Landlord trying to raise rent $74 per month!?

Question

We've been at our current apartment nearly a year (lease renews in Jan. 2008). We received a note on our door today that if we want to renew, our rent is going to be $xxx amount. They're trying to raise it by $74 per month...that's a 10% increase. Does this seem wrong/exhorbitant to anyone else?? I'm going to call tomorrow and talk with them about it. (A new owner of the apartment complex took over during the summer, and I think they're responsbile for this.) They claim to be beautifying the property, but so far all I've noticed is that they're re-roofing some of the buildings (not ours) and we have new light fixtures in the breezeways. (Cost maybe $5.00, if that.) We've had two major water leaks in our apartment (not our fault...they came from upstairs) and, as with most apartment complexes, the "repair" work was shoddy. Anyone have any advice as to what to tell them to try to haggle our rent increase to a more reasonable level, or is this even possible?

I live in Atlanta, GA, USA.

Answer 1

WIthout knowing the laws of your state or province, I'm going to make some general comments.

Your lease is your agreement with the landlord. The new owners step into the shoes of the landlord you made that agreement with. They have to abide by the terms of that lease (contract) until it expires (or someone breaches the contract which raises a whole mess of other issues). Once the contract expires, unless your state has some laws that limit the amount that the rent can be raised, you and the landlord have to come to terms on what the next year's agreement is going to look like - including the rate of rent.

You can always try to negotiate with them. They may be willing to work with you if you are model tenants and they want to keep you there. On the other hand, they may not care who is renting as long as they get the money and the place isn't destroyed. You note that is an apartment complex so they may be able to negotiate since they can average out the rents over a larger volume of units. On the other hand, it's not like you are quiet neighbors living upstairs from them and they appreciate good neighbors.Talk to them. My guess is that they're a soulless corporation that doesn't really care and you can talk until you're blue in the face and the rent is still gonna go up.

The shoddy work is a separate issue, If there are still water leaks, talk to them about it. If that doesn't get you anywhere, contact the building inspector. That's not gonna solve your rent problem, but it may prevent water from coming in and damaging your property while you are still there.

If you decide not to renew your lease, see if you can stay in the apartment on a month to month basis until you find something else. But essentially they can charge what the market will bear. The lease only lasts so long and the price of everything is going up, up and up.

Answer 2

Well for starters the new owner has a new mortage. He has the property taxes. An i`m sure it is a whooper. Then he has insurance. Then there is the water bill. Trash bill. Electric bill. Repairing the roofs. Besides all of the normal repair work needed. You should go up and thank him for not raising it more. Try looking around at apartment buildings in your area and shop the current rents out there. If you are happy where you live stay. If not happy then perhaps you would be happier some place else.

Answer 3

What state are you in? Some states may require certain appliances (e.g. "cooking facilities"), others do not. In CA, for example, it is nearly impossible to find apartments which provide refrigerators - which often seems rather crazy! But CA law only stipulates "cooking facilities." Read your lease. You state you installed the washer & dryer halfway thru lease term. If the lease is expiring soon, the LL can definitely stipulate a rental increase or other changes in lease terms for a new or renewal lease effective the date the new lease term starts. A lease is only valid for the stated term of that contract. Once that contract date is up, everything is subject to renegotiation for a new lease, or else the lease is terminated and you move out by the last day of the lease term. If the LL is not talking about an effective date as of the new lease term, but with immediate effect, he can probably do it anyway under your state's laws. Why? You made a significant change to the property by installing the washer which significantly changed water usage! If you are paying the electric bill, while you might not install a window AC or attach anything to the building (there may be building codes in effect which would prohibit this, it might not be the LL's doing), there are portable cooling units you can use inside to cool your apt. No need to suffer through a heat wave. If LL pays electric, of course, you would need to get LL's approval to use something which drains power. Get a couple of these portable units - check WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. - if you pay the electric bill. No permission would be required for portables as long as you're paying.

Answer 4

You don't say what part of the country you are living in BUT -
in most parts of the US, taxes have gone up more than ten percent and so has property and liability insurance. The old owners sold the property you live in for a reason - probably because they were tired of getting called at all hours of the day and night with complaints and tired of folks not paying their rent on time. The new owner has set the rents at a level that he feels will make a profit for him. I doubt that the new owner will haggle with you on the rent increase and recommend that you start looking for another place to rent if you are not willing to pay the rent the new landlord has asked for.

Answer 5

The Landlord has all the right to increase the rent given that (1) the increase happens after your current lease expires; (2) notice has been given to you, the tenant, of such increase (minimum no of days for notice should be outlined in the terms and conditions of your contract). The increase can be done regardless whether they will be doing renovations on their OWN property or not. It is not your call to tell them they cannot do this so long as the increase is not done whilst your current lease is up.

Of course you can negotiate with the landlord for lesser increase. Usually, they budge in if you sign a longer term lease (24 months perhaps)? If not, then look forward to finding a better apartment for you then. It won't be the end of the world and besides, you may even find one that is better!

Good luck.

Answer 6

Whether the increase is reasonable depends on where you live, if utilities are included in the rent, and whether the property taxes have increased, etc. I personally do not think the issue is whether 10% is too much - the issue is whether the new rent is more than rent in similar apartments in your area. If your apartment complex has a lot of empty apartments, you may be able to negotiate because the owner may not want to lose you.

Answer 7

You can try to haggle, but it's the landlord's right to raise the rates as a condition of renewal. If it is a popular area and all the units are full, there probably won't be any changes and they will ask you to move out if you don't want the increase. Maybe now is the time to look into buying a house (if your rent is already $740/month).

Answer 8

Sad to say, but a lot of Landlords do that after the yearly leases are up. We lived in a really shitty apartment that would raise & decrease our rent almost every month without notifying us. We had major problems with them although I never stuck up for my husband and I so we just dealt with it until we moved. We moved to a lovely, beautiful apartment with good office managers and landlords. But as we were moving out after our year's lease went up, to our new house, our neighbors were saying that they were raising rent up if you were going to renew your lease and stay there. So it does happen a lot. Not sure if there's much you can do about it. Are you on income based rent? Is there any way possible you can prove that you cannot afford that at all each month?

Answer 9

This is a reasonable amount of an increase. Rent in apartment complexes usually increase each year. If they are responsible for your utilities you have to figure the increase in that also for raising the rent. Gas and Electric have steadily gone up. With new owners they are going to be trying to update or catch up on what the previous owner did not do. You can ask for a reduction but I doubt that you will get it. It usually is a blanket increase covering the entire complex

Answer 10

Where do you live? Everywhere has different laws regarding this...Where i live (in quebec) the owners cant raise you more than 5%, and if your lease is a one year lease, they also have to give you between 3 and 6 months notice... so if you lease renews on january 1, they have to let you know by registered letter between july and october, or else you dont have to pay them any extra...
I would suggest you visit the renter's board website for where ever you live, before calling the owners...
If it isnt actually illegal it is certainly immoral and i would fight back... I mean, if you chose to leave, you only have a few weeks to find a new place and to pack!!!
Good luck and let us know what happens