Q: My 12 month lease expires in less than 30 days. How much notice is required for them to raise the rent?
My 12 month lease expires in less than 30 days and the property management company has not given us a new lease to sign yet. I emailed them a week ago and they are going to try to contact the property owner. I got the impression they might have forgotten about us. How much notice are they required to give us if there will be an increase in rent with the 12 month renewal and if the property owner decides not to renew, how much notice will we have to move? I'm concerned they will hand us a new lease with a large increase that we will be expected to sign and pay immediately. They sent us a letter in March asking if we planned on renewing but it did not include anything about an increase. We have lived at the property for 2 years and hadn't planned on leaving anytime soon.
A: Lawyers are very intelligent and highly trained professionals--but we are not soothsayers; nor do we do crystal balls. Therefore, I am constrained by a fundamental law of the universe and unable to opine on your current dilemma.
A: Much depends upon the exact details of your tenancy but as a general rule, a landlord has to provide at least 90 days prior WRITTEN notice, lawfully served, of any rent increase. The rent cannot be raised more than 7% plus the annual CPI in any rolling 12 month period. If the dwelling is within the City of Portland boundaries, there may be additional requirements for the landlord. Generally, the landlord can only refuse to renew your lease for specific permitted reasons and any fixed-term lease that expires without a new replacement fixed-term lease in place automatically becomes a month to month tenancy. Do note that WRITTEN means WRITTEN - Not email, text message, phone call, etc. If you have questions, consider reviewing everything in detail with a local landlord-tenant attorney if you really want to know how the laws apply in your exact situation. Good luck
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
