Can Your Landlord Raise Rent During a Lease?

As and the housing market goes back to normal, it's more imperative than ever to understand your rights as a tenant. The fluctuation in rental prices has got you asking yourself, ?

Landlords are always trying to do everything in their power to make money. Whether by keeping your security deposit, avoiding their building repair responsibilities, illegally raising your rent, or even trying to unceremoniously evict you.

However, you should not let your landlord take advantage of you. As a renter, you must know how long it should take your landlord to give you your security deposit, failure to which you are allowed to sue them for your deposit. In addition to that, you also have renters' rights which your landlord must respect at all times. If your landlord fails to adhere to them, DoNotPay is here to help you learn how and where you can file a complaint against your landlord. Read on to understand whether your landlord can increase your rent during a lease or not.

When and How Can Your Landlord Raise Rent?

Landlords can only raise their rent after adhering to specific landlord-tenant laws on rent increases. They include:

With Lease Agreement	Under no circumstances but rather until the end of the lease.
Month-to-Month Rental Agreement	Rent can be increased monthly after their landlord gives them prior notice.
Informed of Rent Increase	From 30 to 60 days prior notice before the increase.
Written Notice	Verbal means are less effective
Non-Discrimination	Increased for all tenants. An increase cannot be used to intimidate a particular tenant.

Well, can the landlord raise rent without a new lease? That depends. Your landlord can only raise the rent when renewing the lease. However, landlords can increase rent before the lease expiry if your lease stated so, or you agree to it.

However, this doesn't mean that landlords are allowed to exploit their tenants by excessively or unexpectedly raising their rent. Landlords tend to exploit their tenants differently, not only on rent issues. They threaten to evict you when you fail to adhere to their new unfavorable illegal directives. That's why DoNotPay is here to protect tenants from all kinds of exploitation by their landlords.

What Services Can You Get as a Tenant from DoNotPay?

Our Landlord Protection product can help you:

Get a refund of your security deposits
Learn about your state's eviction laws and what protections apply in your case
Resolve disputes regarding repairs with your landlord
Resolve disputes with roommates by filing demand letters or going through small claims court
Break your lease early

What Steps Can You Take If Your Landlord Raises Your Rent

Receiving a rent increase can be devastating, especially if you are not prepared for it, or it forces you to think of moving out. However, this does not mean that you can do nothing about it. When you are informed of a rent increase, you can take the following steps to check its validity.

1. Check whether it adheres to the local landlord rent increase law

Different states and cities have different laws that protect renters. Your landlord is required to adhere to these laws before issuing a rent increase. When you learn that your rent has been increased, cross-check the procedure taken by the landlord and the amount in question if it adheres with the local landlord increase-rent laws. This also involves checking if the timing of the notice is legal.

2. Ensure that you receive the rent increment notice in writing

The landlord cannot tell you verbally that they will increase your rent. They must send you a letter or email with details about the rent increment. These documents are important as a tenant can use them in case of a lawsuit or a misunderstanding. That is why it is crucial to understand the landlord rent increase laws to ensure your landlord does not break them.

3. Confirm your lease

You can double-check your lease to ensure that the increase in your rent is per the agreement. Your landlord must give you a notice as per the required time frame or increase the amount according to the lease conditions. If your lease does not allow your landlord to increase your rent before its expiration, an increase can be deemed illegal. A tenant must ensure that their landlord adheres to all the relevant clauses in their lease.

4. Seek advice from proper authorities

If your landlord illegally increases your rent, you can report them to a tenant's rights advocacy group for guidance. They will help you gather what you'll need and how you can file a complaint against your landlord.

5. Try to reason with your landlord.

Just because the rent increase is legal, it does not mean that you are ready to pay it. You can try talking to your landlord for whatever reasons you might have, whether you are facing challenges or the increase was unnecessary. You can do this by either calling them or talking to them in person, explaining why you're against the surge.

Likewise, you can also organize with other tenants to have the rent hike reconsidered by your landlord. That is if the majority of them are against it. Most landlords strive to ensure a great relationship with their tenants. Therefore, with most tenants opposing a rent increase, the landlord could reconsider or have more people move out.

In most cases, negotiating with your landlord after a rent increase may not bear any fruit. Your landlord could be breaching the agreement in your lease, but still choose to ignore your grievances. That will force you to fight back, but starting a dispute with your landlord can be intimidating, which is why DoNotPay is here to guide you through it and file your dispute on your behalf.

How DoNotPay Can Protect You from Landlord Exploitation

You should never allow your landlord to illegally raise your rent or exploit you in any way. If your landlord is trying to breach your lease agreement, you can protect yourself in 4 easy steps:

Search for and open the Landlord Protection product on DoNotPay.
Select which issue applies to you.
Answer a simple set of questions so our chatbot can collect the necessary information to create your demand letter.
Choose whether you want DoNotPay to send the demand letter to your landlord or roommate on your behalf. If you already tried sending a demand letter and it didn't work, we can help you start the small claims court process.

And that's it! You should hear back from your landlord directly once your demands are sent.

Why Use DoNotPay to Fight Rent Increase by Your Landlord

Rent increases can cause a big dent in your finances especially if your landlord does it arbitrarily and without prior notice. DoNotPay is the best choice in fighting a raise in your rent during a lease, we are:

Fast - You don’t have to scour the internet for ways to fight against sudden rent increases.
Easy - You only have to follow and answer the four-step process of our app and you can have a demand letter to your landlord asserting your rights.
Successful - Our success stems from our exhaustive database of laws and procedures readily available at your fingertips.