ohiolandlord
02-08-2006, 05:30 PM
My mother has been in her apartment for 3 1/2 years. She has a cat (allowed under the terms of her rental agreement) and pays a fee to have the cat. In May of this year her yearly lease expired and to date she has been on a month to month lease.
Last week she was given notice that her management company wanted her to sign a one year lease. If she signed a one year lease her rent would increase approximately 54 dollars + the pet fee. However, if she did not sign the year lease and remained month-to-month her rent would increase approximately 80 dollars and she would have to pay for her water.
My mother asked her longtime neighbor, who has lived in the building for more than 7yrs if he received the same request/offer. He did not and stated that his rent has not increased at all over 7yrs.
My questions are:
1.Is it legal to selectivley raise rents?
2.How much of an increase(%) is legal in the state of ohio?
3.Is it legal to have a year lease rate and a month-to-month rate....and wouldn't the % increase have to be the same based on the previous rental rate?
If anyone has any answers I would appreciate the help....thanks!
- In Ohio, it is legal to selectively raise rents so long as the basis for doing so is not one that is a protected category. For instance, the landlord can raise rent on one tenant because the landlord had a falling out with that tenant over what did or did not make a good novel.
But the landlord cannot raise rent solely because the tenant is a white woman or a jew or disabled or old.
Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.17 covers the termination or alteration of month to month tenancies. You can read about it in our FAQ section at <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq20.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq20.html</a>.
As for renewing leases and limits on rental increases, there are none. Ohio does not have a rent control statute. It is left up to the market to determine what a fair price is. If the landlord is a big fan of unrented property, then there is no law against doubling or tripling the rent. The same is true for having different charges for month to month tenancies and year leases.
In the end, there are a lot of unrented apartments out there, and if your mom is getting fed up with the antics of her landlord, it may be time to move on.
Lastly, to learn more about your rights as a tenant in the state of Ohio, you can download our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html
Last week she was given notice that her management company wanted her to sign a one year lease. If she signed a one year lease her rent would increase approximately 54 dollars + the pet fee. However, if she did not sign the year lease and remained month-to-month her rent would increase approximately 80 dollars and she would have to pay for her water.
My mother asked her longtime neighbor, who has lived in the building for more than 7yrs if he received the same request/offer. He did not and stated that his rent has not increased at all over 7yrs.
My questions are:
1.Is it legal to selectivley raise rents?
2.How much of an increase(%) is legal in the state of ohio?
3.Is it legal to have a year lease rate and a month-to-month rate....and wouldn't the % increase have to be the same based on the previous rental rate?
If anyone has any answers I would appreciate the help....thanks!
- In Ohio, it is legal to selectively raise rents so long as the basis for doing so is not one that is a protected category. For instance, the landlord can raise rent on one tenant because the landlord had a falling out with that tenant over what did or did not make a good novel.
But the landlord cannot raise rent solely because the tenant is a white woman or a jew or disabled or old.
Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.17 covers the termination or alteration of month to month tenancies. You can read about it in our FAQ section at <a href="http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq20.html">http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/faq20.html</a>.
As for renewing leases and limits on rental increases, there are none. Ohio does not have a rent control statute. It is left up to the market to determine what a fair price is. If the landlord is a big fan of unrented property, then there is no law against doubling or tripling the rent. The same is true for having different charges for month to month tenancies and year leases.
In the end, there are a lot of unrented apartments out there, and if your mom is getting fed up with the antics of her landlord, it may be time to move on.
Lastly, to learn more about your rights as a tenant in the state of Ohio, you can download our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html