Rent Increases

Original post

This is my first time raising rent on a tenant I actually really like and I'm honestly a little nervous about it. They've been great the whole time, always pay on time and never give me any trouble, so I don't want to make it weird. Problem is I'm a decent bit under market and it's been two years now so I know it's time.

For those of you who've done this a bunch, how do you bring it up? Do you explain the reasoning behind the increase or just send the formal notice and keep it short and simple? Trying to figure out the right balance between being fair to them and being fair to myself.

Reply by Sharlene Mulchandani

This is such a common thing to feel weird about, especially with a good tenant, so you're definitely not alone. The nice news is a good tenant is usually a lot more understanding than we build it up to be in our heads.

My take: send the formal notice so everything's official, but pair it with a short, warm personal note. Something like acknowledging they've been great, that you value them, and that this is just a modest adjustment to keep up with the market after two years. You don't owe a big justification, but a sentence of context goes a long way toward keeping it from feeling cold.

Reply by Christina Calderon

Reply by Daniel M.

Coming from the property management side, we've found that communication makes a big difference. We always send the required notice but we also try to give residents a little extra time and explain the increase when we can.

Good residents are worth keeping so we try to make the process as straightforward as possible while still keeping rents in line with the market.