[USER]

Help requested from private landlords: my daughter pays $3150 rent. Her landlord just texted and said another condo in building rented for $4k so he’s going to raise hers significantly.

Looking at zillow and redfin, the value of her condo is 80 & 90% of the value of the 4k rental.

So if we take 85% of 4k that would put daughter’s at $3400 which is almost a 10% increase.

Both are private owners (owner previous residences), no rental history on 4k apt. Daughter’s rent has gone up 2% per year last 2 years. Even though 10% seems high, it’s doable, so she’s hoping to keep it no higher than 10%.

Do you think negotiating based on that value difference between the 2 is a fair tactic? All other units in building are owner occupied. I realize zillow isn’t necessarily accurate but maybe the “difference” is somewhat accurate?

Comps are hard because interiors and building amenities vary so greatly. Market is Bucktown, Chicago.

Daughter was just furloughed so the stress of moving in a few months would be devastating while job searching or starting new job.

Between partner and savings, she is not at risk of not being able to pay. She wants to stay but at a fair increase. Other tips for negotiating?

the 4k unit has 1 addl parking spot and addl 900sqft outdoor space.

We just don’t know how to value that to negotiate. Landlord is within notification time rules and no cap in Chicago

[Stacey]

I had to buy a condo myself when my landlord just kept raising the rent whenever he wanted.

In Boston where I lived there was no rule against it. You can try.

[Karen]

Have her email the landlord and politely acknowledge his message, say that she would like to stay and that she could handle an increase of $300 a month to $3450 and will happily sign another one year lease at that price.

Have her point out that she is a very quiet and respectful tenant, etc.

Keep it positive and don’t mention Zillow or other rents unless you truly have comps.

If he says “no” she can then decide whether to pay the new rate or move.

Keep her message warm, friendly and very respectful and not argumentative as he has the right to charge what he wants.

[Luke]

You can try negotiations with the landlord. Try and sell him on saving money by having no vacancies.

Also sell him on the fact you are a known, timely payer of rent and without issues. (Hopefully true).

Coming at it from your own research probably isn’t going to help much. I would be selling myself and saying you just want one more year and willing to pay xxxx amount.

I have had people try and negotiate with me. I never have. But I also don’t raise the rent more then $50-75 a year.

Just be prepared to move. Even if you win this negotiation, you better sign a new year long lease and be ready to move when it’s over.

Sorry it’s happening. I am a landlord and I try to avoid keeping up with the market. People need time to adjust and that is a serious amount of money to adjust to.

[Joy]

Some states have restrictions on rent increases. It looks like Illinois doesn’t but the city of Chicago might.

As a landlord, I’d rather work with a good tenant than have to turn over a unit.

10% would be more than fair in most cases.

Good luck!

[Farris]

The landlord owns the property, yes try and negotiate but at the end of the day he owns it. Love the liberal comments to try and stop the landlord from doing what he wants with the property he worked hard to acquire.

She can move somewhere else if she does not like the increase.

Step 1 ask kindly to not be so much as you want to stay and your a great tenant. Step 2, move and don’t complain.

It’s a free world.

[Brenda]

As a landlord, as well, I would use Luke’s advice. My rents are all far below market rate because my tenants have been there for years, pay every month on time and have very few complaints.

You are asking him to stay $600 a month below that high water mark.

That’s just over two months rent per year.

Turnover definitely takes a month but usually takes 2-3 months plus there are always expenses involved even if it’s just a quick cleaning, so he should come darned close to breaking even keeping her in there at your proposed amount.

I would show him that math.

[Jeff]

Sure, try to negotiate.. find a round number that works.
That said, I raise $100 a year every year, regardless. Usually I’m under market.

Rarely over market.

When rents jump dramatically after Covid, I did NOT dramatically increase.. I did $100.

My tenants pay on time, they direct deposit, they keep my properties in great condition and generally handle small details theirselves …
I do handle large items.

I want a no hassle property AND tenants.
5 yrs later, I am close to market for my quality of rental.

Taxes are up
Insurance is up
I never really want to be below market again.

[Roberta]

I would respond with something like, as a young adult, it will be extremely tough to be able to pay significantly more.

Can I ask for a 60 day notice of what this amount will be so that I can determine if I need to look elsewhere?

I understand your desire to be at market price, however I have also been an ideal renter and I hope that has an impact on the new rate.

Don’t offer a rent until they tell you what it will be and then show your data and negotiate.

[Michael]

if your daughter is a stress free tenant, I’d highlight that and calculate the cost of replacing her with a potentially stress filled tenant.

