How to deal with rent increases?

By Tenant

After a certain period of time, landlords can increase the rent on their rental apartment. We all know that rent is not that cheap in most areas and increase in rent normally cause a sting on the tenant. If you are a landlord, raising the rent on your property may be the only way for you to keep up with the rising economy and costs of your business. Rent increase is unavoidable but must also be handled by the landlord legally. Here are some options that you can do when your rental period come around.


If you are a landlord:

  • Check the state law. In order for you to legally increase your rent, you must first check your state laws on how many days you can give your tenant as a notice. Put in writing that you are going to increase the tenant’s rent along with the 30 to 60 days’ notice period. You can also raise the rent at the end of the tenant’s lease.
  • Be prepared. Your tenants may not accept your new lease with an increase in rent and thus may want to break the lease or not renew it. You must be prepared to re-rent the unit if that happens most especially if your tenant is on a month-to-month lease.
  • Deliver personally. If your tenant had been living in your place for quite some time now, you may want to deliver the news personally. Tell them in all honesty why you are increasing their rent.

If you are a tenant:

  • Read the lease agreement. In a month-to-month lease the landlord can increase the rent after the month is through while in a year lease the landlord can raise your rent when your lease end, so it is very important that you read carefully your lease agreement.
  • 30 Day notice. Be sure to take note on the date the landlord gave you the notice of increase. According to state laws there should be a 30 day notice period first before the landlord can apply the increase.
  • Negotiate with your landlord. Talk to your landlord politely about your stand on the increase. it is a plus if you have become a good tenant and caused no problems. If nothing works, then you can move out and find another place to rent that fits your budget.

Edited on: Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 1:04 am

15 Responses to “How to deal with rent increases?”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Margarete

March 19th, 2013 1:20 am

.With our economy right now


Jo

March 19th, 2013 2:40 pm

Everything increases nowadays.


Earle

March 20th, 2013 4:00 am

What is the legal amount the landlord can increase their rent?


Bulah

March 20th, 2013 5:20 pm

There is really nothing you can do once the landlord decided to increase his rent


Granville

March 21st, 2013 6:40 am

Why do landlords increase rent when in fact they know that their tenants cannot afford to pay for the increase?


Taisha

March 21st, 2013 8:00 pm

Is there a limit on how much the landlord can increase the rent?


Lanny

March 22nd, 2013 9:00 am

We all know that our economy today is really bad and everything cost too much


Jefferson

March 22nd, 2013 10:20 pm

Is there a way to ask the landlord if we can meet them halfway with the rent?


Morris

March 23rd, 2013 11:40 am

Landlords should think about their tenants before enforcing any increase.


Leslie

March 24th, 2013 1:00 am

An increase in rent can backfire and may be the reason why the landlord’s business will shut down.


Herman

March 24th, 2013 2:20 pm

I think the best way for a landlord to stay in business is to not increase his rent.


Riley

March 25th, 2013 3:20 am

Greediness won’t do any good to anybody.


Elvie

March 25th, 2013 4:20 pm

All good relationship between the landlord and the tenant is broken when a rent increase is imposed.


Kendrick

March 26th, 2013 5:40 am

I rather look for another place to live rather than approve the increase.


Janett

March 26th, 2013 7:00 pm

My landlord never gave me a notice that he will increase my rent. I am on a monthly rent


Close


Yes, the RPA® Can Help You!

Filing an official complaint is the nation's fastest way to solve tenant problems.

Not Ready? Learn more...

Virginia Complaint Filling Deadline  Tips/Suggestion

Need Help Filing Your Complaint?

Agents Available Mon- Fri 10am to 10pm

Recently Resolved Complaints:

See how the Nation's Rental Authority has helped thousands of tenants already!

Ask Question:

Post a new question to the RPA Tenants rights forum.

You Have Tenant Rights.
Recently Posted Questions:

Over 4,000 questions have been asked by tenants including these new posts:

Tenant Rights Categories

Popular categories about renters rights.