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Some of you might remember me as I've posted a few times here asking for guidance and input from the C-D community. And here I am once again asking for your wise and helpful advice...
My wife and I recently had a baby, she's 2 weeks old, and right before her birth we were cuasually chatting with our land lady. At one point during the conversation she says 'babies use a lot of water, so I might to raise your rent'. I just said, 'ok we'll talk about it'. And the conversation ended with some other small talk.
my lease recently expired and we both agreed to continue the arrgangement on a month to month basis. When the lease was about to expire I made it clear to her that I wasn't going to take any increases and I asked to let me know in advance, so I could look for another place if that was her intention. She said wasn't planning on raising the rent on 2013. So I was surprised when she threw me that curve ball about the baby using a lot of water, thus the need to increase the rent soon.
Our baby is so little, we sponge clean her, and we have a little tube that uses at most 3 gallons of water.
Anyways, the other problem is that once my wife goes back to work in march, when her FMLA time is up, we wanted to bring her aunt to live in with us so she can take care of our baby while both of us
are at work. I'm 100% sure she will want more money, and I can understand that. After all there will be a another person living with us for 6 months. But my question is, how much is it reasonable?
We currently pay $1,500 for a 600sqf, 1 1/2 br apt (she listed it as 2br) in a private house in long island city.
we like it here due to its convinient location and relative safety, but we don't think that it's worth more than 1,500.
what would be a reasonable increase, due to my wife's aunt moving in for 6 months?
How about the water ? is it reasonable to want to increase the rent because a 'newborn uses a lot of water'? If so, by how much?
We were also considering buying a condo/coop but not sure if we are ready to make that move. On the other hand, we're so tired of moving. We have moved literally every year due to different issues (low heat in the winter, noisy/rude neighbors, etc.) so we're not really excited of doing it again this year.
Why would your rent go up due to your aunt living there? The rent is for the apartment, not for the amount of people living there.
That's like having an apartment while single then having your significant other move in and the rent goes up.
Sounds more like a slummy land lady.
edit: Also, because you are now on a month to month basis, she could increase your rent, but not because of your aunt moving in, or because of the new baby, but because "that's what the market rate" is now. I don't know if your apartment is stabilized or controlled so I can't talk about that without knowing.
Why would your rent go up due to your aunt living there? The rent is for the apartment, not for the amount of people living there.
That's like having an apartment while single then having your significant other move in and the rent goes up.
Sounds more like a slummy land lady.
edit: Also, because you are now on a month to month basis, she could increase your rent, but not because of your aunt moving in, or because of the new baby, but because "that's what the market rate" is now. I don't know if your apartment is stabilized or controlled so I can't talk about that without knowing.
I understand what you're saying but her view might be 'the lease or month to month agreement lists as occupants X and Y' adding Z would be a breach of the lease/month to month'
we did sign a month to month agreeement which is exactly the same terms as the 1 yr lease we had.
Am I right in thinking that adding a person not listed in the agreement could be considered a breach of contract?
This lady is nice overall. but she's very picky too.
The apartment has hardwood floors, which are nice but old. They make a squeeky noise, so she asked us to get carpets before moving in. We did.
She came in to our apartment one day, and later that day she emailed me saying 'the carpets are not large or thick enough to soundproof the floors'
I replied back to her with 'These the only carpets we're going to spend money on. If you'd like to provide us thicker and larger carpers, we would take care of them as if they were ours, but we will not buy any other one'
The following week, she gave me a large (yet not thicker carpet to put under the current one we have in the living room).
Also, when we first moved in, one of the movers made a small but somewhat deep scratch on the hardwood floor. She saw it, and asked me to get it fixed ASAP. She even gave me the phone numbers of the people who polished her floors before. I haven't done that yet, but I expect to do it before moving out.
by the way, the aprtment is not a stabilized or controlled.
Last edited by on-wheels; 01-04-2013 at 09:17 AM..
