Can lease renewal rate be higher than rate being charged for equivalent unit?

[pepperoni]

What is the name of your state?CA
Our large apartment complex quoted us $1859/mo. to renew our lease 3 months before it expired, with the price going up the longer we wait to notify them of renewal. We have been perfect tenants for a year. Our current rent is $1532/mo. The apartments are renting out comparable units for $1732-1805 depending on the day they advertise (prices change daily). My question is: can they charge me MORE than current rate for our new lease? When I inquired about the $1732 unit they said they would have to approve a transfer and we would have to move to that unit to get that price. Same floor, same size unit, etc. Can i force them to give me going rate, which by their own account is $1805 at most? Or can they really make me move to that unit for that price, and charge me cleaning fee and transfer fee, etc. if they even approve it?

 

[reenzz]

You can't force them, but you can try to negotiate a lower rate.

 

[FarmerJ]

Yes they can charge what they wish to for units as long as there are no rent control laws saying otherwise ( I say that because if im not mistaken there are four communities in your state that have rent control laws) SO if you do not care for your LLs business practices keep in mind that you can choose to give a proper written notice to prevent a renewal next time around and take your business elsewhere . ( BTW as to cleaning if you completely cleaned from A to Z every thing in a apartment you are about to vacate and take pics to prove how nice and clean you left it and the LL still charges your deposit to re clean you are free to use small claims courts and let a judge see your pictures of how nice and clean you left it.

 

[pepperoni]

Thanks, reenzz and FarmerJ. I was hoping I could force them. Seems like equal should be equal. They have you occupying a unit and know you don't want the hassle of moving so they charge you more than they charge the new tenants moving in next door. Just doesn't seem right. I feel taken advantage of.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks, reenzz and FarmerJ. I was hoping I could force them. Seems like equal should be equal. They have you occupying a unit and know you don't want the hassle of moving so they charge you more than they charge the new tenants moving in next door. Just doesn't seem right. I feel taken advantage of.

You can move...

 

[adjusterjack]

Thanks, reenzz and FarmerJ. I was hoping I could force them. Seems like equal should be equal. They have you occupying a unit and know you don't want the hassle of moving so they charge you more than they charge the new tenants moving in next door. Just doesn't seem right. I feel taken advantage of.

It's capitalism.

I pay $65 per month for internet and my provider charges new customers $30 per month and won't do squat for me.

 

[FlyingRon]

I've never seen a rent control law that required parity between units in a building. In fact, rent control laws almost always CAUSE such disparities. As long as the rate differential isn't based on the race or other protected characteristic of the tenant, it's legal.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Thanks, reenzz and FarmerJ. I was hoping I could force them. Seems like equal should be equal. They have you occupying a unit and know you don't want the hassle of moving so they charge you more than they charge the new tenants moving in next door. Just doesn't seem right. I feel taken advantage of.

The reason they give new tenants a lower rate is get places rented fast; an empty unit produces no rent and ends up being a lost opportunity cost for the landlord. Lower rental rates help bring in potential tenants. And as you correctly noted, existing tenants have an additional cost (and hassle) to move and thus are not inclined to move unless some circumstance compels it. They figure, and probably rightly so, that the perhaps $55/month or so difference in rent they want from you versus the new tenant is not likely going to be enough to make you want to move. But if that does outrage you enough to move, then don't renew and do whatever you need in terms of notice to get out when the lease ends so you don't have to pay even a penny more in rent to them. But bear in mind the costs of moving may end up eating up the savings you are hoping to see.

But what they are doing is not all that unusual. They aren't ripping you off. You have the choice to take the offer, negotiate something better, or move, after all, so you aren't compelled to take it. This is just business, and sometimes the options you get are not the ones you'd like to have and in those situations you just have to make the best of the options you do have.

 

[FarmerJ]

AJ frontier communications lets customers closer to the twin cities where it has exchanges get the same DSL as I have in another of their exchanges for a lot less , one of the group homes the company I work for is in a frontier area and they pay 26.95 for the same level of service I pay 50.99 for , BUT as to apartments pepperoni keep in mind that some LLs do run specials ( reduced rates ) when they are having a harder time re renting empty units out, month by month the market changes EG in summer many people with kids try to move before school starts so in some markets the demand is better in summer and up here in snowland many tenants try to avoid moving out in winter , many don't want to move in nov dec due to holidays, on landlords end of things if they have a vacancy in say January they might have to do a creative discount to attract a qualified tenant., sort of like how some landlords keep the rents lower on their tenants who have lived there many yearx.