I am coming to the end of the first year's rent as a landlord. I just decided to keep the tenants but I want to raise the rent. Is there a time period that the tenants have to be notified, and is there a percentage I have to go by?
My house is in Orlando, Florida.
Thank you for your help.
2006-12-27 04:08:57 · 7 answers · asked by Linda T. 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Give them at least 3 months notice. Raising about 3 to 6 percent is acceptable.
2006-12-27 04:17:10 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's no percentage rule. Go by what your costs are in taxes, insurance, and upkeep, with a 5% factor for vacancies should they leave and it takes 2 months to re-rent. Plus a little extra for yourself, whatever you're comfortable with.
You HAVE to give them 30 days notice from the start of the next rent period. So assuming rent's due on the 1st of a month. If you sent the letter out Jan. 15, the rent increase would take effect March 1.
I raise my tenants' rents $20 a year. Our landlord raises ours $40. I try to keep rent raising yearly, otherwise my really good tenants would pick up and leave for a cheaper place and think I was money-grubbing. Thankfully, nobody's complained.
And keep an eye on the real estate section of the paper to see what other landlords are charging for a similar property in the area.
Good luck!
2006-12-27 04:20:20 · answer #2 · answered by chefgrille 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you have a standard written contract, usually the rules are spelled out in the contract. If not, give them at least 30 days written notice. As for a percentage increase, there is no standard percentage. Check out the competition. You may lose a good tenant to the competition for just a few hundred dollars. Renters, esp in Floridia, have tons of options.
2006-12-27 04:19:31 · answer #3 · answered by Pure_Alpha 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out your state specific landlord rights. Nolo books on landlord rights could be a great help.
As far as a percentage, you don't want to be over the market rate as far as rents in Orlando, I would check out the classifieds to see if the market is very saturated (high inventories), there's also many apartment websites such as www.apartments.com to have an idea of what is being asked for rent in your area. Best to you!
2006-12-27 04:16:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you have to put that into their lease. But I know that we were always given about 5 or 6 months notice when I was in college and the apartment complex wanted to raise the rent. (To pay for the manager's new car. Ever time the rent increased, she got a new car.)
2006-12-27 04:17:57 · answer #5 · answered by sdarp1322 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did you sign a lease with them? I am in Texas, in our leases it is stipulated that during the lease term you cannot make any changes to the lease, but when it comes time to renew, that's when you can do a rent increase, usually a 30-45 day notice.
As for the amount, no more than $50per month is about normal, any more than that and you take a chance that they will not renew with you and they will go elsewhere.
2006-12-27 04:15:58 · answer #6 · answered by GiGi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give them plenty of time a month or so....why do you want to raise their rent?
2006-12-27 04:12:51 · answer #7 · answered by eonetiller 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