Is it legal for my landlord to increase my rent BEFORE my lease expires?
April 7, 2022 3:53 PM Subscribe
My apartment lease renews later this month and my rent will go up. Is it legal for my landlord to have charged me the new higher rent for the entire month of April even though part of the month falls under my current lease at a lower rent? My current lease has not yet expired.
This can't be right. I asked them to fix the error and they said it's not an error. In fact, after I asked, they upped the amount they say I owe, which feels punitive.
For the sake of easy numbers, let's say my 12 month lease renews on April 20th.
Let's say my current rent is $1500/mo.
When I renew, the amount goes up to $1600/mo.
I paid my $1500 rent on April 1st. It's now April 7th and their online system shows this:
"Past Due: $0.00"
That is correct since my rent is paid in full. But my account also showed an unlabelled bill for $33. When I called to ask what the bill was for, they said it was for the new higher rent, and then they increased the bill to $100.
In other words, they're charging me the higher rent for the full month, including days covered by my current lease, which is at a lower rate. Their own system shows that the higher rent doesn't begin until later this month, yet they're charging me the higher rent for the whole month.
Is that even legal?
The building is managed by that huge mega-conglomerate. I'd rather not name them, because they're evil and they're vindictive, but if you rent, you probably know who they are.
For the sake of easy numbers, let's say my 12 month lease renews on April 20th.
Let's say my current rent is $1500/mo.
When I renew, the amount goes up to $1600/mo.
I paid my $1500 rent on April 1st. It's now April 7th and their online system shows this:
"Past Due: $0.00"
That is correct since my rent is paid in full. But my account also showed an unlabelled bill for $33. When I called to ask what the bill was for, they said it was for the new higher rent, and then they increased the bill to $100.
In other words, they're charging me the higher rent for the full month, including days covered by my current lease, which is at a lower rate. Their own system shows that the higher rent doesn't begin until later this month, yet they're charging me the higher rent for the whole month.
Is that even legal?
The building is managed by that huge mega-conglomerate. I'd rather not name them, because they're evil and they're vindictive, but if you rent, you probably know who they are.
Read the renewal agreement you signed. It might have made the rent increase effective before the anniversary of your old lease.
posted by MattD at 4:18 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by MattD at 4:18 PM on April 7, 2022
According to the Oregon State Bar Association, "A lease may also list a method for increasing rent during the term. If the lease does not specify a method for increasing the rent, no change in the rent can be made during the fixed term of the lease." So if it doesn't say in your lease that they can raise the rent while the lease is in effect, they cannot raise the rent while the lease is in effect.
posted by goatdog at 4:50 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by goatdog at 4:50 PM on April 7, 2022
Response by poster: Gah. I guess I need to have them print me a copy of my lease. I think the thing is around 30 pages long. It's crazy. Leases used to be 2 or 3 pages. Now, it's an entire novel in a minuscule font size, which in and of itself doesn't seem like it should be frigging legal.
posted by 2oh1 at 5:17 PM on April 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by 2oh1 at 5:17 PM on April 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Google tenants rights [your jurisdiction, I.e. state, province, country]. What it says in your lease may or may not be enforceable.
posted by lookoutbelow at 5:19 PM on April 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by lookoutbelow at 5:19 PM on April 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
So the $33 does not seem wrong to me since presumably the rent increase happens when your lease expires on the 20th, so the $33 is 1/3 of the $100 increase. The $100 does seem wrong, but my old apartment complex always had some weird numbers on your first and last partial months. The accounting worked out, everything was paid correctly, but in the logic to get everyone paying on the 1st of the month, they did some weird math that took a while to figure out but did come out correctly. So that’s a possibility? Couldn’t tell you now how they did it though.
posted by sillysally at 6:02 PM on April 7, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by sillysally at 6:02 PM on April 7, 2022 [10 favorites]
I obviously do not have a copy of the novel length lease, but I can envision a scenerio where it is either $0 or $100. To me, instinctually, it would be pro rated so $33 sounds right, but the lease could say that the April rent is at the new rate or it could say the new rate starts on the first full month after signing ($0). I think you need to read the relevant part of both the new lease and the old lease.
