A rent increase notice informs a tenant about an upcoming rise in the amount of rent. Landlords in most states can’t increase rent at will, so state or local laws often specify a certain amount of advance notice to the tenant before a rent increase takes effect.
When Can Landlords Increase the Rent?
Landlords often have to follow specific requirements in order to increase the rent. In addition to any legal restrictions on frequency, they generally must wait until the renewal of a rental term.
Increasing Rent During a Fixed-Term Lease
Landlords usually can’t increase rent during fixed-term leases, even when the tenant has agreed to provisions that allow it. For example, a one-year lease usually has the rental amount locked in until the end of that year, with any increase taking place upon lease renewal.
It’s sometimes possible for a fixed-term lease to have specific terms which allow a rent increase, but this is a legal risk. Courts often see a fixed and predictable rental price as one of the fundamental purposes of a fixed-term rental. Terms that allow a rent increase may be unenforceable and risk the validity of the entire lease.
Increasing Rent When Renewing a Fixed-Term Lease
Landlords usually can increase rent when a tenant is renewing a fixed-term lease. Most courts interpret a lease renewal as a new contract with similar terms to the old contract. This means a landlord can update the lease provisions from one fixed term to the next, and make the lease renewal dependent on the tenant agreeing to any new terms, including rent.
Increasing Rent When Renewing a Month-to-Month Lease
Landlords usually can increase rent from one month to another on a month-to-month lease. Most states require at least one full rental period of advance notice for month-to-month tenants, often specified as 30 days or more.
Illegal Rent Increases
These are some types of rent increase which are usually illegal:
- During the Term of a Lease – Both fixed-term rentals and month-to-month tenancies can generally only have rent increased when they’re up for lease renewal
- Not Following Correct Legal Process – Many state or local laws set out a specific process which must be followed to increase the rent, especially for rent-controlled properties
- Unreasonable Amount – Some state and local laws cap rent increases by a certain percentage, but even states without specific laws may still find rent increases significantly above local market value to be unreasonable
- Unlawful Purpose – Many states specifically forbid any rent increases done for the following reasons:
- To pressure a tenant to move out
- To retaliate against a tenant for:
- Asking for repairs
- Reporting a housing code violation or health and safety issues to a government official or agency
- Participating in a tenant organization like a tenant union
- Attempting to claim rights or remedies guaranteed by the law or the lease
- As an act of discrimination against a tenant on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation
How Much Can Landlords Increase Rent?
In general, landlords can raise rent by any amount that’s within the range of local fair market value. If a specific law or lease provision applies to the rental situation, however, any rent increase will be limited by those applicable rules.
Fair Market Value for Rent Increases
The local market is the major influence on what’s fair to ask in terms of rent increases. Many areas have an average increase around 3-5 percent per year. Higher percentages increase the risk of legal challenge as well as negative tenant reactions.
Courts usually determine fair market value for rent off of local rental rates, rather than looking at the landlord’s expenses. This gives landlords an incentive to calibrate their prices to the local market, beyond simply keeping the rental competitive.
Landlords often use the following two metrics to easily survey local prices:
- Rent Comps – Actual rent data that give the amount of rent contracted by real tenants
- Listings Comps – Properties which are listed but not rented, less accurate than rent data but giving a broader sense of local landlord expectations regarding rental prices
Landlord Costs and Fair Market Value
Although courts usually look at a range of local rentals to determine fair market value, documenting costs can often help prove an increase is reasonable. Even some presumptively unlawful rent increases can be excused if the landlord proves they are necessary to cover increased property taxes, insurance premiums, HOA fees, and maintenance costs.
Rent Control
Rent-controlled properties have additional rules as to how much and how often the rent can be increased. This is one of the areas where checking all applicable laws is most important. State by state rent control standards have wide variance, and many local areas have additional rules for rent-controlled property.
How Much Notice Do Landlords Need To Give for a Rent Increase?
The amount of notice a landlord has to give before a rent increase varies by jurisdiction. A few states, like Texas, have no advance notice requirement, and the landlord can simply announce an increase in rent at the start of a new rental period. Most states, however, require advance notice of a rent increase 30-90 days before the rental term in which it begins.
