Am I supposed to only get 2 weekends to find a new apartment?

January 2, 2008 11:43 PM

I live in a big apartment complex and the landlord sends me a letter 1.5 months before my lease is up with the rent increase. So I will be notified of the new rent on January 16 and no earlier. However, I have to give 30 days notice, and so only have about 2 weeks where I know my new rent and can find a new place. How do other renters deal with such a small window of time?

In the Bay Area the rent can go up $200 or more each time. I've eaten $400 of rent increases the past 18 months, and want to get out if it goes up again. Going into the rental office, they declined and declined letting me know my new rent (lease expires end of Feb) until mid-January since it's set by "corporate". I'm guessing it can vary between $1400/month and $1600/month which is a lot of money to me.

There is likely something on the lease that says I have to give 30 day notice, so the last week of January, I need to let them know whether I want to sign a new lease, stay month-to-month, or leave. The month-to-month WAY more than the regular lease rate.

So that doesn't give me much time to find a new place (1 or 2 weekends). Am I missing something or is that just how it goes?

posted by lpctstr; to home & garden (11 comments total)

Unless I misunderstand, you actually have 1.5 months where you "know [your] new rent and can find a new place". You might have only 2 weeks to /decide/ the new rent is to high and that you're going to have to move on, but what's stopping you handing in your notice and looking for a new place whilst it runs?
posted by benzo8 at 12:03 AM on January 3, 2008

Check into the rental legislation, it's highly likely that the letter saying "there will be a rent increase" means absolutely nothing, and only a letter saying "the rent is now $x" sets the timer going on your option to accept or move out.

In the meantime I'd advise you to assume you're going to need to move out, and start looking.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 4:31 AM on January 3, 2008

Well. First... You don't have two weeks to find a new place... you have two weeks to see what the rent increase will be and decide whether or not you want to pay it. Trust me when I say that I am much more prone to freak out than to "relax"... That being said, try to RELAX. Maybe the rent won't increase as much as you are anticipating... Maybe you'll be able to negotiate a little bit... If you decide it's a bit too much, hand in your notice and start shopping around. You have a solid month to find a new place, if it comes to that.

I can say that I dealt with a very similar situation with less time... Basically, my lease came up... and with no advanced notice, they raised the rent $100... So, at that point (because I didn't find out about it until I was ACTUALLY looking over the lease to be signed) I gave my 1 month notice. The apartment wasn't worth what I was paying, let alone $100 more a month. I started looking and was finding nothing that I liked and could also afford... Finally, while driving home from one major disappointment of an apartment complex, I found the complex that I eventually came to live in. I paid LESS rent than I had been before, and they were basically brand new apartments (and thusly were giving out good deals to try to get the units occupied).

Finally, I have also handed in notice before and then decided NOT to move... So that might be an option while you are trying to figure out what to do...

Good luck. Relax. :o)
posted by Mookbear at 4:39 AM on January 3, 2008

Where do you live in the Bay Area? Many counties and municipalities have rent control. When I was in the East Bay, Oakland had a ceiling of a 3% rent increase for renewed tenants (new tenants would pay whatever the market rent was at the time and then get increases at the ceiling of 3%). Also, if you are a good steady renter with no drama, try negotiating that increase. Call the landlord or property manager and try and leverage your good tenancy for a smaller rent increase. It is cheaper for them to keep a good tenant than have you move. They face possible vacancy loss on the unit, advertise, arrange showings and most likely have to turn over (paint, replace worn out things) for a new tenancy. They also will be getting someone new who may or may not pay the rent on time and that can be a wild card for a landlord. They'd much rather keep you if you are good. If you are late paying, have neighbor complaints about you or call the emergency line for non-emergencies, well then, they'd probably just as well see you go. I know getting a rental increase creates an emotional tension ("Oh God! I can't afford this, I have to move!") but step back from it and view it as an opportunity to practice your negotiating skills. It doesn't hurt to check out area rentals also--the economy is starting to suck all over so you might find a better deal from a more desperate landlord than the one you have now. Good luck!
posted by 45moore45 at 5:10 AM on January 3, 2008

I heard recently that you need written notice of the amount of the rent increase 60 days before it goes into effect, not just notice that rent will be going up -- but I'm not sure if this applies to everywhere in California or only certain places in the Bay Area. You should check out housing.org to see if you can find anything specific to where you live.
posted by phatkitten at 5:28 AM on January 3, 2008

I had experience with something similar in a different market (is your company Archstone Smith? This sounds like them 100%). In the end, we were able to negotiate with them to keep it down and it only went up by like $10/month. We were good tenants and it was worth it to keep us in the unit than have to do the work to find new tenants, etc.

