Increasing Rents on Section 8 Tenants
These 12 units are all next to one another. Everyone is currently paying $450-$475 per month and occupy has always been high. The average renter has been their for 3 years. The market indicates that I can get $550-$575 for each unit. How would you suggest I make this change? How do the tenants tell section 8 that their landlord is increasing rents? Does section 8 pay for the increase without questions? Looking to make this transition as easy as possible for the tenants.
Thanks for your help,
Jake Didion
Didion & Lemke Enterprises LLC
Most Popular Reply
The landlord tells the tenant and HUD the new rent and effective date. It's as easy as that for communication of the change. HUD usually requires 60 days notice + to the end of the month for the new rate to take effect (notify Mar 2 and you can get it Jun 1). HUD will run a market and affordability test that must pass for approval.
I recommend starting small if you like your tenants. Do $25 each annually until you catch up. Consider $50 for rents that are far out of line. It is easy to justify if rents haven't risen for 3 years as surely your costs have. I usually do no increase until year 3, then $25/yr.