I understand what you're saying but her view might be 'the lease or month to month agreement lists as occupants X and Y' adding Z would be a breach of the lease/month to month'
we did sign a month to month agreeement which is exactly the same terms as the 1 yr lease we had.
Am I right in thinking that adding a person not listed in the agreement could be considered a breach of contract?
This lady is nice overall. but she's very picky too.
The apartment has hardwood floors, which are nice but old. They make a squeeky noise, so she asked us to get carpets before moving in. We did.
She came in to our apartment one day, and later that day she emailed me saying 'the carpets are not large or thick enough to soundproof the floors'
I replied back to her with 'These the only carpets we're going to spend money on. If you'd like to provide us thicker and larger carpers, we would take care of them as if they were ours, but we will not buy any other one'
The following week, she gave me a large (yet not thicker carpet to put under the current one we have in the living room).
Also, when we first moved in, one of the movers made a small but somewhat deep scratch on the hardwood floor. She saw it, and asked me to get it fixed ASAP. She even gave me the phone numbers of the people who polished her floors before. I haven't done that yet, but I expect to do it before moving out.
by the way, the aprtment is not a stabilized or controlled.
Does your lease list how many people can live in the apartment? Not everybody who lives with you has to be on the lease (rommate law). I'm not sure if the roommate law would extend to your aunt, but it might. It definitely extends to your baby. She is part of your immediate family and clearly a baby isn't going to be named on the lease anyway.
This lady sounds like a pain. A baby uses a lot more water? I mean come on. That's ridiculous. I don't live in private houses or small buildings next to the landlord for that exact reason. You can luck out and get someone who is easygoing and minds his own business or you can have someone who watches everything you do, tries to control who visits you, drops in unannounced all the time, etc. I had a landlord like that once and it was nerve-racking. He was always hovering. I felt like he was my roommate or parent or something. Very uncomfortable.
I get what you are saying with moving again. I've had my own share of bad landlords, rude neighbors, etc. The last time I moved I gave it all my effort to find a place where I can live for a few years. That's what I would do if I were in your position. A month to month leaves you so vulnerable to her demands. She can threaten to raise your rent or not renew your lease every month. It gives her way too much power. Personally, I prefer not to hear from my landlord unless it's for something normal like repairs. If you are quiet, responsible and pay your rent on time, you deserve to have a stable home that you can enjoy without being bothered on a regular basis.
Does your lease list how many people can live in the apartment? Not everybody who lives with you has to be on the lease (rommate law). I'm not sure if the roommate law would extend to your aunt, but it might. It definitely extends to your baby. She is part of your immediate family and clearly a baby isn't going to be named on the lease anyway.
This lady sounds like a pain. A baby uses a lot more water? I mean come on. That's ridiculous. I don't live in private houses or small buildings next to the landlord for that exact reason. You can luck out and get someone who is easygoing and minds his own business or you can have someone who watches everything you do, tries to control who visits you, drops in unannounced all the time, etc. I had a landlord like that once and it was nerve-racking. He was always hovering. I felt like he was my roommate or parent or something. Very uncomfortable.
I get what you are saying with moving again. I've had my own share of bad landlords, rude neighbors, etc. The last time I moved I gave it all my effort to find a place where I can live for a few years. That's what I would do if I were in your position. A month to month leaves you so vulnerable to her demands. She can threaten to raise your rent or not renew your lease every month. It gives her way too much power. Personally, I prefer not to hear from my landlord unless it's for something normal like repairs. If you are quiet, responsible and pay your rent on time, you deserve to have a stable home that you can enjoy without being bothered on a regular basis.
I agree. She does sound like a PITA.
$1,500 for a 1 1/2 br in LIC sounds OK. Not really a bargain but reasonable, IMO.
I would talk to her. And explain to her that babies really don't use that much water the first few months. Does this woman have children of her own? if so, she should know.
As for the aunt, this is a little more complicated. Maybe you can work out a deal where you pay an increased rent only while she's living there but can go back to $1,500 once she leaves.
I would try to negotiate this to no more than $1,550-$1,600.
If she declines, you might as well consider moving out.
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