My neighbor (of three years) stopped by earlier this evening and said she received a certified letter from her landlady last week, notifying her the rent would be increased by $200/month effective October 1.

I thought the rule was 30 days notice. This landlady is really a piece of work, and has pushed the envelope in the past, and it sounds like she's trying to do it again.

My neighbor said they plan to pay it rather than deal with this woman, and include their 60-day notice to vacate when they send the check.

I hate to see them leave, but I guess it had to happen eventually.

It really depends on how it's written in his lease agreement. In VA there isn;t much regulation around the rental stuff, and on top of that landlords with less than 4 rental units are not subject to VA rental laws.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2009 09:23PM by Price.

It all depends on how the lease is written.

Some leases state that 30 (or 60 or 90 days) notice must be given. Some leases restrict the increase to no more than 2 or 4 or 6% per year. Some leases allow the lease to become "month to month" after the end of the term, at which point most such notices go away for both parties.

They may not even need to give 60 day's notice. They should check the lease. If they are currently "month to month" they might just be able to say "We're moving Oct 31st" on like the 20th. Sure beats having the landlady parading potential new tenants through their home for the next 60 days.

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The landlady owns only a couple rentals, so I guess she can pretty much do whathever she wants. Even though my neighbors are on a month-to-month, I think the notice to vacate term of 60 days in the lease still applies.

The landlady is a realtor and she WILL parade potential new tenants through their home with little if any notice.

When that happens "Hayseed" it up with her. Put on a show that only fans of Jerry Springer would be proud of. She can do what she wants with her property as far as the rent goes. Your friend can squat on her and drag it through courts for several years while never paying a dime too. Eventually she will be thrown out and may be asked to pay back rent. Most cases I've read the landlord simply made a deal to get rid of the squatter and never won $ Landlords should have more respect for good tenants and stop being greedy. The whole hmmmm I need a new car this year so I'll raise the rent is B.S. If there is a legit reason like homeowner dues, taxes, etc then I understand a small increase. Those are annual fees and do not warrant being paid every month.

That might work if my neighbors planned to leave the area, by the wife works for the county, so playing games like that wouldn't be of any benefit to her. They are however storing up the ammo and ready,knowing this landady has a history of not returning a security deposit without a fight, with a dozen ready excuses to stall the exit walk through.

She tried to withhold the security deposit of one of the previous tenants when she learned they were moving to Colorado. This young couple had just married and this was their first rental, so they were a bit gullible, but learned quickly.

They filed in small claims court for their security deposit. His family lives in Vienna, so it was a combined buisness/pleasure trip, that resulted in a check for $1,800 plus interest and court costs.

This should be interesting



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2009 09:08AM by RestonLass.

I would leave the place as messy as possible until the day of the packout. Consider cooking Indian or Indonesian food for th next month. Potential tenants will love it.

Good luck getting the smell of curry out right before you leave.

I bought a cheap condo from an Indian couple and the place had a curry smell. I had the whole place painted, rugs shampooed and ducts cleaned. That didn't get rid of the smell. It took about a year to get rid of the curry smell.

Vindictiveness may be in the back of their minds as a little fantasy, but they are both neat freaks and most likely wouldn't be able to live in a mess more than a few hours - seriously.

Continuing as they have (i.e. model tenants following the terms of the lease), and holding the landlady to an exit interview will probably work better for them.

The less the landlady knows aobut my neighbors' intent to protect their security deposit, the better off everyone will be. Being informed and prepared is sometimes the best weapon - especially when it's not expected.

I really hate to see them leave; they were the greatest neigbhors - quiet and considerate and always there to help out when someone needed something.

The neighbors who live on the other side are not quite as forgiving. They do NOT like the landlady at all.

Whatever happens, my neighbor knows several of the neighbors are in their corner and there for them if they need us.

Have them take pictures of the place before they leave.

We gave them a heads up shortly after they moved in, and they have been diligent about documenting every little thing that has happened - damages and improvements during the past 3 years.

Usually leases run one year. After expiration if no new lease is signed they are generally assumed to be 'month-to-month' at the same terms and conditions of the lease (term and dates excepted).

If she was in a month-to-month then yes 30 days would be required for a change (increase, termination, whatever) unless otherwise stated in the lease document.

If it was the end of a one year lease with no option to renew she can increase the rent with less than 30 days assuming there were no provisions for renewal/termination.

If it is during a term longer than one month (e.g. middle of a one year lease) it would depend on whether the lease was written to allow increases by the Landlord. If such a provision was provided for a mid term increase then the language in that part of the lease prevails. If there was no provision for an increase and it is not the end of the lease term and the tenant is not in default then no she cannot increase the amount of the rent.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2009 12:22PM by dono.

It would be interesting to know if she has done the same in the past. Sounds like a scam. She knows that she can get an extra $200 for the next two months and nobody will argue; the tenant can't just move out either.

Figure they are going to court anyways to get the security deposit back... I'd would not pay the extra $200 and let it be debated in court along with the deposit.

Care to post her name to save us all from her headaches?

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The landlady owns only a couple rentals, so I
> guess she can pretty much do whathever she wants.
> Even though my neighbors are on a month-to-month,
> I think the notice to vacate term of 60 days in
> the lease still applies.
>
> The landlady is a realtor and she WILL parade
> potential new tenants through their home with
> little if any notice.

