My rent (on my dinky one-bedroom apartment) is being increased from $650 to $875. NEXT MONTH.

I hate living in a place with no rent control. A $225 increase should not be legal.

I have to move. I love where I live. I don't want to move. And I'm probably going to have to have roommates. And it SUCKS and I'm here to WHINE about it.

Really, do landlords do this to people a lot? Rent increases, sure, but that much all at once?

That's HORRIBLE! Our rent got raised too, so my BF and I moved back to our parents' homes for a while (lame!) We really want to move to Seattle soon, after he starts bringing in the dough from his new job at Boeing, but it's getting SO expensive there. Good luck m'dear!

That's terrible.

Do you live within Seattle city limits? I was under the belief that there was an ordinance in effect in Seattle obligating landlords to give a tenant 60 days notice for rent increases of that amount.

WillyWonka said:

Did you have a factory here at one time or something?

Yeah, I've been looking into it, and they do owe us 60 days. I called them and they played dumb (fuckers. . . like a property management company doesn't know the local laws), but they'll comply with the law, so yeah, at least I have a little more time.

UCantHavaDaMango said:

Yeah, it's bad. I talked to my manager today, and he said that they know half of my building will have to move out because of this, but they don't care, because they know they can get a bunch of wealthier folks to move in. There's no downside for them.

Good luck to you guys, too.

I'm so sorry, Melissa. That sucks.

CarrieMpls said:

Thanks.

You saw my place. It is not worth any $875 per month.

I haven't had an increase in 3 years. The one time a landlord tried to raise the rent on us (I had a roommate at the time) by that much we moved out and they ended up renting to people after us for less than what they were gonna raise us too. Greedy bastards couldn't get for it what they wanted.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

No. Lovely as it is, it's not.

CarrieMpls said:

For that much, I should have a closet the size of my kitchen and a kitchen the size of my living room.

Oh well. I guess it's "worth" whatever some more fortunate person is willing to pay for it. I'd stay if I could.

DAMN, that sucks Haven't had mine raised yet & I just passed a year on my lease, I'll see what they do in the next few months. Hopefully nothing

Until the housing market settles down to realistic rates, they will be able to do whatever the hell they want. Sad but damn true. I lived in a Studio apartment that was about 300 square feet when I first moved to Long Beach. The rent was $410 a month. Perfect for me! Well I moved out and on and not too long ago saw that they were renting those studios as 1 bedrooms.

I went to the open house model and what they did was remove the murphy beds they had and then construct a fake wall encasing what was previously the closet. You could maybe fit a single bed in there with inches to spare. It was not much bigger than the closet and the closet was tiny. They did not create any more room in the studios so they were still 300 square feet. They called these one bedrooms and charged $900 for rent

Too damn bad we weren't like in the same city we could probably help each other out if that were the case

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[Edited 6/4/07 13:41pm]

Damn Melissa, I'm sorry, that increase is fucking nuts.

Check your state law....

And you just got a $225 rent increase? In California, anything over a 10% increase, which would be $65, requires a sixty day notice, not just a thirty day notice.

And yes, it is common for increases of that size, but it's usually for a complex that is being upgraded. When the housing market slumps, the rental market improves.

I have a roommate YOU can have.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

That is so frustrating! What about the rest of us? Are we supposed to just get wealthier all of a sudden?

mostbeautifulgrlntheworld said:

mostbeautifulgrlntheworld said:

I'm sorry, I have a strict "no returns" policy.

UCantHavaDaMango said:

Apparently we're supposed to move to Kent or Shoreline.

If I didn't have a freshly acquired kitty who needs a safe place to be, I would seriously consider throwing my shit into storage and camping/couch surfing for a few months to save up $$. And it's pretty crazy to be in a position where I'd want to do that.

Well I wish you lived closer to me then lady!

HereToRockYourWorld said:

HereToRockYourWorld said:

Is staying with Mary for a couple months an option?

HereToRockYourWorld said:

What?!?! you are so not serious

CarrieMpls said:

Yeah, I'm sure she'll offer. Her dog isn't necessarily safe with cats, but we're working on that. I don't know. We've been doing ok, but our fairly recent history has been so bumpy that I hesitate to depend on her for a living situation. I think she'd be happy to rent a place together, actually. . . and I'll entertain that. . .but. . . I have reservations.

mostbeautifulgrlntheworld said:

I said we're supposed to, I didn't say I'm going to. Kent is ONLY for crackwhores and the men who love them.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

I hope everthing works out and you don't have to move at all.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

If you have reservations then don't push it. Best not mess up a good thing even if it is due to circumstances. Of course, if you can't find a place or roommate in time, then it's a nice safetynet for a short time till you can.

CarrieMpls said:

Yep.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

The only business trip I ever took in my life was to Kent!

Ever heard of BPI?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

No, I haven't.

But I'm sorry, 'cause Kent is the armpit of the universe.