rent.

Answer 6

My confusion is how the landlord was able to raise the rent when there is a signed lease. The rent is generally raised between the leases. If he raised the rent during a renewal period of the lease, you would have had the choice to leave the lease and move or pay the additional rent. If he has raised the rent during the period of a lease, check to see about the legality of that. You can view the landlord-tenact act online for your state. And I hope your situation gets better soon!

Answer 7

If you signed a lease promising to pay rent, then the landlord has a reasonable expectation to receive rent. If the landlord legally raises the rent, then the landlord has a reasonable expectation of either receiving the rent from you or that you will move out. The landlord doesn't have to rent to you forever. It's their property and they are entitled to make a profit.

Answer 8

This is a court case that you have. If you can only pay your rent because of a housing voucher and your land lord raises the rent but refuses to release you from the increased financial burden, then he is technically extorting you. He is threatening with financial (rental based finance) loss if you don't pay. There should be a buyout on all service agreements by law. Get a consultation with a housing authority.

Answer 9

If the tenant signed a contract or lease for the place then the landlord didn't have a right to raise the rent

Answer 10

no, they reasonably expect you to move to cheaper housing so they can rent it at the higher rate to somebody with a job.
This home belongs to him or her and the owner has a right to charge whatever rent they want, AFTER the present lease is expired of course.
If you cannot afford the new rate it is just hard cheese for you. People who cannot affford babies should not get pregnant or they risk this result. look for cheaper digs or a room mate or put the baby up for adoption or get child support. Unless the landlord made you pregnant, it is not his responsibility to support you and your new new baby you have decided to have.
Have you figured out yet what is making you pregnant? When you do, stop it, whatever it is. Go to school and get a job ,
Get yourself fixed so you do not get pregnant any more and find good homes for the poor kids you have now.
Or find a nice husband who will support you because USA is already going broke on wars and cannot afford to be nice to people who need help any more. Those are our FAMILY values now.