A rent increase may occur from time to time. It always has 2 facets: that of the tenant on the one hand, and of course that of the owner on the other hand. But ultimately, we ultimately know little about these rent increases: how often is it possible to revise a rent? By what amount can it be increased? The answer in the next few paragraphs!
Before becoming owners of our house, my wife and I rented a 3-room apartment. We stayed there for 4 years, until the arrival of our first baby 🙂 . During these 4 years, even if we do not have the precise memory, it happened on several occasions that we were entitled to a rent increase. And I must say that we were never more interested than that in the latter: we contented ourselves with adjusting our payments upwards, without in any way trying to understand the meaning of these increases. And this was also the case in our previous accommodations: beyond our incomprehension of these increases and our reflex potential for injustice ( “Bhou the bad owners who are filling their pockets!!! ”…), we never tried to find out about it.
Then the year 2014 arrived. In our turn, we acquired the status of lessor owner, through the purchase of an apartment building made up of 3 lots. And we have in turn revised the rents of some of the tenants in place! And this time, we’re the bad guys! 😉
First thing to know as a landlord: you cannot increase the rent of tenants in place as much as you see fit, either in terms of frequency or in terms of amount. All this is very logically regulated, and you must respect a few rules.
First, it is only possible to revise a rent on the anniversary date of the lease . Remember to notify your tenants of this change, in order to give them time, for example, to adapt their monthly payments.
Second, rent increases are limited. They are based on an index whose acronym you have probably already heard, the IRL, for Rent Reference Index . This index is revised every quarter, these different values over time are accessible on the INSEE website. Overall, this index follows the evolution of consumer prices, excluding tobacco (and rent, logical!). To know how you can reassess the rent, the logic is as follows:
Be careful however, this is the new maximum rent that you can claim from your tenant . You are free not to increase the rent, to increase it less than what the IRL allows, or even to lower his rent!
However, in the case of a readjustment of the rent, remember to warn your tenant. Ideally, explain to him how you calculated the new rent: it’s always nicer for the tenant to have the information, and it costs you nothing!
Another note for landlords: if you do not increase the rent one year, it will be impossible for you to make up for this shortfall. Think about it!
There is another way to increase the rent of an incumbent tenant, but it is probably the least known. It is enough to agree with the tenant in place, quite simply! If you have a good relationship with your tenant and you have just done some major work, such as installing a new bathroom or a state-of-the-art kitchen, it is entirely possible for you to submit the idea. of a rent increase to the tenant in place. The latter will undoubtedly be receptive to your arguments and could thus design a rent increase that he would find legitimate. Even if the case is rare, keep it in mind. It’s safe to ask…
Finally, you can of course increase your rents when you change tenants. If your rent was lower than the market price, this is an opportunity to catch up all or part of the delay. Be careful though, too high a price will make renting your property more difficult , so be careful with this lever. As I like to remind you, it is better to rent all the time at a slightly below market rent rather than a few months a year at a higher rent! Just don’t have your eyes bigger than your stomach .
As a tenant, have you ever experienced a rent increase without understanding the cause? And as landlords, have you already made rent adjustments? Did it go well?