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A letter requesting a rent increase is an opportunity to make your landlord aware that you are expecting more money for his space, and perhaps even negotiate the price. The below template is provided for use as a reference in case of any legal issues or confusion about proper formatting.
The “rent increase letter pdf” is a document that outlines the terms of an increase in rent. It can be used to write a letter of your own.
A rent increase letter informs residents of an impending rent increase. If the property isn’t rent restricted, there is usually no restriction to how much you may raise the rent. However, you must follow the terms of your lease as well as state landlord-tenant rules. A renter is usually given 60 days’ notice of a rent increase.
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Template for Rent Increase Letters
To prevent infringing any landlord-tenant rules, you must obey your state’s laws and stick to your agreement while raising your tenant’s rent. A rent increase example template helps verify that you’re on the proper road. You may use it as a template for your notification of rent increase. It should be written in a friendly manner so as not to insult the renter, and it should contain all relevant information, such as the amount of the rent increase and when it will take effect.
The following are some examples of rent increase letters:
- The name of the renter
- Address of the property
- Name and contact details for the landlord
- The date on which the letter was written
- When will the rent increase take effect?
- Increase in rent amount
- Rental amount at the moment
The free rent increase letter.pdf that best matches your tenancy may be downloaded here. An yearly lease, lease renewal, mid-month rent increase, and month-to-month rent increase notification are among the four options we provide. The templates outline what should be included in your notification of rent increase.
How to Use a Rent Increase Letter to Increase a Tenant’s Rent
A landlord, property management, or agent sends a rent increase letter to a tenant to inform him or her of an impending rent increase. Generally, you should send the rent increase notice by certified mail so that it can be monitored, and you may always follow up with an email, depending on how you and your renter communicate.
A rent increase letter’s objective is to inform the renter of the amount of the rent increase and the date on which it will take effect. It should adhere to any rent-increase guidelines set out in your agreement. It should also follow all of your state’s landlord-tenant laws.
“Landlord-tenant laws differ per state, and New Jersey has its own peculiarities. You must deliver Notice to Quit and Notice to Increase Rent by the date specified in your lease or as required by local legislation, but not fewer than 30 days before the lease expires. You’re effectively informing your renter that unless they agree to the higher rate, they’ll have to vacate the property before the end of the contract.”
— Domenick Tiziano, Accidental Rental blogger
We’ll go through what should be included in a rent increase letter in greater depth below, but remember to select your words carefully. The rent increase letter should be professional, straightforward, and succinct, and it should not insult the renter. You may change the text of our example rent increase letter to fit your tenant’s needs.
“The phrasing of a rent increase letter is critical since excellent renters want to feel valued. When there is openness and communication between the owner and the tenant, it leads to a pleasant tenancy for all parties concerned, and ideally years of tenancy.”
Founder of Spaces Real Estate, Bentley Phillips
When Should a Rent Increase Notice Be Issued?
Both landlords and property managers use a rent increase notice to provide tenants official notice of a rent increase. Generally, landlord-tenant regulations require you to offer a specific length of notice, usually 60 days, if you want to raise the rent. The rent increase letter informs the renter of the impending rent increase.
A rent increase letter is appropriate for renters who are on a month-to-month basis as well as those who are on an annual or multi-year lease. Various forms of leases, on the other hand, often demand different lengths of notice. For example, a 60-day notice of a rent increase is required for an annual or multi-year lease, but a 30-day notice is required for a month-to-month lease.
A rent increase letter is often used at four points in a lease: at the conclusion of an annual lease, before a lease renewal, in the midst of a lease, and at the end of a month-to-month lease. You may only lawfully raise the rent in the midst of a tenancy if your lease has a provision that permits it. When the lease is about to expire or be renewed, though, it’s far more customary to raise the rent.
A rent increase notification is appropriate for the following situations:
- Landlords who are in charge of their own properties
- Property managers are in charge of several properties.
- Tenants who rent on a month-to-month basis
- Annual or multi-year leases are available.
- Renewal of a lease negotiation
- Changing the date of the lease renewal
- attempting to persuade a renter not to renew their contract
- When you buy a house, you will inherit tenants.
- If your contract and state allow it, you may raise your rent in the middle of your lease.