[Jodi]

I feel like the landlord can’t raise rent unless the lease is month to month.

Is she under a contracted time for the current price?

[Jenny]

As a Chicago renter, apartments are crazy right now. We were subleasing our apt in a neighborhood a little north of Bucktown (nice, safe and family friendly location) and had 10 people interested in the first day, and the first person who viewed it took it.

Bucktown is very popular – and if it’s a condo that someone is renting out, I’m sure it’s a nice unit and going to be in high demand.

Like others have said, you can try to negotiate based on rental history, but it’s a rough market with not much supply and quite a bit of demand.

I would suggest starting to look in cheaper locations asap to plan for a move in a few months.

[Bill]

Do you have idea of how much the landlord’s expenses may have increased while your daughter has been a tenant? It appears she has been a tenant for 3 years.

I would research how much the Condo Fee, Property taxes, and insurance has increased over the past 3 years.

If her rent has only gone up 2% each of the past two years, it’s very likely the landlord was not passing along their increases completely to your daughter.

I’m a landlord, and my expenses have gone up more than 12% over the prior three years.

And if you’re a property owner, you can probably agree with me.

I’ve been absorbing my cost increases over the past few years, thinking that often tenants move every few years, and I would just increase the rent at that time.

I also would suspect that if the condo was previously the landlord’s residence, they probably lost their Homestead exemption, and their property taxes have increased substantially in the prior three years.

[Michelle]

For her area rent control isn’t in place but notice restrictions are:
Tenancy of more than six months but less than three years: 60 days’ notice is required.

Tenancy of more than three years: 120 days’ notice is required.

[Theresa]

This sounds very greedy of the landlord, so regardless of how this particular negotiation may or may not go, I’d be concerned about further acts of greed in the future.

I know moving is not something she wants to do, but I’d explore that option before staying in a unit where the landlord wants to increase my rent by almost 25%.

[Helene]

Ask what their info is based on for comparable rental rates.
There is a lot of legal hubbub going on for “price fixing” based on algorithms.

Google “housing price fixing” and check it out. FTC, WA State Attorney General, etc.

[Rick]

What does the landlord value? This will be the key in negotiating.
Higher rent is obvious right. But that is rarely all they value.

Continuity of little to no vacancy?

A longer term lease than 12 months? A larger security deposit? A tenant that does the little maintenance without calling for a repair? Etc etc.

Finding what the landlord values and making that part of your offer is a great way to make it about more than just the rent rate.

[Dawn]

Appraiser here. This is not how a real estate appraiser or broker doing a rent analysis would support a reasonable rental rate, and it definitely wouldn’t hold up in any type of legal analysis, but you can negotiate however you want.

The straightforward way to determine an appropriate market rent would be to try to find the most comparable rental units you can and do a rent comparison/analysis.

You won’t always have the perfect comps but comparing the rates at other rental condos with the most similar traits/amenities to your space is the textbook way to go about this.

But again, you’re a consumer who is negotiating so you don’t need to be textbook.

[Ashley]

She can always ask, and emphasize the value of having a reliable renter in place.

[Marika]

Hope she’s at least looking at other rentals for possibly moving or price comparing. I know several landlords who easily choose quality tenants or higher prices.

So, they’re out there –it’s not that uncommon.

The landlord is going to lose money looking for new tenants.

The neighbors may not be happy to have a higher turnover in renters.

I’d be ready to move just bc the landlord sounds …less than reasonable. They’ll probably treat her badly in other ways at other times.

[Kira]

What is the jurisdiction’s law on rent increases? Start from finding that out

[Aaron]

As a landlord I would not base my rent off the relative market sale values of 2 units like you are suggesting. As far as weather it’s fair I guess you can ask if you want.

I don’t really see it as fair or unfair just seems normal scenario of landlord wants to raise rent – tenant doesn’t wanna raise it, you ask for what you want – they probably say no and then you either pay it or move to a new place.

If the rent you are wanting to pay is a fair market rent you should have no trouble finding a new unit at that price.

[Di]

If no other units are rented, he will be hesitant to have her move. She should wait for the lease renewal and then negotiate by saying she will not be resigning because it’s too expensive

[Melissa]

I would highlight that the other unit is bigger with better outdoor space and that I was a stress free renter.

I would let him know that I will not match the rent of a nicer place.

[Mike]

Move home, save the $, move to Grand Rapids, Detroit, no job $4k.

I’d be sitting on Lake Michigan all summer searching for jobs.

[Author]

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