Tenants paying way below market

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Should we hint in advance, so theyre not surprised that the next rent increase will be much bigger than the previous one, so they have time to think of options if they cant afford it, or should we wait until the lease expires?

We should hint in advance, that the raise will be bigger, so they can think of options and look into possibilities.

94%

[ 129 ]

We should wait until the lease expires

[ 7 ]

Total Votes : 136

amother

Taupe

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 8:00 pm

Maybe OP just wants them gone. In that case raise the rent way above market and spring it on them at the last minute. You might end up with a holdover.

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 8:25 pm

Sake wrote:

These increases of $75, $100.. Are they monthly or annual? Just curious.

Perhaps $100 annual raises make sense when renting a garage, but not even dingy garages are available for reasonable rates any more.

MagentaYenta

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 8:33 pm

amother wrote:

Perhaps $100 annual raises make sense when renting a garage, but not even dingy garages are available for reasonable rates any more.

Ok so the rent is raised $1200 per year. Did I miss you mentioning what the current renters are paying?

groisamomma

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 8:40 pm

IMHO the landlord has to do what works for her so if raising the rent is legal then it's a non-issue.

To be a mentch I would tell you to let them know 2-3 months before that so they can plan their move. It's hard to find apartments for big families these days. The sooner you know their decision, the sooner you can plan to fix the apartment up for the next tenant.

Emotional

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 9:12 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

I would certainly give them more than 30 days notice. I'd let them know that when their lease is up you will be raising the rent to market. That way if they can't afford market rates, they would have plenty of time to find a new place. It would be the humane thing to do.

It's sounds like OP is planning to raise the rent by several hundred dollars if not more.
30 days is not nearly enough time for the tenant to figure out how to budget for that kind of increase, or to find a new place to live.
I would say AT LEAST six months' notice, if not more.

mirror

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 9:20 pm

I have a friend who gave up being a landlord and sold her multi-family home because of all the noise. This is with carpeting.

Emotional

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 9:23 pm

Devoirie wrote:

I have a friend who gave up being a landlord and sold her multi-family home because of all the noise. This is with carpeting.

Or the landlord can choose to live on the top floor. Wink

lizard8

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 9:27 pm

I would tell the tenants asap, so they could look for a new place. It is pretty stressful having to find a new apartment only a month in advance.

MagentaYenta

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 9:39 pm

Emotional wrote:

I think that 6 mos would be the most humane notice. I've been both a renter and a landlord and I tended to treat my renters the way I'd like to be treated. I'm on the left coast in the PNW in a town where rentals are very competitive, we have a college. 6 mos would be a good notice for a renter in this area.

ysydmom

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 11:17 pm

Here are some things to consider. . . .

1. do they bother you to fix things?
2. is the apartment a nice one meaning are there things you never fixed or did you give it in designer condition
3. are the tenants menschlach?
4. do they pay rent on time

the basic rule in new york is that if you are asking for high rent then the apartment needs to have the latest model everything. hard wood floors and stainless steel appliances with at least 2 sinks. You also have to be willing to find tenants that will pay rent on time. If the tenants you have now are paying the rent on time every month and you can pay your mortgage every month then it's great. If the tenants don't bother you to fix much that's also great. Are they nice to you meaning when you ask them to let you in or to not do something do they listen?

you can raise the rent but you might have to put in something in the apartment to make it worth their while especially if your asking alot. also they might decide to bother you more to fix things if you raise it. if they decide to leave you might be stuck with lousy tenants and you will have to put in money to fix it up to get more rent every month. it is a huge gamble. It could also take them a long time to find a new place and you might have to pay them to move out. I know alot of people that it happened to. if your going to raise them you need to give them lots of time to find a new place. they could also decide not to leave and you can spend time with legal battles. just make sure it's all worth it first. Also people that rent don't have a lot of money life is usually harder for them and you will be making it much harder by raising the rent. You can also ask a Rav and see what they say before you decide to do anything. Life is really expensive and an extra bill can do alot of damage to people. So be very careful with your decision.

Just putting the pros and cons out there.

Emotional

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 11:30 pm

ysydmom wrote:

Also people that rent don't have a lot of money life is usually harder for them and you will be making it much harder by raising the rent. You can also ask a Rav and see what they say before you decide to do anything. Life is really expensive and an extra bill can do alot of damage to people.