| State | Notice Required for a Rent Increase |
|---|---|
| Alaska | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 14 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Arizona | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 14 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Arkansas | 1 month (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| California | 30 days (less than 10% increase to the rent) or 90 days (more than 10% increase) |
| Colorado | 60 days |
| Connecticut | No statute |
| Delaware | 90 days (mobile homes) or 60 days (other housing types) |
| Florida | No statute |
| Georgia | 60 days |
| Hawaii | 45 days (month-to-month tenants) or 15 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Idaho | 90 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| Illinois | No statute |
| Indiana | 30 days |
| Iowa | 30 days |
| Kansas | 60 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| Kentucky | No statute |
| Louisiana | No statute |
| Maine | 30 days (mobile homes) or 45 days (other housing types) |
| Maryland | 90 days (year lease), 60 days (month-to-month lease), 21 days (week-to-week oral lease), or 7 days (week-to-week written lease) |
| Massachusetts | 30 days |
| Michigan | No statute |
| Minnesota | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 60 days (mobile homes) |
| Mississippi | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Missouri | 60 days (mobile homes) or no statutory requirement (other housing types) |
| Montana | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants) |
| Nebraska | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants)60 days (mobile home tenants) |
| Nevada | 60 days (month-to-month tenants) or 30 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| New Hampshire | 60 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| New Jersey | 30 days |
| New Mexico | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| New York | 30 days (tenancy shorter than 1 year), 60 days (tenancy between 1 to 2 years), or 90 days (tenancy longer than 2 years) |
| North Carolina | No statute |
| North Dakota | 90 days (month-to-month mobile home tenants) or 30 days (all other tenancies) |
| Ohio | No statute |
| Oklahoma | No statute |
| Oregon | 90 days (after first year of tenancy) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Pennsylvania | No statute |
| Rhode Island | 60 days (month-to-month tenants over 62 years old) or 30 days (all other tenancies) |
| South Carolina | No statute |
| South Dakota | 30 days |
| Tennessee | No statute |
| Texas | No statute |
| Utah | 15 days |
| Vermont | 60 days |
| Virginia | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 60 days (if lease contains renewal provision) |
| Washington | 60 days (unsubsidized housing) or 30 days (subsidized housing) |
| Washington D.C. | 30 days |
| West Virginia | No statute |
| Wisconsin | No statute |
| Wyoming | No statute |
Written and Verbal Notice
Most jurisdictions require written notice for a rent increase. Verbal agreements can have legal force in rare cases, but when there’s an ambiguity courts interpret an agreement against the person who demanded a particular term.
This makes verbally announced rent increases almost impossible to enforce if the tenant disputes them. Verbally announced rent increases usually only get enforced if the tenant has already paid rent at the new rate alleged by the landlord.
How Often Can Landlords Increase the Rent?
Most states don’t limit how often landlords can increase the rent.
In most rental situations, the frequency of rent increases isn’t an issue. Most rentals are fixed-term for a term of one year. This restricts rent increases to once yearly in most cases, regardless of state law. A few states do, however, have statutes limiting the frequency of a rent increase:
| State | Maximum Frequency of Rent Increases |
|---|---|
| California | Twice per year |
| Colorado | Once per year |
| Delaware | Once per year (mobile homes only) |
| Idaho | Once per 6 months (mobile homes only) |
| Minnesota | Twice per year (mobile homes only) |
| New Jersey | Limited by rent control in many cities |
| New York | Every 1-2 years, depending on lease term (once yearly, if rent controlled) |
| North Dakota | Rent in some cases cannot be increased within 6 months after the sale of a mobile home |
| Oregon | None during the first year of tenancy |
| Washington D.C. | Once per year |
How To Write a Rent Notice Increase
Writing a rent notice increase usually involves informing the tenant of the new rental amount, the date it becomes effective, and any supporting information to help put the tenant more at ease about the increase. At minimum, a rent increase notice generally includes:
- Tenant name(s)
- Rental property’s address
- Landlord name(s)
- Landlord contact and address
- Date of notice given
- Effective date of rent increase
- Current amount of rent
- New amount of rent
- Space for tenant response (accepting/rejecting the increase)
- Space for signature/date
Keeping Tenants Happy After a Rent Increase
A rent increase can impact tenant happiness. These are some strategies landlords use to keep relations smooth when increasing rent:
- Explain the Increase – a rent increase notice may contain a brief explanation of new administrative costs, to reassure tenants that the increase simply passes on a new homeowners’ association fee or property tax
- Provide Other Examples of Area Rentals – this allows tenants to compare to other local options and see that the increase is reasonable, especially if the examples are of similar units
- Specify Standards for Rent Increase in the Original Lease – this gives tenants a sense of transparency from the landlord, and lets them predict any rental changes in advance
Delivering a Rent Notice Increase
A rent increase notice may be delivered by hand or by mail. Notice legally counts from when the landlord can prove the tenant received it. This means it’s customary to deliver mailed notice via certified mail, to prove date of delivery. Landlords may ask a tenant to sign a receipt of notice if it’s hand-delivered.
Fixed-term leases often include a copy of the new lease with the rent increase notice, highlighting any changes (like the increase) made to the lease and asking for tenant review and signature if they agree.
