A rent increase notice informs a tenant about an upcoming rise in the amount of rent. Landlords in most states can’t increase rent at will, so state or local laws often specify a certain amount of advance notice to the tenant before a rent increase takes effect.
Landlords often have to follow specific requirements in order to increase the rent. In addition to any legal restrictions on frequency, they generally must wait until the renewal of a rental term.
Landlords usually can’t increase rent during fixed-term leases, even when the tenant has agreed to provisions that allow it. For example, a one-year lease usually has the rental amount locked in until the end of that year, with any increase taking place upon lease renewal. It’s sometimes possible for a fixed-term lease to have specific terms which allow a rent increase, but this is a legal risk. Courts often see a fixed and predictable rental price as one of the fundamental purposes of a fixed-term rental. Terms that allow a rent increase may be unenforceable and risk the validity of the entire lease.
Landlords usually can increase rent when a tenant is renewing a fixed-term lease. Most courts interpret a lease renewal as a new contract with similar terms to the old contract. This means a landlord can update the lease provisions from one fixed term to the next, and make the lease renewal dependent on the tenant agreeing to any new terms, including rent.
Landlords usually can increase rent from one month to another on a month-to-month lease. Most states require at least one full rental period of advance notice for month-to-month tenants, often specified as 30 days or more.
Suppose it’s in February, and the landlord wants to increase the rent on a month-to-month tenancy. In most states, the landlord would not be allowed to increase the rent for the March rental period. The earliest a rent increase could apply would be to the April rental period.
In general, landlords can raise rent by any amount that’s within the range of local fair market value. If a specific law or lease provision applies to the rental situation, however, any rent increase will be limited by those applicable rules.
The local market is the major influence on what’s fair to ask in terms of rent increases. Many areas have an average increase around 3-5 percent per year. Higher percentages increase the risk of legal challenge as well as negative tenant reactions.
Courts usually determine fair market value for rent off of local rental rates, rather than looking at the landlord’s expenses. This gives landlords an incentive to calibrate their prices to the local market, beyond simply keeping the rental competitive.
Price is the most powerful factor influencing demand for a rental. Inflated prices reduce the pool of potential renters and increase the odds of property that’s unoccupied for extended periods.
Landlords often use the following two metrics to easily survey local prices:
Comparing prices is often only useful when comparing similar properties. Things like neighborhood, square footage, amenities, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms are important similarities for landlords to establish when surveying rental prices.
Although courts usually look at a range of local rentals to determine fair market value, documenting costs can often help prove an increase is reasonable. Even some presumptively unlawful rent increases can be excused if the landlord proves they are necessary to cover increased property taxes, insurance premiums, HOA fees, and maintenance costs.
Rent-controlled properties have additional rules as to how much and how often the rent can be increased. This is one of the areas where checking all applicable laws is most important. State by state rent control standards have wide variance, and many local areas have additional rules for rent-controlled property.
The amount of notice a landlord has to give before a rent increase varies by jurisdiction. A few states, like Texas, have no advance notice requirement, and the landlord can simply announce an increase in rent at the start of a new rental period. Most states, however, require advance notice of a rent increase 30-90 days before the rental term in which it begins.
| State | Notice Required for a Rent Increase |
|---|---|
| Alaska | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 14 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Arizona | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 14 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Arkansas | 1 month (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| California | 30 days (less than 10% increase to the rent) or 90 days (more than 10% increase) |
| Colorado | 60 days |
| Connecticut | No statute |
| Delaware | 90 days (mobile homes) or 60 days (other housing types) |
| Florida | No statute |
| Georgia | 60 days |
| Hawaii | 45 days (month-to-month tenants) or 15 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Idaho | 90 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| Illinois | No statute |
| Indiana | 30 days |
| Iowa | 30 days |
| Kansas | 60 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| Kentucky | No statute |
| Louisiana | No statute |
| Maine | 30 days (mobile homes) or 45 days (other housing types) |
| Maryland | 90 days (year lease), 60 days (month-to-month lease), 21 days (week-to-week oral lease), or 7 days (week-to-week written lease) |
| Massachusetts | 30 days |
| Michigan | No statute |
| Minnesota | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 60 days (mobile homes) |
| Mississippi | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Missouri | 60 days (mobile homes) or no statutory requirement (other housing types) |
| Montana | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants) |
| Nebraska | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants)60 days (mobile home tenants) |
| Nevada | 60 days (month-to-month tenants) or 30 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| New Hampshire | 60 days (mobile homes) or 30 days (other housing types) |
| New Jersey | 30 days |
| New Mexico | 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| New York | 30 days (tenancy shorter than 1 year), 60 days (tenancy between 1 to 2 years), or 90 days (tenancy longer than 2 years) |
| North Carolina | No statute |
| North Dakota | 90 days (month-to-month mobile home tenants) or 30 days (all other tenancies) |
| Ohio | No statute |
| Oklahoma | No statute |
| Oregon | 90 days (after first year of tenancy) or 7 days (week-to-week tenants) |
| Pennsylvania | No statute |
| Rhode Island | 120 days (month-to-month tenants over 62 years old) or 60 days (all other tenancies) [0] |
| South Carolina | No statute |
| South Dakota | 30 days |
| Tennessee | No statute |
| Texas | No statute |
| Utah | 15 days |
| Vermont | 60 days |
| Virginia | 7 days (week-to-week tenants) or 30 days (month-to-month tenants) or 60 days (if lease contains renewal provision) |
| Washington | 60 days (unsubsidized housing) or 30 days (subsidized housing) |
| Washington D.C. | Amount of notice required for a tenant to terminate the lease + 30 days (minimum 60 days) [2] [3] |
| West Virginia | No statute |
| Wisconsin | No statute |
| Wyoming | No statute |
Advance notice periods get counted from when the notice is received , not when sent. The landlord has the burden of proving when a tenant received a particular notice. Landlords often deliver notice of a rent increase through certified mail, to prove the exact date of delivery.
