Q: Wife and I rent from her parents. The father tried to move in and is raising rent after we refused. What can we do?
My wife and I agreed to rent this property from her father due to them explaining that the condition of the house was not suitable for sale. After about 4-5 years of this situation going fairly rough. He attempted to reach out to us to try to move back in with us while we were still renting. My wife and I refused and from that point he gave us no contact.
About a week ago we get a message out of the blue that he will be looking into a property manager and will now be reevaluating the lease. My wife and I were made aware that he plans to double the rent in order to force us out of the house.
What protections might we have available to, if not keep the status quo, place us in a position where we won’t be forced into an eviction due to him being upset we refused his request?
A: If you have a lease it will likely control the contractual relationship. Thus, if the lease sets a certain rental amount from say April 4, 2021 to April 4, 2022, then the father likely cannot raise the rental amount within those dates. Even if the father attempts to raise the rental amount mid lease but the lease does not allow for such raise, the father likely cannot legally evict you because you are not in violation of the lease. In other words, you are paying the agreed upon rental amount listed in your current lease, which I am assuming the father is a party to and bound by. Again, once your current lease expires or has terms allowing a mid lease rental increase, then the father could likely increase the rental amount. The key is understanding the exact terms of your lease.
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