Q: My landlord emailed me and said hes raising my rent in 4 days, $100 because my boyfriend moved in and 7% cuz
also lawncare was supposed to be included but now he wants me to do it. My rent is going from 600 to 742 in 4 days, is it legal? Ive been there for 4 years now.
A: There are numerous things wrong with this - email is NOT a lawful method of notifying a tenant of a rent increase; any rent increase notice must be in writing (yes, paper and toner/ink/pencil) contain the required information and be lawfully served. It must provide at least 90 days prior written notice and it cannot exceed the statutory cap on the amount of the raise (currently c. 9.9% over a 12 month rolling period). Depending where your rental dwelling is located, there may well be additional requirements and possibly additional damages you may be entitled to recover from your landlord. Before responding to your landlord, you may wish to review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney to determine your best game plan from here and to determine what, if any, claims you may have against the landlord for his behavior (it might be several months rent plus your court costs and your attorney's fees). Good luck.
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