When Should You Send a Rent Increase Letter?
Let’s imagine your lease is due for renewal in 60 days, and there’s a condition in the contract that allows you to raise the rent at that time. The lease clause will specify how much notice you must provide the renter, as well as the amount by which you might raise the rent.
If the existing renter pays $3,000 per month in rent and the agreement specifies a 5% increase in rent upon lease renewal, the tenant must agree to the new rental sum of $3,150 or choose not to renew the lease. The renter would sign the lease renewal agreement, which specifies the new lease amount and start date. If the rent increase notice is sent 60 days in advance, the rent will be increased when the next rent payment is due.
For example, if the rent increase letter is dated June 1, 2018, it provides 60 days’ notice, indicating that the rent will be increased on July 31, 2018. Because rent is usually payable on the first of the month, with a few days’ grace period, the rent rise will occur around August 1, 2018.
If your lease does not have a rent rise provision and it is not a renewable lease, it will have an expiration date. This eliminates the need for a rent increase letter. Instead, if you and the renter agree that the tenant may keep his or her tenancy, you will negotiate a new lease and be able to raise the rate without notice. Because this is essentially a new lease with the same renter, the rent may be anything you both agree on.
“If the rate is agreed upon in the contract, a landlord may not raise the rent.” If the lease allows the landlord to raise the rent, they may do so with the required notice, which is usually indicated in the contract. If the contract allows for it, the rate rise will almost certainly be accompanied by a 30- or 60-day notice period. If no such choice exists, they will have to wait until the lease term ends to make any changes.”
— Brad Biren, Johnston Martineau Attorney
There are a variety of reasons to send a rent increase letter.
Landlords generally send a rent increase notice to increase the ROI on their property, to cover more of their carrying costs, or because their property-related costs have increased. However, there are some unique reasons to increase the rent, which include Renewal of a lease negotiation, Changing the date of the lease renewal, and attempting to persuade a renter not to renew their contract.
Renewal of a lease negotiation with a Rent Increase Notice
When you send out your rent increase notice, you may usually negotiate a lease renewal at the same time. You may minimize the amount of the rent rise if you want the renter to renew the contract. The contrary is also true: if you wish to persuade the renter not to renew the lease, you may increase the rent to a level you believe they cannot or will not pay. This may eliminate the need for eviction in the future.
Another occasion you may use the rent increase letter as a negotiation weapon is if the lease is set to expire during a period when renting the home is difficult, such as during the holidays. Then you may have the renter extend the lease for a 14-month term or at a time that is more convenient for you, and you will pay a lower rent increase than you had intended.
All Rent Increase Letters Require
A rent increase letter should have specific elements to ensure that it is lawful, simple to comprehend, and conveys all of the necessary information to your renter. However, if you know your renter and wish to add or remove anything particular to avoid upsetting them, you may adjust the phrasing.
The yearly rent increase notice, lease renewal rent increase letter, mid-lease rent increase letter, and month-to-month rent increase letter are the four kinds of rent increase letters. The same elements should be included in all of them (for example, the date of the rent increase), but the dates will differ based on the kind of rent increase letter.
The following are typical elements of a sample rent increase letter:
1. Contact Information for the Landlord or Property Management Company
This normally appears in the heading at the top of the rent increase notification so the renter knows who the letter is from and may contact you if they have any problems. Your or your company’s name, address, phone number, and email address should all be included here.
2. The current date
This is significant since this is the date you drafted the letter, and you’ll want to let the letter at least a few days to arrive in the mail before the notice period starts. Allow at least 65 days if you’re providing a 60-day notice, for example, so the letter arrives before the notice period begins.
3. Notice of Rent Change
This is the letter’s topic, and a good suggestion is to use “Change in Rent Notice” rather than “Rent Increase Notice” since it doesn’t put the renter on the defensive right away. It’s critical to be cautious with your terminology at this point. You may use whatever topic you choose, as long as it conveys the point without being impolite.
4. A warm welcome
This is another instance when the language is crucial. Some landlords use the phrase “Dear renter,” but we advocate using the tenant’s first name to keep things casual yet welcoming. It initially refers to the renter as a person, then as a tenant later in the letter.