In your case, they'd be out a month or so in the changeover and have to incur turnover costs, which might not be worth kicking you out over $2400.

The timing on this is actually working in your favor. Where I was, they priced the increase on market price when the lease was due to renew. According to one person I spoke to, Jan/Feb is like the worst time for leasing apartments (but good for prospective tenants) since no one is really looking then and they can't charge high rates like in July/August. You should also take into account the rental market in your area. Is it doing well or is it going soft and places are staying vacant? All of this information can only help you.

Price out the going rate for other units in your building (we cold called our building and snuck glances at the secret price sheets at the front desk) and comparable buildings in your neighborhood so you'll have an idea of the increase or if units are actually going for less than yours. Then, when the increase comes, you have some information to negotiate with. Maybe your unit, even with increase, is still a great deal and it's worth staying. Or maybe you're being screwed and you can let them know you won't pay $200 more, but you'll pay $50 since that is market rate, etc. Your building manager probably has a bit more flexibility than you think.

You may want to also talk to the neighbors or the tenants association. Our tenants association raised a ruckus over the same situation you're detailing and had lawyers trying to fight it. You're not the only one in this boat.

Good luck. And yeah, you have a month and half.
posted by ml98tu at 6:20 AM on January 3, 2008

that's pretty standard as far as i understand it. at least it has been on all the apartments i've lived in (in philadelphia).

though, a $200 increase seems extremely high. there are rules about how much your rent can go up in a given time period, usually no more than X% of your rent. you should check into that.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 6:47 AM on January 3, 2008

So that doesn't give me much time to find a new place (1 or 2 weekends). Am I missing something or is that just how it goes?

I think you're assuming that people don't commit to leaving one apartment until they have found another one to move into. Unfortunately, due to the timing issues you've described, I think it rarely works out that way. As others have noted, without this assumption you've actually got 2 months to find a new place, not just 2 weekends. Jumping without having a place to land scared the heck out of me last time I moved, too. Keep reminding yourself that if all else fails, you can move into someplace cheap and crappy on a month-to-month lease to give yourself another month or two to hunt for your dream apartment. With a bit of effort you should be able to find someplace you like during the 2 months you've got, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.
posted by vytae at 7:38 AM on January 3, 2008

Most people give notice and then start looking for a new place.

I do think the window is shorter in the Bay Area (or at least in San Francisco) than in other places I've lived. In Boston, you pretty much had to sign the lease on the new place at least a month before the move-in date. In SF, I think a lot of places don't even go on the market until two weeks before the move-in date.
posted by occhiblu at 9:09 AM on January 3, 2008

When you're advised of the new rent are you actually signing a new lease or are you just continuing on month-to-month but with a new rate? If it is just month-to-month you can start looking at any time and just give your notice when you've found something. You might pay an overlap then but you would be less stressed out about any gap in having a place to live.

I live in the Bay Area (but not in SF proper) and, maybe its just been luck, but of the three places I've lived I've only once had a rent increase and nothing of the rate you're talking about (and in that case didn't sign a new lease, just went month-to-month at a new rate). You might try finding a place to move to now because your increases sound out of line and what's to say you won't endure the same stresses next time around?
posted by marylynn at 10:11 AM on January 3, 2008

Most people give notice and then start looking for a new place.

That's not the best way to do it, IMO. I think the way to do it is, if you're considering moving, go look at rental places to get an idea of the market. Then decide if you're going to move or not. Then once you've decided, get a firmer idea of the sort of place you want to move to. Then look for those places. If you're finding them, give notice. You need to balance having time to find a good place with not having to pay rent on two places at once.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 2:27 PM on January 3, 2008