Has your rent gone up? Do I expect too much??

[ss_storm]

At our old house, our rent was going to go up by $20/week once our lease ran out. We really didn't think it was worth it so we moved instead! Lol. Now we are living in a house almost twice the size for the same price (before it went up), although we moved to a town an hour away!

What are the property values like where you live? Our landlord hadn't really done much to the property to justify the increase in rent, but I think it would also depend on surrounding property values, the fees the real estate charge for property management and interest rates (particularly if they are still paying off a mortgage on the property). I know it sucks

Make sure they have given you the correct notice period..I didn't think they could increase rent until your lease ran out? Or they would have to give you a fairly significant notice period if you are still in a lease agreement.

[BrightSparkles]

At our old house, our rent was going to go up by $20/week once our lease ran out. We really didn't think it was worth it so we moved instead! Lol. Now we are living in a house almost twice the size for the same price (before it went up), although we moved to a town an hour away!

What are the property values like where you live? Our landlord hadn't really done much to the property to justify the increase in rent, but I think it would also depend on surrounding property values, the fees the real estate charge for property management and interest rates (particularly if they are still paying off a mortgage on the property). I know it sucks

Make sure they have given you the correct notice period..I didn't think they could increase rent until your lease ran out? Or they would have to give you a fairly significant notice period if you are still in a lease agreement.

Next door have the same house as us (just in the reverse) and are paying $370 a week - and they have a dishwasher!!!!! Our rent will go up to $385 a week and we don't have a dishwasher (would be nice though) and the neighbours on the other side are paying $360 a week.
They have given us 60 days notice we aren't signed onto a lease anymore...just week by week.

[Liz]

Ours is going up $10 a week next month. It was the same last year. I think it's fair enough.. I think it's still a really good price for the area.. there is nothing to rent around here, and things get snapped up really quickly (we actually go this property by offering more rent in the first place )

I think I would have something to say about it if they asked for $25 a week more tho. Trouble is it would be really really hard to find anywhere else in this area, so we'd probably be stuck paying it. I'd be asking to see what similar properties they are referring to if they're saying they're bringing it into line with current market values.

[Poppetty]

A few years ago at the end of our lease they told us they were raising the rent from 250 to 285/wk (lower than market value apparently because we'd been good tenants) when we moved out we saw it advertised for 310/wk so a $60 rise!!

[AliBaby]

the rental market in this area of Sydney sucks! I am sick of it but we are stuck.

They put our rent up about a week after I came hoem with DD by $30 that was after it was put up by $10 only 6 mths before hand.

The owner cried poor about the shockking interest rate risers however failed to decrease the rent when they hit rock bottom.

I have an oven that doesnt work properly. A massive 1m squared hole in the wall that took ONE YEAR to fix, toilet leaking, kitchen taps that need fixing, under the sink needin fixing, guttering that is crap, and a front screen door that he supposedly fixed but you cant lock it from the outside because of the bodgy lock he put on it.

If he puts the rent up again we wont be able to stay. Its just not fair that they can get away with it. We rent privately through them which sucks as I cant go to a real estate if there is a problem and he sometimes comes onto our property without calling to look or measure something to fix which he never ends up fixing.

What do you do though? There is such a shortage in the area of properties to rent.

Sorry for the long post. I feel your pain

[didispunk]

I would be looking around for something else, if it were me.

[luna moth]

Yep - ours was supposed to go up to $290 a week (from $275) 6 months after we moved in. We've been here 17 months now, and our increase is finally coming in May. We figured they'd held off because we are awesome tennants, and then when we demanded the hot water unit be replaced, they upped the rent. Fair enough. But they also put us on a 12 month fixed-rent lease, after which we are planning to leave anyway (buy in the area or move back to Melbs) so we are going to hit them up to fix EVERYTHING in this place. It's with a very efficient RE agent, so it'll get done, too.

The place before this we skipped out of the second the lease was up. But I think they were pushing for an increase there too.

The place before that, the landlords changed management, who decided to put the rent up from $240 a week to $330. This increase came quite conveniently at a time that DH got a job in Brisbane.

One place I lived in ages ago they proposed to up the rent, but said that if we were willing to sign another 12 month lease, we could keep it. Maybe try that approach?

Check with your rental board - I think there's a percentage annual rise that is considered acceptable. Some landlords do it knowing that long-term tennants are unlikely to want to move, so will just accept it, rather than pay.

[Purple Penguin]

We've been living in our rental for 4 years this year and the first 3 years our rent went up by $10 a year, this years it's going up by $25...

Maintenance only gets done if it's REALLY important... however compared to what we'd be paying if we moved somewhere else it's still at least $50 cheaper per week.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

At our old place (the one we got kicked out of) the rent was raised $75pw once we moved out (to $325 per week). The house was a crapbox, there was so much work needed doing, so much maintenance never done. We got kicked out for not getting repairs done but there is no way we would have stayed. The only justification is that in said little town people commute to said capital city one hour away because rental in ACT is too high so in our region it was ok because Canberrans could afford the rent. ITMS.