5. The Letter’s Body
This can be written in whatever type of style you feel comfortable with, but it needs to include the When will the rent increase take effect?, the Address of the property, and the amount of the current rent. It should also mention that the named person is a tenant at that address and it should mention that all other terms of the tenancy will remain the same.
We recommend include a line thanking the renter for their cooperation and reminding them that they may contact you if they have any issues. Again, the phrasing is important, and if those two sentences are included, the renter is less likely to consider this a demand and more likely to consider it an agreement.
6. Final Thoughts
Before printing and signing your name, you may finish the letter with words like “Sincerely,” “Thank You,” or “All the Best.”
7. Name of the Landlord
The last section of the rent increase letter should contain your name, signature, and title (landlord, property manager, etc.).
Check out our four distinct rent increase letter templates for additional information on what a rent increase letter looks like. Choose the one that best suits your needs and save it to use as a template for your own rent increase notice.
Here’s where you may get a free annual rent increase letter in PDF format. Here is a link to a free lease renewal rent increase letter. Here’s where you can get a free mid-lease rent increase letter. Here’s where you can get a free month-to-month rent increase letter.
Notification of a Rent Increase
Read through your rent increase notice before delivering it to ensure that it comes off as professional, courteous, polite, and to-the-point. A tenant will appreciate mail that is kind and non-demanding, and it is critical to maintain a pleasant landlord-tenant relationship. Also, double-check that your rent increase notification meets all relevant state landlord-tenant rules and provides the required notice as stipulated in your contract.
A rent increase notification, as well as any other communication with your renter, should be sent certified mail. This is because the letter’s sending and reception are both documented, ensuring that the landlord and renter don’t get mixed up about when the rent increase letter was sent in the future. In other words, a renter cannot subsequently claim that they never got the rent increase notification since evidence of receipt exists.
Aside from certified mail, email is a common way of communication with your renter. However, bear in mind that proving that the renter received and/or read the email may be difficult. Varying states have different rules on whether or not email is an appropriate substitute for certified mail, so it’s preferable to send both certified mail and email.
Check out your state’s landlord-tenant rules regarding landlord-tenant communication.
Rent Increase Letters: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The most often asked questions concerning a rent increase letter are answered here, including how much a landlord normally raises the rent.
How Much Does a Rent Increase Usually Cost?
The increase in rent varies, but it normally runs from 3% to 5%. You should assess your expenditures and determine how much rent you need to raise to compensate them, as well as whether or not the renter can afford it. You don’t want to lose an excellent renter because of a little rent increase.
Can I Increase My Tenant’s Rent?
You may increase the rent on your renters, but you must give them the appropriate notice specified in your contract and in accordance with your state’s landlord-tenant rules. Generally, you must provide 60 days’ notice before raising the rent.
Is it Possible to Increase Rent on a Month-to-Month Lease?
Yes, since the tenancy is only guaranteed for one month at a time, a month-to-month lease is usually the simplest to increase the rent on. The month-to-month renter must be given 30 days’ notice in the form of a rent increase notice in most states. They may either remain and pay the higher rent at that time, or they can evacuate the premises before the rate increase takes effect.
When Do Landlords Usually Raise Their Rent?
When a new tenant comes in or when a tenant’s lease ends and they wish to extend it, landlords usually increase the rent. Rent increases may assist pay for rising living costs, such as electricity bills, property taxes, and insurance, when inflation rises. However, if a landlord has a good renter who pays on time, he or she may not increase the rent to keep the tenant happy since locating a new tenant is expensive and time-consuming.
Conclusion
A rent increase notice informs a tenant that their rent will be increased, as well as the amount and date of the increase. In general, there is no set amount for rent increases, but you must follow the terms of your contract and the regulations governing landlord-tenant relationships. In most cases, a 60-day notice period is necessary.
Contact Avail if you’re a landlord or property manager looking for quick access to templates, online rent collecting, and maintenance requests. They’re a property management software company that helps landlords and property managers around the country. It’s always free to use your first unit.
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The “rent increase notice wisconsin” is a sample rent increase letter. The letter is designed to be used in Wisconsin, but the template can be easily modified to fit your state’s needs.
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