Most jurisdictions require written notice for a rent increase. Verbal agreements can have legal force in rare cases, but when there’s an ambiguity courts interpret an agreement against the person who demanded a particular term.
This makes verbally announced rent increases almost impossible to enforce if the tenant disputes them. Verbally announced rent increases usually only get enforced if the tenant has already paid rent at the new rate alleged by the landlord.
Most states don’t limit how often landlords can increase the rent.
In most rental situations, the frequency of rent increases isn’t an issue. Most rentals are fixed-term for a term of one year. This restricts rent increases to once yearly in most cases, regardless of state law. A few states do, however, have statutes limiting the frequency of a rent increase:
| State | Maximum Frequency of Rent Increases |
|---|---|
| California | Twice per year |
| Colorado | Once per year |
| Delaware | Once per year (mobile homes only) |
| Idaho | Once per 6 months (mobile homes only) |
| Minnesota | Twice per year (mobile homes only) |
| New Jersey | Limited by rent control in many cities |
| New York | Every 1-2 years, depending on lease term (once yearly, if rent controlled) |
| North Dakota | Rent in some cases cannot be increased within 6 months after the sale of a mobile home |
| Oregon | None during the first year of tenancy |
| Washington D.C. | Once per year |
Writing a rent notice increase usually involves informing the tenant of the new rental amount, the date it becomes effective, and any supporting information to help put the tenant more at ease about the increase. At minimum, a rent increase notice generally includes:
A rent increase can impact tenant happiness. These are some strategies landlords use to keep relations smooth when increasing rent:
Many landlords give notice of a rent increase far in advance to get an idea of the tenant’s intentions. This allows a lot of time to plan a renewed agreement, or list and show the property if the tenant rejects the increase.
A rent increase notice may be delivered by hand or by mail. Notice legally counts from when the landlord can prove the tenant received it. This means it’s customary to deliver mailed notice via certified mail, to prove date of delivery. Landlords may ask a tenant to sign a receipt of notice if it’s hand-delivered.
Fixed-term leases often include a copy of the new lease with the rent increase notice, highlighting any changes (like the increase) made to the lease and asking for tenant review and signature if they agree.
(a) Prior to an increase in rent being imposed by a landlord for a residential tenancy, excluding an independent living facility, assisted living facility, or congregate care facility, notice of the increase shall be given in writing to any tenant by a landlord at least sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of the increase.
(b) A landlord must of a residential tenancy, excluding an independent living facility, assisted living facility, or congregate care facility shall give at least one hundred twenty (120) days notice to month to month tenants over the age of sixty-two (62) years, before raising the rent.
No rent increases, whether under this chapter, the Rental Accommodations Act of 1975, the Rental Housing Act of 1977, the Rental Housing Act of 1980, or any administrative decisions issued under these acts, shall be effective until the first day on which rent is normally paid occurring more than 60 calendar days after the notice of the increase is given to the tenant, or, if the notice was provided before January 1, 2024, more than 30 days after the notice of the increase is given to the tenant; provided, that the requirements of § 42-3505.54(b) are met.
A housing provider shall not place or cause to be placed in a residential lease or rental agreement a requirement that the tenant provide more than a 30-day notice to the housing provider of the tenant’s intention to vacate the premises, unless the lease or agreement also requires the housing provider to provide the tenant with a written notice of any rent increase that is at least 30 days more than that time period.
How Much Can the Landlord Raise the Rent? If rent control laws apply to the property, they will determine how much the landlord can raise the rent. Otherwise, the landlord can raise rent by any amount that’s reasonably within local fair market values. Read more » How Can I Legally Increase the Rent? In most places, it’s legal to increase the rent at the end of a rental term, as long as the tenant receives enough advance notice according to state and local law. The amount of a rent increase is legal as long as it’s within the range of local fair market values (or complies with local rent control laws, if applicable). Read more » Does a Rent Increase Affect the Security Deposit? Yes, depending on your state. Numerous states set a maximum for the amount a landlord can charge as a security deposit (this is based on the monthly rent). For example, the security deposit could be two times the monthly rent. Therefore, if the monthly rent goes up, the landlord could require the tenant to put additional money toward their security deposit. This additional amount would usually be due at the same time the rent increase takes effect. Sometimes, the landlord will not ask for additional security deposit money even as the rent is increased. Read more » Do I Really Need To Provide Written Notice? In most jurisdictions, a rent increase is not valid without proof that the landlord has delivered advance notice of the increase, in writing. Some places do allow verbal agreements to increase the rent, but these are often impossible to enforce unless the tenant has already paid rent at the new, increased rate. Written notice via a certified delivery method is always the legally safer option. Read more »
