Rent Increases

Peter Mongillo of the Austin American Statesman recently answered this question from a reader:

Is there a minimum amount of time that a landlord has to notify you that rent will increase with a lease renewal? My lease ends at the end of the month, and I was given less than a month’s notice of the increase. Also, is there a limit on how much the landlord can raise the rent?

Notification of a rent increase depends on terms outlined in the lease, says Stephen Guerra of the Austin Tenants’ Council. For example, if a lease states that a tenant or landlord must give 60 days notice for termination of residency, then that is the minimum amount of time a landlord has to notify you in writing of a rent increase. If there is no written lease, then a landlord must give at least 30 days notice (unless a tenant pays weekly rent, in which case only a week’s notice is required), Guerra says.

At renewal time, there are no limits on how much a landlord can raise the rent, Guerra says. For more information, call the Austin Tenants Council at 474-1961 or visit www.housing-rights.org.