This is so true.
It's one thing if this tenant's low rent is causing you financial problems.
But if you're doing okay, and you want to raise the rent just because you CAN, try to remember that there is no bracha in money that was obtained by causing unnecessary hardship to people.

groovy1224

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 6:41 am

I'm really baffled that you would consider 'springing'this on them when their lease expires, and use the fact that you need the money as an excuse. And they don't? They sound like a large-ish family living in an apartment, so why would you even consider doing that to them? How easy do you think it will be for them to just pick themselves up and find a new place?
Obviously, you're within your rights to charge whatever you want, and if you can find new people will pay it, great. But for goodness sakes, have a heart!!

Tablepoetry

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 7:25 am

Emotional wrote:

This is her income. Whether or not OP is doing ok is irrelevant; she doesn't need to subsidize her tenants by $700 a month. I assume if she wants to give that type of tzeddeka she will give it elsewhere. No where did she say this family was a chessed case.

That said, of course you must give them advance notice!!! What were you planning on doing, springing it on them and leaving them with only a week or two to find a new place???? How and why would that be beneficial to you?

Tell them 2-3 months in advance.

amother

Turquoise

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 7:32 am

tweety1 wrote:

As a landlord I'll tell you $100 is not a tiny bit. My tenants know that they automatically get a $50-75 rent increase upon renewal of the lease. Increase depends on dh mood that minute. (lol) we put it in the contract that there will be an increase. Currently we have a tenant with a 4 year lease but in the contract it says that after 2 yrs there will be an increase of $75.

This obvisouly depends on location. In Brooklyn 100 is not high especially since they're getting below market. Seems like everyone missed that point.

groisamomma

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 8:40 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

^^THIS^^

shoshanim999

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 4:40 pm

amother wrote:

This obvisouly depends on location. In Brooklyn 100 is not high especially since they're getting below market. Seems like everyone missed that point.

But the op didn't describe the rent hike as "not especially high". She specifically said "a tiny bit". $100 per month simply doesn't fit that description at all and makes me wonder if the op is in lala land. Maybe the tenants aren't really paying under marker either. The op loses credibility when she describes things that are exaggerated or wrong.

pause

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 4:52 pm

shoshanim999 wrote:

Are you familiar with Brooklyn, specifically Boro Park or Williamsburg prices? Before you bash OP, make sure you're not in la la land.

OP doesn't mention the size of the apartment, so I will use the example of a 3-room apartment which typically goes now for 2000 or more/month. Now, let's say she began renting it out 8 years ago when the price was 1450. So she raised them to 1550. She now wants to be able to raise them to market value. Say she's talking about a 4-room apartment which rented out 8 years ago for 1900 and is now 2800. When you're talking such crazy numbers, 100 is truly a tiny bit.

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 5:09 pm

I'm a landlord with a tenant paying way below market as they've been there a long time. I need a raise as I need the money but have been humane about it.
It's a given that rent can't be raised to market value when someone is there already. It's cruel actually.
My tenant is paying half what neighbors are paying, but we raise slowly as I think it's wrong to do that. I also feel it's wrong to force a family out and to pay insane rents just because market has gone up.
There's another factor, condition of apartment. If someone is there for awhile I'm sure it's not fixed up. The outrageous rents are usually very nicely renovated places.

Just my two cents, as someone in an exact same position.
In my case, they pay 1200 and easily goes for 2500-2700
Very large and airy

2cents

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 5:29 pm

BH, I'm no longer renting, but when I was, a $150-200 raise of rent upon lease renewal was very typical. (Going back 2 years in the brooklyn area).

@ aquamarine amother, you are losing $1200-1500 dollars each month. That's great that you are doing it as a chessed (or to he humane, as you called it), but for most people, we can't swallow that kind of loss.

mfb

Thu, Dec 24 2015, 5:49 pm

2cents wrote:

I don't believe its a loss, its just not a gain. Presumably if you are renting for a lower price, that means you bought the house for a cheaper price than people buying now. So that means your mortgage is probably lower to.
If you have a good tenant that pays on time, and is reliable that is probably better than taking in someone that agrees to pay more but might not be able to!

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