I'm soon coming up on being out of school for a year and am confronted with choosing whether or not to renew my lease (I only signed a one-year one). I didn't know ahead of time, but apparently the landlord has the right to up my lease if I resign. He's looking to raise it by $100. Anyone have any advice? Should I cave and just renew for the new amount? Do I have any leverage to negotiate here?
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Allison - you don't say what city you're in, so I don't know how the rental market is where you are, but raising the rent by $100 isn't that unusual.
The only leverage you have is that if you leave, the landlord will likely have to pay a rental fee to the agent who fills the apartment, which would be 1 months rent. If you're rent is $1200/month, then thats the increase he is trying to make.
Also, depending on your circumstances, you could sign a longer lease, locking in a rent for a 2 year period.
You might just try talking to your landlord and seeing if he'll cave (I've delt with some landlords who cave pretty easily).
Agree with Chad. A lot of your negotiating leverage depends on whether the landlord can find someone quickly and efficiently to take your spot.
Do you have any insight into that?
I'm not sure if the landlord has any tenants lined up, although I do live in a desirable neighborhood. To the best of my knowledge, no one has checked out my apartment yet - but that doesn't mean someone couldn't have seen a comparable one in the building. I do however know that when a neighbor of mine left the building a few months ago, her apartment was on the market for over a month before someone else moved in.
Don't know what your total monthly rent is before and after the increase, but landlords tend to raise rent 5 - 7%. So, if they've raised your rent less than 5% they're certainly being fair. If they've raised your rent above 7%, then you have some ground with which to negotiate. However, keep in mind it's always a supply versus demand issue. If the landlord is sure he can rent it for the higher amount if you vacate, then you don't have any leverage here. If odds are he can't rent it, then you have a lot of leverage here.