• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Legal Templates

Legal Templates
  • Business Forms

    Business & Contracts

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by licensed attorneys. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Business Forms

    Business Formation
    • Business Plan
    • LLC Operating Agreement
    • Articles of Incorporation
    • Corporate Bylaws
    • Buy-Sell Agreement
    Business Operations
    • Business Contract
    • Partnership Agreement
    • Non-Disclosure Agreement
    • Release of Liability
    • Letter of Intent
    Sales and Payments
    • Purchase Agreement
    • Sales Agreement
    • Invoice
    • Purchase Order
    • Business Purchase
    Employment and HR
    • Employment Contract
    • Employment Offer
    • Employment Verification
    • Freelance Contract
    • Non-Compete Agreement
    View All Business Forms
  • Real Estate Forms

    Real Estate

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by licensed attorneys. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Real Estate Forms

    Landlords
    • Lease Agreement
    • Property Management
    • Eviction Notice
    • Late Rent Notice
    • Lease Termination
    Tenants
    • Room Rental
    • Sublease Agreement
    • Roommate Agreement
    • Notice to Vacate
    • Early Lease Termination
    Home Ownership
    • Real Estate Purchase Agreement
    • Mortgage Deed
    • Quitclaim Deed
    • Deed of Trust
    • Moving Checklist
    View all Real Estate Forms
  • Personal & Family Forms

    Personal and Family

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by licensed attorneys. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Personal and Family Forms

    Estate Planning
    • Power of Attorney
    • Last Will & Testament
    • Living Will
    • Advance Directive
    • DNR Form
    Personal Finance
    • Bill of Sale
    • Loan Agreement
    • Purchase Agreement
    • Promissory Note
    • Sales Agreement
    Family Matters
    • Parenting Plan
    • Child Travel Consent
    • Divorce Agreement
    • Separation Agreement
    • Prenuptial Agreement
    Affidavits
    • General Affidavit
    • Gift Affidavit
    • Affidavit of Identity
    • Affidavit of Residence
    • Affidavit of Death
    View All Personal Forms
  • Support
    Resources
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Personal and Family
    • Financial
    • Estate Planning
    Support
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • All Legal Documents

    Monday - Friday | 9AM - 7PM EDT

    (855) 335-9779

  • Sign In
  • :email

Home Real Estate Documents Notice of Rent Increase

Free Notice of Rent Increase

Use our Notice of Rent Increase form to notify tenants of their new rent amount.

Updated April 20, 2022 | Legally reviewed by Susan Chai, Esq.

A Notice of Rent Increase is a written letter from a landlord to a tenant that officially communicates a change in the amount of money due.

Table of Contents
  • What is a Notice of Rent Increase Letter?
  • When You Should Send a Rent Increase Letter
  • How to Send a Rent Increase Notice
  • How to Write a Notice of Rent Increase
  • Notice of Rent Increase Sample

Alternative Form

If you are a tenant who has received a notice of rent increase and you want to vacate the property instead of paying a higher rent amount, you can send your landlord a Notice to Vacate form.

What is a Notice of Rent Increase Letter?

Landlords often send notice of rent increase letters when they want to change a tenant’s monthly rent to a higher amount.

As a reference, a notice of rent increase is also known as a Rent Increase Letter.

IMPORTANT

Keep in mind that landlords can only increase rent if the original lease or rental agreement allows it and the landlord gives the proper notice.

If there is no lease or the lease has expired, and the tenant has not signed a new lease, the landlord must follow state and local laws and give an appropriate advanced warning.

Be sure to check your city laws since some municipalities have rent control or rent stabilization laws limiting how much or when landlords may increase rent.

What is in a Rent Increase Letter?

A simple notice of rent increase letter identifies the following essential elements:

  • Premises: address and location of rental property
  • Current Rent: the amount of money the tenant has been paying the landlord
  • New Rent: increased amount of money the landlord requires
  • Effective Date: when the tenant must start paying the new rent amount
  • Tenant: name of the person currently renting the premises
  • Landlord: name of the person who owns the premises

When You Should Send a Rent Increase Letter

If you have a lease agreement and the lease has not ended, check your contract to see if you can increase the rent. If you cannot increase the rent, you must wait until the lease expires.

You could, however, send a letter 60 days before the lease ends to give tenants an advanced warning in case they want to renew their agreement under a new increased rent.

If you have had good experiences with the tenant, you could also waive the rent increase to avoid the hassle of finding another tenant, should your current tenant not want to pay a higher amount.

IMPORTANT

Check your lease or local laws to understand when you should send a notice of ient Increase, but a 30- to 60-day warning is typical.

If you do NOT have a lease agreement or the lease has already expired, you must send a rent increase letter in advance, typically 30 to 60 days, depending on state and local laws.

The Seattle Times covered this issue for the State of Washington in January 2014.

For example, in California’s month-to-month or week-to-week rental agreement, landlords must give at least 30 days if the rent increase is 10% or less and 60 days’ notice if the rent increase is 10% or more. You can learn more about rent increases from the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Reasons for Increasing Rent

There are many reasons why a landlord may need to increase rent. For example, there may be an:

  • Increase in property taxeskeys on top of money for a new rental
  • Increase in the cost-of-living
  • Increase in insurance premiums
  • Increase in homeowner association (HOA) fees or condo fees
  • Annual inflation (The World Bank publishes inflation rates in the U.S.)

When can you NOT increase the rent?

