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Legality of "Rental Discount" and the scamming thereof
Figgy
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Just a quick question for people "in the know" about rental laws in Ontario, Canada.
The place I'm currently renting, the landlord advertises a specific rent (let's say $1200 to make it easy). We come, and the landlord tells us that $1200 is the "discounted rent," and the "lawful rent" is $1500. She says tenants pay the "discounted rent" on the understanding (and it says so in the lease) that rent is paid on time each month. Fine.. I don't really care at that point because we pay our rent on time.
A year later, when the landlord sends us a notice to re-sign our lease for the year, I notice a few things.
1) The increase in rent is higher than the allowed percentage for the year, because she is using the "lawful rent" of $1500 as the rent to base this percentage. Is this allowed, since I'm not actually paying $1500, I'm paying $1200, so shouldn't the rent increase be based on the rent I'm paying, instead of an arbitrary number the landlord has made up?
2) The letter explains that if we do not sign a lease, we will rent on a month-to-month basis and pay the "lawful rent" of $1500. Is this legal? It seems to me that this is a roundabout way of raising the rent on a tenant by a fairly large amount (definitely more than the allowed 1.8%) if they don't sign another lease.
We've signed another lease anyway, because we had planned to stick around for a year anyway, and the rental increase was only higher by a tiny amount...
Still, I know that in 5 months the landlord is going to send the same notice, and the rent will go up another 1.8% based on the arbitrary "lawful rent," and we'll have to sign a lease to avoid paying another $300/month.
Is this allowed? Is there a such loophole as using "lawful rent" and "discounted rent" to force tenants to sign a lease and to squeeze out a higher rent increase?
I do know that simply because a landlord includes/excludes something from the lease, that doesn't make it legal, so just because we signed a lease that says "this is the lawful rent" shouldn't mean we're stuck if this isn't, in fact, legal.
The place I'm currently renting, the landlord advertises a specific rent (let's say $1200 to make it easy). We come, and the landlord tells us that $1200 is the "discounted rent," and the "lawful rent" is $1500. She says tenants pay the "discounted rent" on the understanding (and it says so in the lease) that rent is paid on time each month. Fine.. I don't really care at that point because we pay our rent on time.
A year later, when the landlord sends us a notice to re-sign our lease for the year, I notice a few things.
1) The increase in rent is higher than the allowed percentage for the year, because she is using the "lawful rent" of $1500 as the rent to base this percentage. Is this allowed, since I'm not actually paying $1500, I'm paying $1200, so shouldn't the rent increase be based on the rent I'm paying, instead of an arbitrary number the landlord has made up?
2) The letter explains that if we do not sign a lease, we will rent on a month-to-month basis and pay the "lawful rent" of $1500. Is this legal? It seems to me that this is a roundabout way of raising the rent on a tenant by a fairly large amount (definitely more than the allowed 1.8%) if they don't sign another lease.
We've signed another lease anyway, because we had planned to stick around for a year anyway, and the rental increase was only higher by a tiny amount...
Still, I know that in 5 months the landlord is going to send the same notice, and the rent will go up another 1.8% based on the arbitrary "lawful rent," and we'll have to sign a lease to avoid paying another $300/month.
Is this allowed? Is there a such loophole as using "lawful rent" and "discounted rent" to force tenants to sign a lease and to squeeze out a higher rent increase?
I do know that simply because a landlord includes/excludes something from the lease, that doesn't make it legal, so just because we signed a lease that says "this is the lawful rent" shouldn't mean we're stuck if this isn't, in fact, legal.
Figgy on
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Both of these are pretty standard in Canada (especially in Alberta). During slow times, they'll 'discount' the rent to $1200, but as long as you've signed a lease stating the original rent is $1500, with a $300 credit, they can use the $1500 as the base for future rent increases.
As for number 2, in Alberta at least, renting month-to-month has all the same rights and responsibilities of the original lease, but without the specific 1 year deadline. It's a way for companies to offer better than market rates to their better clients, in an effort to keep them. I've been renting month-to-month for the past 3 years without any hassle, and my rent was, until a recent fall in rates generally, far lower than the market rate for my apartment.
To increase your rent mid-lease, there has to be a clause in the lease that allows for such an increase, usually with written 3 month notice. If there isn't, then your covered under whatever Ontario's laws are on such things. The laws can be rather dickish.
Are you renting from Boardwalk? They're well known for the intro credit thing.
there's legal rent (calculated by automatically increasing the rent a certain percentage every year), and preferential rent, which is what is actually charged during slower times
Where I live it's not uncommon for property managers (particularly of apartments) to do what's happening to you. There is the "market rate" which is drawn up in the lease as is the verbiage indicating what happens when the property is paid for month-to-month, and the lease also specifies what happens when rent is late, and what happens if you want to move out early. Then there's an addendum that grants you a "concession" (usually 2-3 months rent) amortized over the term of the lease, and this brings the monthly rent down over the lease term.
The net lower rent is the actual market rate as that is what they have to offer to fill the space. Calling the higher rent "market rate" is BS, but it is the rate explicitly specified on the lease.
Edit: When I rented houses this nonsense was not done; the rent in the lease was the prevailing rent of comparable properties, unless you lucked out and got a house where the property manager was unaware of market rates.
Also, the lease is up in 5 months.. which is what I meant when I said she would be raising the rent again at that time.
Does it?
If it doesn't and it states $1200 then from what others have said it sounds to me like that would surely have been the agreed lawful rent that they would have to base an increase off?
OK, no one here will be able to give you a 100% certain answer unless they happen to be experts in Ottawa Landlord Tenant laws... just look up the applicable laws in your area, and determine if what your landlord is doing is legal
all i can tell you that in NYC, this practice is legal and common... and judging by the other replies, this happens elsewhere as well
in the end, you have the right as a lessee to tell the landlord to fuck off and move out at the end of the lease... up to you.
We'd also need to see your lease. Have you brought any of these concerns to your landlord? It seems that they might be able to give you some sort of answer, which you can then compare against the Tenancy laws.