BoredinBoston524 t1_iycmghw wrote on November 30, 2022 at 12:12 PM

I’m surprised by the folks in the comments saying this is not normal - over the summer/leading up to Sept 1, these subs were filled with people (myself included) seeing rent increases of 20% or more (which was higher than 175). Should it be normal? No. Is it “normal” this year? Yes. And given the increased demands for rentals while the housing market remains a dumpster fire, we are likely to continue to see these moves by landlords.

Without knowing anything about your apartment beyond location and number of bedrooms, 2400 is a fairly competitive going rate in this current environment and it sounds like your landlord is trying to edge closer to mid-market rate.

You can always counter, however, and should. There is enormous risk to landlords when changing tenants and it is much better for them to maintain good tenants than take a risk with new tenants. Your landlord may just be testing the water to see what they can get.

MacaroonParticular99 OP t1_iycoj8s wrote on November 30, 2022 at 12:34 PM

Thank you for your response. It’s good to know all this is unfortunately standard this year. I’ll try to counter.

Wtf_is_this1234 t1_iycp4uy wrote on November 30, 2022 at 12:40 PM

There's less risk involved when the landlord knows he'll find a new tenant shortly after the current tenant says they're not renewing.

In truth, I challenge anyone who's renting right now to run the numbers and find a 2 BR house that can truly cost less than $2,400/month. Between the mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, water/sewer and heating bills, it's just not realistic anymore.

BoredinBoston524 t1_iycpl8e wrote on November 30, 2022 at 12:45 PM

I have always lived in places that would immediately fill upon my departure and successfully countered twice. An apartment going unrented is not the risk - and with the exception of a small window during COVID has really never been an issue in this area. The risk is getting a tenant who ruins your unit and/or doesn’t pay. Even if countering is unsuccessful, there is still no reason not to try.