Rent Increase In Bergen County, Nj (Hackensack, Avalon: real estate, apartment, leasing)

[jungleland]

Hello,

We rent in Bergen County NJ. We have just received a letter from our landlord (AVALON COMMUNITIES) that as our lease is expiring, they want to increase our rent by 7.1%, nothing regarding rent increase is provided in our lease. Is the increase LEGAL? Is the amount of the increase legal? Additionally, if we want to go on a month to month, the want to impose a 20%, that's right 20% premium on top of the rent, and on top of the 7.1% increase. Is that LEGAL?



Thanks..

[mead]

As long as your apartment isn't under some type of rent control setup by your town then this is perfectly legal.

Once your lease is up the landlord can usually increase the rent by whatever ammount he likes. Of course landlords will usually only increase the rent by an ammount that they think the market can bear. If they jack the rent up too high no one will take the apartment.

I currently live in a rent stabilized apartment and if I were to sign on for another year the rent would go up 3%, or if I were to sign up for a 2 year lease the rent would increase 5%.

So while 7% might seem steep to you, I don't think it is completely out of the ordinary.

[camaro69]

No more unlegal than my real estate taxes going up close to 7% annually since 2001.

[jy_2007]

Are you guys 100% sure about that? I could swear that there is some state law capping the percentage that the landlord can raise the rent on a renewal tenant - they can only jack it way up on a new lease.

Although, i don't know why I think that - if i got it from a reliable source, or it's just hearsay.

There's that "Truth in Renting" thing the state hands out to rental tenants. Do you have a copy of that? The law may be in there

[rtoys1]

jy-2007,

Did you ever find out anything about your original querry? I'm currently leasing my condo from a private owner in Hackensack and just got a notice that my lease will be increasing by 12.5%, when I renew my 1 year lease (which will begin in 3 months).

Does anyone know if this is legal or is there any NJ State Law that pertains to the above referenced subject? Thanks in advance.

[JerZ]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the actual amount a landlord can raise the rent following the end of a lease period isn't actually limited, unless you're in a rent-controlled dwelling.

So if you don't have rent control, I think the landlord technically can raise the rent however high he wants.

Now if there were an obvious push to get a tenant out for shady reasons--like, you converted to Islam and suddenly you receive a notice that at the end of your current lease your rent is going up 50% or something outrageous like that--then you would have a case you could take to court, though there would be no guarantee you'd win, of course. Things like that are hard to prove and the hike would indeed have to be pretty outrageous and well beyond that the landlord was raising for other rental dwellings, etc. But anyway...that's a whole different animal. You're being raised significantly, but not 50%.

Only a few states have rent control at all, but NJ is one of them. You didn't mention it in your post, so I'm assuming you're not in a rent controlled place. But if you are, then yes, there are limits and he can't raise you the amount he's raising you.

Like I said, this is only my understanding from memory. Can you call an attorney who specializes in tenancy and ask? Sometimes they'll let you "consult" or ask one question without paying a consultation fee.

[DodgeViper01]

Sadly it is legal for them to do. I would suggest moving because once it goes up once, it is bound to happen again.