There are several situations when a landlord can not increase rent:

  • Lease has not expired and the contract does not allow an increase
  • Landlord did not correctly give advanced notice according to state and local laws
  • Landlord violated local laws on rent control or rent stabilization
  • Retaliating against tenant for asking for repairs or reporting a housing code violation
  • Discriminating against tenant’s race, religion, or sexual orientation
  • Landlord increased rent in bad faith to try to force the tenant to move out

Many states assume retaliation if the landlord increases rent or sends an eviction notice 60-180 days after a tenant files an official complaint.

In California, for example, the Department of Consumer Affairs explains retaliatory rent increases. It is also illegal to raise the rent because a tenant reported a housing code violation.

The court may be more likely to find a landlord guilty of unlawful retaliation if the increased rent is higher than the market rate. Rentometer and Zillow provide helpful resources on comparable rental rates in your neighborhood.

Consequences of Not Using a Rent Increase Notice

Landlords prevent confusion by putting a rent increase in writing.

If you do not send a proper notice of rent increase letter in advance, the following preventable consequences may occur:

LandlordTenant
1. Lost opportunity cost for1. Lost opportunity cost for
Increased rental incomeFinding a more affordable rental place
A new rental agreement 2. Expensive lawyer fees to
2. Expensive lawyer fees toInitiate a lawsuit for retaliation or discrimination
Dispute an alleged retaliatory action or discrimination3. Mental anguish
3. Mental anguishConfusion about verbal agreement to not raise rent
Confusion about verbal agreement to raise rent

How to Send a Rent Increase Notice

The lease agreement may describe how landlords should send letters and notices.

The free residential lease agreement sample, for example, says that notices must be in writing and should be either:

  • delivered in person
  • sent by overnight courier service
  • sent via certified or registered mail

TIP

Sending a rent increase notice by mail creates a better record than delivering it via email or text.

If the landlord has been in touch with the tenant by email, another option is to electronically send the letter and send a hard copy for good measure.

Sending a text message is generally not a good way to create a reliable paper trail. Read more about the pros and cons of text messaging between landlords and tenants on Zillow.

How to Write a Notice of Rent Increase

Before you fill in the details of your notice of rent increase, make sure the top of the form contains the state you are contracting in.

Step 1 – Date the Document

1. Date of Notice. Provide the date of this notice of rent increase.

date of notice

Step 2 – Enter Tenant Contact Information

2. Tenant Name. Write the full name of all tenants (the persons leasing or renting the property).

3. Tenant Address. Provide the street address of the property the tenant is leasing or renting.

tenant details

Step 3 – Fill in Rent Details

4. Name of Original Lease Agreement. Enter the name or title of the original lease or rental agreement between the landlord and tenant. 

5. Date of Original Lease Agreement. Write the date of the original lease or rental agreement.

6. Current Rent. Provide the current monthly rent amount.

7. New Rent Amount. Write the new increased monthly rent.

8. Date of Rent Increase. Enter the date the landlord will increase the rent.

9. New Rent Due Date. Fill in the day the new rent is due each month.

rent details

Step 4 – Ask for Tenant Acknowledgement

10. Tenant Signs and Returns Letter. You can choose whether or not to include a tenant acknowledgment where the tenant signs a statement acknowledging and agreeing to the rent increase.

tenant acknowledgement

Step 5 – Provide Landlord’s Contact Information

11. Landlord Name. Enter the landlord’s full name.

12. Landlord Address. Write the landlord’s mailing address.

13. Landlord Phone Number. Fill in the landlord’s phone number.

14. Landlord Email. Provide the landlord’s email address. 

landlord details

Notice of Rent Increase Sample

Below you can find what a notice of rent increase typically looks like:

Notice of Rent Increase

Notice of rent increase screenshot

DOWNLOAD PDF
DOWNLOAD MS WORD

Related Landlords Documents

  • Lease Renewal Agreement: A lease renewal agreement is a written document that extends the term of an existing lease agreement between a landlord and a tenant.
  • Lease Amendment Form: A Lease Amendment is a written document that details changes or modifications to the terms of a previously executed Lease or Rental Agreement.
  • Lease Extension Agreement: A lease extension agreement is a document that extends a lease beyond its initial end date. 
  • Lease Termination Letter: A lease termination letter is a document created by the landlord or tenant in order to end an existing lease or rental agreement.
  • Rental Inspection Checklist: A rental inspection checklist documents the condition of your rental unit, and keeps the status of each room organized. This checklist is provided to your...
notice of rent increase Preview PDF

Free Notice of Rent Increase Form

Create Your Notice of Rent Increase in Minutes!

Legal Documents

  • All Legal Forms
  • Business Forms
  • Real Estate Forms
  • Personal and Family Forms

Popular Forms

  • Lease Agreements
  • Power of Attorney Forms
  • Eviction Notice
  • Living Will
  • Non-Disclosure Agreement

Resources

  • Legal Resources
  • Business
  • Real Estate
  • Personal & Family
  • Estate Planning
  • Financial
  • Covid-19 Resources

Company

  • Pricing
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Partner With Us
  • Legal Dictionary

Users

  • Account
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
McAfee - Together is power.
Trustpilot
BBB Accredited Business

(855) 335-9779, Monday-Friday, 9AM - 7PM EDT

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Copyright 2022 Legal Templates LLC. Legal Templates LLC is not a lawyer, or a law firm and does not engage in the practice of law. Legal Templates cannot and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. All information, software and services provided on the site are for informational purposes and self-help only and are not intended to be a substitute for a lawyer or professional legal advice. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Use.

Thank you for downloading one of our free legal templates!

Would you leave us a review?

We hope you've found what you need and are able to avoid the time, costs, and stress associated with dealing with a lawyer.

A review would mean the world to us (it only takes about 15 seconds).

Please check your download folder for MS Word or open tabs for PDF so you can access your FREE Legal Template Sample

Thanks again, and good luck!

Leave My Review