How to Negotiate Your Rent Increase

The handshake – a meeting of the minds!

How to Negotiate Your Rent Increase – hmmm – a strange topic for a real estate investor?  We also have expertise in residential real estate sales. In this area, we have acquired two new clients on the tenant side and on the listing side of this process.  In the former, the family came to us because the landlord raised their rent.  In the latter, the home has so many updates required – we very much considered offering the client an out through our real estate redevelopment arm of our business; but, knowing this client very well, we knew that a real estate lease listing would be their better option.

I found this great article that I could not pass up especially for our recent tenant client who may want to consider negotiate with their current landlord (yes that means we may lose business) or any customer that is currently renting from our friends at RISMedia. Take a look and if you have a home that is way beyond your pocketbook for the amount of upgrades needed in order for you to place it on the market, just give us a call at CaneStar Homes. We’ll offer a fair price on a flexible timeline.

Spring and summer are traditionally the busiest times in real estate, for both homes and apartments. Home shopping is more pleasant in the balmier months, moving is typically easier, and longer, sunnier days tend to give people more time to search for new digs.

Yet whether someone is hunting for a new home or staying put, tough decisions could await many this spring. For apartment tenants who found a home during the busy months of last year, lease renewals are likely approaching—and that could mean rent hikes.

A landlord’s asking price is never final, especially in today’s market. Here are some tips for negotiating.

Know your rights.
In many states, before a landlord can increase rent, a tenant’s lease must be expiring; rent cannot be changed during an active lease. In addition, your state or city may require landlords to provide advanced, written notice of any rental price change.

Often, individual leases dictate how far in advance landlords must notify tenants—typically requiring 30 or 60 days. Even if a lease does not specify, state law often does. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, for example, require landlords to give a 30-day warning of a price change before a residential, market-rate lease ends. If a landlord does not, “they cannot increase the rent,” says George Gould, a senior attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is even more specific: Unless a lease stipulates a longer period, the Philadelphia Code requires landlords to notify tenants 60 days before they increase rent for year-to-year leases, and 30 days before for shorter leases.

When it comes to actually raising the rent, however, Pennsylvania offers fewer restrictions. Pennsylvania has no statewide laws governing rent increases for market-rate units, meaning, in theory, landlords can hike rent as much as they want. New Jersey, similarly, has no statewide law, though nearly 100 municipalities have enacted rent-control ordinances that set increase limits.

New Jersey does, however, stipulate that rent increases may not be “unconscionable.” Though no formal definition of “unconscionable” exists, Legal Services of New Jersey interprets it as any increase that is “extremely harsh” or “unreasonable.” In some cases, the nonprofit says, that could mean a 20 percent hike, or even a 5 percent increase if the building’s conditions are very bad.

Understand the Market

Click the above to see the rest of the article.  For detailed information about the local real estate market here in Northern VA, contact our lead real estate sales associate, Lee Chambers – Co-Owner CaneStar Homes.