My landlord raised my rent 22% and then emailed me a list of "improvements" he made to justify it
I've rented this apartment for three years. It's a one bedroom in a quiet area, nothing fancy, but it works for me and I've been a good tenant. Pay on time every month, never complained about anything that wasn't actually broken, kept the place clean.
Two weeks ago I got the renewal offer. 22% increase. My current rent is already not cheap for the area, so this would put me at a number that genuinely strained my monthly situation. I emailed back asking what justified the increase. He sent me a list. I'm going to share it because I still think about it.
The "improvements" he listed: - New coat of paint in the hallway (the building hallway, not my unit) - Repaired gate on the building entrance (the gate that was broken for seven months before he fixed it) - "Updated landscaping" (someone trimmed the hedge outside twice this year) - New intercom system (this was installed three years ago when I moved in, I watched them put it in)
That's the list. Four items. One of which predates my tenancy, two of which are basic maintenance that any functioning building requires, and one of which is a shared hallway that I pass through for approximately eight seconds a day. I wrote back a very measured response asking which of these improvements specifically applied to my unit and how each one was reflected in the 22% figure. He has not responded in nine days.
I'm currently looking at my options. Just wanted to post this somewhere because the sheer confidence of sending that list as a justification is something I need other people to witness.