Q: Month-to-month lease: Our landlord wants to impose a 50% fee to make us sign after raising rent in the last year. Legal?
Our rent was last raised in July. C.R.S. 38-12-702 is supposed to prevent landlords from raising rent more than once in the last 12 months, even for month-to-month leases. Our real estate company wants to impose a 50% fee for month-to-month renters in order to "incentivize" signing a new lease at a better-for-them market rate. They argue that the fee goes around this law, but this feels like a transparently evasive maneuver. Is this really legal? If so, does having to sign a new lease at a different rate supersede the law to not be able to raise the rate?
A:
It depends. If the 50% fee is a holdover fee, then it may be legal. If it is a late fee or rent increase, then it becomes more doubtful. Late fees should not be close to that amount. A rent increase can be to any amount provided they meet the timeframe requirements.
If the fee is not included in the original lease, I am not sure how they would avoid it not being classified as a rent increase. Because the law is so new there is not a lot of case law on the subject yet. Regardless, you will need to talk to an attorney. It sounds like your landlord is experimenting with ways to get around the new COVID laws. The wording in the contract will be key to any discussion.
1 user found this answer helpful
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.
