Rent Increase??

By Michelle Albecker

I was forced to sign a 6 month lease instead of a one year lease where my rent went up $50.00! Now that I can sign a one year lease my rent is going up another $50.00! I was told that it’s the norm for the rent to go up everytime I resign my lease. My rent is to be governtment controlled. How is this helping people to be able to afford there rent if it goes up $50.00 each time?? Help…what should I do?

Edited on: Monday, February 25th, 2013 2:12 pm

2 Responses to “Rent Increase??”

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

Landlord

January 22nd, 2010 2:00 am

Yes, rent increases are not fun. The technique to increase rents every time you renew is fairly common. Although, the forcing you to sign a 6 month lease isn’t too ethical, it is still legal. Your landlord could increase rent every single month if he wanted as long as you were not bound by a lease condition or fixed rate… its not the best business practice.

What can you do about it? Not much! The best answer is that you could threaten to not renew your lease. That might make management more willing to keep your rent the same.


Renter

October 9th, 2010 1:36 am

If your rent is controlled by government (rent control) then you will not be able to be charged more than the amount set by the rent stabilization board. You could easily contact your local rent control office to see what the maximum rent amount is for your area.

Government only regulates a small portion of rents across the US. California and New York were the first to create rent stabilization as an effort to stop landlords from taking advantage of tenants in areas where there are few rental properties and many tenants. Before rent stabilization landlords would run their rentals like a casino and offer to the highest bidder. This practice is not acceptable in rent controlled areas. Most cities however, don’t have any type of rent control. The HUD published rent amounts only apply to section 8 tenants receiving housing welfare.

I know so much about this subject because I once had a landlord double my rent… I though is was illegal too. Then I found out that he had right to charge what he wanted. He did it to get me to move out. He knew I couldn’t afford the new rental amount and would be forced to move. Don’t worry, I filed a complaint with the RPA so that it would be documented against him. (At least I got the last word!!) My landlord was banned by the RPA and now has a negative record. Yay!


Rent Increase?

By JA13

My landlord emailed me stating that she is increasing my rent by 45%!  We rent a privately owned home in TX, and have been there for 6 months.  Rent has always been paid on time, if not early ever month. 

Is it legal for her to increase the rent by that much when we still have 6 months left on our lease?  What is the legal limit the rent can be increased?

Edited on: Friday, September 17th, 2010 8:51 am

One Response to “Rent Increase?”

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

Sam Herston

July 2nd, 2010 8:45 am

If you landlord is increasing your rent by 45%, that means she is trying to force you out. Have you done anything to upset your landlord? Such as bugging her about fixing something?

If you are in a lease, you should be locked in for the entire term. You will still want to read your lease to determine if there is a clause that allows your landlord to raise your rent. Most likely there won’t be a clause allowing her to do so, which means the only way she can get you to agree to the new rent increase is IF you sign a new agreement.

The law will allow your landlord to price her rental anyway she wants. Huge rent increases (more than 10%) are extremely unethical, but still legal. The government does not regulate how much a landlord can charge. (except in highly populated areas where rents are already very high.)

Make no mistake– your landlord wants you out. This is a common trick to force tenants to leave. I’ve never heard of a 45% increase, that’s pretty extreme. Rest assured that you have right to live out the rest of your contract without the new rent increase. I would advise you to not renew your lease if this is how unethical your landlord is.


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.