Landlord increasing rent next year. Other renters experiencing this? (for sale, apartment)

[Caldus]

I haven't had a rent increase since I've moved into this apartment a few years ago. The landlord sends me an email telling me "how great of a tenant I am" and then proceeds to tell me that basically the rent is going up by $25 a month if I renew the lease. I guess the better tenant I am, the more I pay. Do other renters on here typically get rent increases every year? Just curious. I don't want to be an *** and tell this guy I'm moving unless the rent stays the same but I may just do that. Maybe it's time to buy a condo. Oh wait ... property taxes.

[Freefall18]

Are you a real person?

[Avondalist]

Yes, rent increases are typical because of inflation, which is usually 2-3% a year.

[Freefall18]

It has more to do with the rental market in your neighborhood. It's not atypical for people to get an 8%+ rent increase where I am.

[MaryleeII]

Hey, look, his expenses have probably gone up, too. Don't forget, he pays property taxes, maintenance, perhaps association fees, etc, etc. $25/month is nothing---what are you planning to do---move into another place? Check the rents in your area---that extra $25 might be nothing compared to the current rents. Also, it costs to move, no matter how cheap you think you can do it. That's another $300/year. It will cost more than that just to buy boxes, rent a truck, etc, etc.

Don't think past expenses will always stay the same. Your landlord has increasing expenses, so, unfortunately, it gets passed on. He's probably not making anything off the rent increase, just pacing the economy.

[Ultrarunner]

All depends on the what the market will bear and the landlord's motivation.

I have foregone rent increases for super tenants... why spoil a good thing.

On the otherhand... when managing property for others... there was never a question of if the rent was going up... only how much.

Costs of just about everything have risen... some a lot.

That said... cost is only a determining factor as to whether one should stay in the landlord business or not.

Higher costs cannot be passed on if the market will not allow it.

[NOLA101]

Uh, I've never heard of a landlord who drops rent by the year. In every place I've lived, the rent goes up, not down, every year. Ever heard of inflation?

[andrew61]

You haven't had a rent increase in several years and now your rent's going up $25? You're doing better than most. If you like the apartment, stay put. As another poster pointed out, that's only $300 a year more, and moving will cost you more than that. And is a big hassle (take it from one who just moved).

Landlords do face increased operating costs over time, and they need to keep up.

[ToriaT]

What they said above. You are very unrealistic if you think you won't get rent increases. I think you got off easy. With inflation and property tax increases, your very lucky.

[s0nginmyheart]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Uh, I've never heard of a landlord who drops rent by the year. In every place I've lived, the rent goes up, not down, every year. Ever heard of inflation?

My boss rented out his Loop condo to tenants and the next year, he dropped the rent as an incentive to keep the tenants and not have to pay another full-month's leasing commission to an agent. I can see where he thought it might work out, but most (smart) Landlords build the leasing commission into the monthly rent. Fast forward a couple years, he complains that the incoming rent doesn't even cover the mortgage and has been paying the difference out of pocket. Fast forward to last month, he put the condo up for sale.

Back to the OP, if you live in a world where you haven't had a rent increase in a couple years and you're complaining it's only going up by $25/mo, There's a ton of different factors to this. $25 is marginal. If you want to be a dick and say "I'm moving unless the rent stays the same", you have to ask yourself this: Will moving cost you, time/effort and money-wise, less than $300?