When you moved in last year mid month, what did you pay for the stub month? 1/3rd? 100%?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:20 PM on April 7, 2022
When you moved in last year mid month, what did you pay for the stub month? 1/3rd? 100%?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:20 PM on April 7, 2022
(But either way, they should be able to explain it to you!)
posted by sillysally at 6:33 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by sillysally at 6:33 PM on April 7, 2022
Are you sure your lease is for 12 months, i.e. it renews on the 20th of April every year? Is it possible that when you moved in on April 20th they gave you a lease for 11 months 10 days, so that the following year (i.e. now) your lease would move to the 1st of the month?
That could explain the switch from a $33 increase (the prorated amount) to a full month increase.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:34 PM on April 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
That could explain the switch from a $33 increase (the prorated amount) to a full month increase.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:34 PM on April 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
$33 seems right to me. The first 2/3 of April are at the $1500/month rate. The last 1/3 (10 days) are at the $1600 month rate, so you owe $1533 for April.
posted by amaire at 6:41 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by amaire at 6:41 PM on April 7, 2022
It really depends on the lease. I can remember some really wacky accountings especially when leases started mid-month. Like leases which state the total paid out through the whole lease which was more than what I paid each month x 12, meaning I ended up paying a full month extra.
posted by muddgirl at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by muddgirl at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2022
Response by poster: sillysally said:
> So the $33 does not seem wrong to me since presumably the rent increase happens when your lease expires on the 20th
I agree, but I've lived here a long time and this is the first time they ever increased my rent mid-month. That's why I called to ask what the $33 bill was for. They said they'd get back to me, and when they did, the bill was increased to $100 (in a way that felt intentionally punitive). The assistant who called me back was polite but didn't seem to understand the response she'd been told to give me.
JohnnyGunn said:
> When you moved in last year mid month, what did you pay for the stub month?
I paid a full month's rent when I first moved in, quite a few years ago (before the current company took over managing the building). They've screwed up my lease renewals many times since then, so through the years, my renewal date shifted.
I didn't mention this in the question because I didn't want to derail it, but they were sued by a tenant (not me) for lease renewal shenanigans in 2020, and it was turned into a class action lawsuit which the tenant won ($120,000+ to be divided between all affected tenants, minus legal fees, if I'm not mistaken).
Maybe my question today should have been "How do I get in touch with Insert Mega Corporate Name to let them know they've got serious management issues here?" Good lord. The feds broke up a brothel in this building a few years ago, meanwhile management cut back on security rather than beefing it up. The building had a fire a few years ago, but when I found a major fire hazard last year, I had to beg them to do something about it. Literally beg, in writing. As I type this, there is "something" (fecal?) rotting in the stairwell which has been there for six months. I told them about it last year. I even showed them a picture of it last year! It's still there. And those are just a few highlights. This stupid company could save money and improve their reputation by hiring competent management. They've had good management here before, so I know it can be done. This isn't an old run down building, by the way! It's a mostly expensive big city trendy high rise. Oof. At this point, I'm just venting, so I'll shut up.
If I could afford to move, I'd be gone.
posted by 2oh1 at 8:09 PM on April 7, 2022
> So the $33 does not seem wrong to me since presumably the rent increase happens when your lease expires on the 20th
I agree, but I've lived here a long time and this is the first time they ever increased my rent mid-month. That's why I called to ask what the $33 bill was for. They said they'd get back to me, and when they did, the bill was increased to $100 (in a way that felt intentionally punitive). The assistant who called me back was polite but didn't seem to understand the response she'd been told to give me.
JohnnyGunn said:
> When you moved in last year mid month, what did you pay for the stub month?
I paid a full month's rent when I first moved in, quite a few years ago (before the current company took over managing the building). They've screwed up my lease renewals many times since then, so through the years, my renewal date shifted.
I didn't mention this in the question because I didn't want to derail it, but they were sued by a tenant (not me) for lease renewal shenanigans in 2020, and it was turned into a class action lawsuit which the tenant won ($120,000+ to be divided between all affected tenants, minus legal fees, if I'm not mistaken).
Maybe my question today should have been "How do I get in touch with Insert Mega Corporate Name to let them know they've got serious management issues here?" Good lord. The feds broke up a brothel in this building a few years ago, meanwhile management cut back on security rather than beefing it up. The building had a fire a few years ago, but when I found a major fire hazard last year, I had to beg them to do something about it. Literally beg, in writing. As I type this, there is "something" (fecal?) rotting in the stairwell which has been there for six months. I told them about it last year. I even showed them a picture of it last year! It's still there. And those are just a few highlights. This stupid company could save money and improve their reputation by hiring competent management. They've had good management here before, so I know it can be done. This isn't an old run down building, by the way! It's a mostly expensive big city trendy high rise. Oof. At this point, I'm just venting, so I'll shut up.
