Tips To Successfully Increase The Rent On Your Leased Premises Using A New Lease Agreement

The costs associated with owning homes or rental properties steadily rises over time. This can be due to many things, including repair and upkeep costs and increases in property insurance premiums or tax assessments. When this occurs, landlords must increase the amount of profit their rental properties bring in to offset the rising costs associated with ownership.

Needless to say, renters are not happy when this discussion comes up, but there are some ways to make the process a little smoother and to decrease the possibility of an empty rental property resulting from an increase in rent. Although landlord has the right to file an eviction process at the court, it is landlord's ultimate interest to keep the tenant as long as possible.

The first tip is to be mindful of the season or time of year. Most people would rather relocate in warmer weather so it can often be somewhat difficult to fill empty properties in the fall and winter months. Therefore, landlords should delay increasing the rents until spring in case renters are dissatisfied and decide to leave, causing you to begin the search for new renters.

The second tip relates to the personal connection. It is important to introduce the discussion about raising the rent in person so you can ask your tenants to sign a new lease with the increased rent. Also they are not very familiar with the term of tenant lead disclosure in the contract. Many people have less of a tendency to begin a confrontation face to face than they are through other less personal methods of communication such as the phone or letter. You will also find that your renters will be somewhat appeased if you sit down with them and detail your reasons for raising the rent s opposed to you simply sending a notice indicating that the rent has gone up $75 per month.

The third tip is to make sure that your renters have been given written notice that the rent will be increasing. Most states require that landlords must give a certain amount of written notice in advance when the rent is going to go up, so be certain you conform to your state's laws. When you and your renters are having that face-to-face meeting, that is the best time to provide them with the written notice. Don't forget that if your tenants decide to leave rather than pay the increase, it will mean an even longer time period elapses wherein you must find a new renter prior to your old renters leaving.

The fourth tip is to enter into a long term lease. Tenants to do not want to worry their rent will go up every year. So you can reassure them that this won't happen and keep them in your property by proposing a long term lease that spans several years. If you are willing to commit in writing to the new rent which includes the increase for at least two years, execute a new lease. By doing so you've alleviated your tenants' concerns about rent raising yearly and also secured good tenants for the next several years.

The fifth tip is to determine what other rental properties in the area are going for. Most renters seem to have misconceptions about the market rent figures that are in their area, and they believe they can automatically obtain a better deal by going somewhere else. Prior to speaking with your tenants about raising the rent, do your homework and walk through some other rental properties which are currently available in the vicinity and assemble some data on the rental market. When you ask your renters to sign a new lease that has a higher rent, you can also supply them with the data about the other nearby rental properties and prove that they're still getting a "good deal" by staying in your property.

Keep in mind that sometimes it just isn't feasible to increase the rent on your properties, even if the market rents are higher than your rents. If you've got great renters that are worth keeping, even if your income reduces slightly as a result, don't raise the rent! It can be hard to find tenants that pay promptly and take good care of your property. Don't risk losing them by pushing an increase in their rent. Think about alternatives that may be available when you sit down and talk the situation over with them, including the possibility of signing a longer term lease or phasing in the increase in rent slowly over the course of a year or two.

If landlords want to stay solvent, raising the rent is one of the unpleasant tasks that must be done as expenses increase. However, stable tenants living in your rental property are also valuable, so keep in mind that executing a long term rental lease is a viable option in some circumstances. Lastly, make sure you are always honest and fair, and think about each rental hike on a case by case basis.

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