While it's her property and she's not subject to VA rental laws, she still has to accomodate current renters while showing the property to someone. It is in that grey area of "expectation of privacy", but the point is she can't just open the door with her key and walk in with strangers, w/o getting consent from the renters first. Obviously, renters also cannot forbid her from entering forever and for no apparent reason.

Oh, and btw, she doesn't have to provide any interest on security deposit.

the landladies ARM is adjusting and she needs to cover the difference.

Price Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> While it's her property and she's not subject to
> VA rental laws, she still has to accomodate
> current renters while showing the property to
> someone. It is in that grey area of "expectation
> of privacy", but the point is she can't just open
> the door with her key and walk in with strangers,
> w/o getting consent from the renters first.
> Obviously, renters also cannot forbid her from
> entering forever and for no apparent reason.

They won't fobid access, they just expect reasonable notice - they requested 24 hours notice as first preference, but compromised at 4 hours, which sounds reasonable to me.

>
> Oh, and btw, she doesn't have to provide any
> interest on security deposit.

Darn, you're right.

VRLTA FAQs

"I rented a townhouse for nine years. The landlord now says he doesn't owe any interest on my security deposit. Aren’t I owed interest?

The Virginia Residential Landlord & Tenant Act (VRLTA) requires a landlord to pay interest on security deposits held in excess of 13 months, but most leases don't mention interest. If the VRLTA doesn’t apply (the landlord owns and rents less than five rental units), the interest requirement in the VRLTA does not apply. However, if your lease agreement specifically states that interest is to be paid, that is enforceable even if the VRLTA does not apply."

A tenant in Virginia can really get screwed if they rent from someone who owns fewer than five rentals and knows hot to work the law to their advantage.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/tenant/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2009 04:37PM by RestonLass.

If you rented a townhouse for nine years you should just shoot yourself for being an idiot.

Not necessarily true. Some might argue that if you got out of college or gradschool in 2000 (during the runup in the real estate market), you might have not done so badly by buying in 2009.

Certain areas, this would be true; certain areas, not so much.

If she is in fact a Realtor or simply a real estate license holder she is held to a higher standard the the public. If you feel you are in any way being taken advantage of I would seriously consider contacting the VA Dept of professional licenses. The thought of getting a complaint will scare the crap out of any half-way intelligent agent.

Anyway read the lease it is all in there including showing the property to re-lease...

Mortgage Cliff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you rented a townhouse for nine years you
> should just shoot yourself for being an idiot.

Lol. With so much equity wiped out and more hemorrhaging to come, mark my words, it was probably the best decision.

Renters can move...all you home owners (Do you really own it if you have negative equity, the bank owns the majority and you have to pay $1,000s in property taxes every year?) are stuck in your castles.

RestonLass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We gave them a heads up shortly after they moved
> in, and they have been diligent about documenting
> every little thing that has happened - damages and
> improvements during the past 3 years.


If it gets ugly, then before they file a lawsuit, they should contact the Fairfax County Dept of Consumer Affairs and file a complaint.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/complaints.htm

They may be able to resolve the issue without the courts, but even if they don't it leaves a complaint history that other prospective tenants can view.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/IQext/csd_acs.asp?bytype=Y&letterset=Landlord+Tenant#Landlord+Tenant



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2009 10:51PM by trogdor!.

Re the security deposit: where I come from, security deposits are a month's rent, and when you're moving out, you just don't pay that last month's rent. No fuss, no muss. Since the rent went up, they'll need/want to pay the delta, but that's about it.

It doesn't work that way here. My neighbors were recently pre-approved for a mortgage amount and actively house hunting. The last thing they need (in this tight market) is a smear on their credit report from the landlady.

This landlady is a realtor with full access to the credit bureaus to pull credit ratings and submit reports.

No reason to give her ammunition. Some acts of instant gratification just aren't worth the consequences - especially in this scenario. It's better to let it play out, documenting everything. and then deal with the actual when it happens, rather than playing what if games.

Joe R. Luser Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re the security deposit: where I come from,
> security deposits are a month's rent, and when
> you're moving out, you just don't pay that last
> month's rent. No fuss, no muss. Since the rent
> went up, they'll need/want to pay the delta, but
> that's about it.
Bad advice, IMHO: usually lease agreements specifically stipulate that sec. deposit CANNOT be used for last month rent pay. While both parties can agree on that, by default the renter has to pay the last month, and the landlord may seek addit. penalties if the rent is late.

For a landlord, sec. deposit covers potential damages that renters may have done to the property but managed to cover (say, hardwood floor damage covered by a rug), as well as any outstanding utilities: FFX Water, for example, will bill the landlord if the renter is past due.

So, from the initial description, in this case I doubt the landlady will accept the sec.deposit as a rent payment and will be more than happy to add all kind of penalities on top of that.

Price Wrote:
> Bad advice, IMHO: usually lease agreements
> specifically stipulate that sec. deposit CANNOT be
> used for last month rent pay. While both parties
> can agree on that, by default the renter has to
> pay the last month, and the landlord may seek
> addit. penalties if the rent is late.
>
> For a landlord, sec. deposit covers potential
> damages that renters may have done to the property
> but managed to cover (say, hardwood floor damage
> covered by a rug), as well as any outstanding
> utilities: FFX Water, for example, will bill the
> landlord if the renter is past due.
>
> So, from the initial description, in this case I
> doubt the landlady will accept the sec.deposit as
> a rent payment and will be more than happy to add
> all kind of penalities on top of that.

Ah. Too bad. FTR, it wasn't "advice", it was an observation. Big difference.