If I could afford to move, I'd be gone.
posted by 2oh1 at 8:09 PM on April 7, 2022
You definitely need a copy of the original lease. Whenever I've had a partial month situation I've paid rent from the 20th or whatever to get to the first and then paid in full month increments from there, making the initial lease term slightly longer than 12 months. If that is how yours is worded, no, they can't (legally, but of course in practice they can do whatever the hell they want) charge you extra unless your renewal addendum says so.
posted by wierdo at 11:12 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by wierdo at 11:12 PM on April 7, 2022
Based on the update about 'shifting' renewal date - you need a copy of the original lease AND any renewals you have signed since because the latest renewal date and period is likely to be based on the last renewal prior to that, not the original lease.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:07 AM on April 8, 2022
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:07 AM on April 8, 2022
Response by poster: > Based on the update about 'shifting' renewal date - you need a copy of the original lease AND any renewals you have signed
Yeah. Sadly, that won't work. First, we're talking about over a decade of leases. And second, through the years, they often asked me (and presumably lots of residents) to backdate things when signing so the date on the form matches what they want rather than what the current date is. I never cared because I was staying for another year... but now, obviously I see the error in trying to be helpful.
This company is awful. If I hadn't agreed to backdate signatures in the past, they'd probably have been vindictive. Hell, all I did was call to ask about a mid-month bill and their response was to raise it. I doubt they even checked to see if the bill was correct to begin with. But this company is by far the biggest apartment management company in the US, so they're everywhere.
Management turnover here has been high. We've had some great managers and assistants through the years, but when we get bad ones... oof. Every year, when renewing your lease here, you're dealing with somebody new who has to turn the paperwork over to somebody new. It's a mess.
posted by 2oh1 at 3:01 AM on April 8, 2022
Yeah. Sadly, that won't work. First, we're talking about over a decade of leases. And second, through the years, they often asked me (and presumably lots of residents) to backdate things when signing so the date on the form matches what they want rather than what the current date is. I never cared because I was staying for another year... but now, obviously I see the error in trying to be helpful.
This company is awful. If I hadn't agreed to backdate signatures in the past, they'd probably have been vindictive. Hell, all I did was call to ask about a mid-month bill and their response was to raise it. I doubt they even checked to see if the bill was correct to begin with. But this company is by far the biggest apartment management company in the US, so they're everywhere.
Management turnover here has been high. We've had some great managers and assistants through the years, but when we get bad ones... oof. Every year, when renewing your lease here, you're dealing with somebody new who has to turn the paperwork over to somebody new. It's a mess.
posted by 2oh1 at 3:01 AM on April 8, 2022
For 50 years Nolo (formerly known as Nolo Press) in Berkeley, California has published plain English do-it-yourself legal books that enable people to handle simple legal matters. Twice I used their state-specific landlord-tenant law books to stop a landlord from taking advantage of me.
Find your state in this list: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/landlords
Available as eBook or printed book.
posted by Homer42 at 7:23 AM on April 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
Find your state in this list: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/landlords
Available as eBook or printed book.
posted by Homer42 at 7:23 AM on April 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
The $33 sounds right to me, without extenuating circumstances, however you need to study your lease. "Standard" leases that I have signed included a clause that I or the lessor had to communicate to the other our intentions prior to 30 days before the end of the lease, either to leave or sign a new lease and if we didn't then the lease extended with the existing conditions. Point being, I doubt you can get much help from "Legal Aid" without a copy of all (legally-binding) agreements you've made with the landlord.
posted by achrise at 11:46 AM on April 8, 2022
posted by achrise at 11:46 AM on April 8, 2022
Response by poster: UPDATE: As of this morning, they corrected their mistake and removed the overcharge from my account, but it's frustrating that I had to fight to get it fixed. I suspect the only reason they fixed it is because I notified them in writing that I was requesting an explanation about the charge in writing.
posted by 2oh1 at 1:17 PM on April 11, 2022
posted by 2oh1 at 1:17 PM on April 11, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mekily at 3:59 PM on April 7, 2022