Is 17% rent increase considered reasonable?

[ajb3905]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey
I have rented a condo in Bergen county NJ for the past 9 years.
My landlord did not provide me with a current lease agreement in the past year.
Now LL wants to increase my monthly rent payments $265 per month which is a 17.25% increase over my current rent.
I am a divorced father with regular scheduled visitation with my 12 y/o child and I pay child support in the state of NJ and I have no ability to pay this amount of increase.
I am not looking to incur the additional cost of acquiring a new rental and moving.
What rights do I have? What is considered a reasonable rent increase?
Thank you.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Certain municipalities in New Jersey have set limits on rent increases. What you need to do is check to see if Bergen county has one and if so, what are these limitations.

• Rent Increase Notice: Before the rent can be increased, landlord must give the tenant a written Notice to Quit and notice of the rent increase. Notice must be given as agreed to in the lease, but at least 30 days prior to the increase, or as stipulated within any applicable local rent control ordinance. (New Jersey – Rent Increase Bulletin )

 

[Gail in Georgia]

As an example, the attached in information is for North Bergen Township (you may need to do a "google" search on your city/township).

http://www.northbergen.org/Departments/rent-control

 

[ajb3905]

Thank you Gail. My town is Mahwah NJ which is northern Bergen county although there is a town named North Bergen in another part of the county.
My concern is that last year the landlord did not provide me with an updated lease. I do not know what affect that has on his ability to raise my
rent by $300 per month. It is a private residence.

 

[xylene]

Why do you pay child support if you are a single father?

 

[ajb3905]

I am divorced father with a 12 y/o.

 

[idkallie]

I am divorced father with a 12 y/o.

If you have custody, should it be you paying child support?

 

[ajb3905]

I do not have custody.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

http://www.mahwahtwp.org/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=64&TPID=11564

The site to get contact information to determine whether Mahwah Township has a rent controlled ordinance and if so, what is the limit a landlord can increase each year.

Gail

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Remember that not all townships in New Jersey have rent controlled ordinances. This is why you need to do some homework to determine if yours does and if so, what is the cap for this increase.

If there is no such ordinance, your landlord is free to increase the amount of rent as they wish. Your choice is to not accept this and find another place to move to after providing the appropriate notice for your month to month tenancy or to attempt to negotiate with your landlord for a increase that you believe is more reasonable.

On your side is the argument NOT that you are a single father who has to pay child support (that means nothing to a landlord) but rather that you have been a stable, paying tenant for the last 9 years and you would like to continue to be one if possible.

Since it has been a number of years since you have had to find a rental property you might want to check available rentals in your area to get an idea of what the current market it. I only mention this because this may help you come up with a suggested rent increase that may satisfy both you and your current landlord and yet be consistent with the current market rates.

Gail

 

[ajb3905]

Thank you Gail