How have things gone for you in Saint Paul post-rent-control?

Question

As a local landlord, I'd love to hear from other landlords in Saint Paul who've been in for at least a few years now, specifically how are your rentals doing post rent control?  What's your bed/bath combination and what rent are you charging pre-RC, vs. post-RC?  What's your general attitude about it?

If you're willing to share....

1.) Did you bump rents up prior to rent control
2.) Did you change your lease ahead of, or following rent control?
3.) how have your tenant relationships been altered as a result?
4.) Have you changed your fees, or done the self-certification increase process?
5.) If you had a bumpy ride, what's the story?

Nicole Murray · Answer

hi Jeff - We have 1 SF rental in St Paul. 3bd/1ba/1car. We self-manage, are hands on and have consistent communication, great relationship with tenant. We just renewed lease 4th year, and currently are under current market rent by $200-$300, however our cash flow is strong and we love our renter so we would rather only raise rents every 2yrs until he moves on. With this property 2019/2020 same rental rate pre-RC, increased $100 after 2yrs (had a conversation with tenant about tax/insurance increases), held and just increased 3% with lease renewal this year. When we re-lease this property we will make some improvements and raise to full market rents if we are still in a higher priced rental market.

We are also looking for another LTR either SF or MF in specific areas of St Paul and will purchase if the numbers work -- not stressed about rent control @3%. In general the way we roll is if our tenants are solid and plan to stay for 2+ years we would rather start at fair-to-high market rents and only increase every few years anyway to hold that quality tenant and have less turnover.

Jeff Schemmel · Answer

@Nicole Murray I'm really glad to hear about your approach  Your tenants are staying for 4+ years... you're doing something right :).  being a landlord means providing a service and being in touch with your tenants and your property.We have a duplex.  2/1 upstairs, 1/1 downstairs (we live downstairs).  We inherited tenants upstairs who were paying $1095 pre-pandemic.  Over the pandemic, we just made sure they had what they needed and were safe and happy.  post moratoriums for non-renewal and evictions, we decided to make an increase to $1,250.  I spoke to my tenants in person about this with examples and factored in property tax increases and such.  I also weighed that their unit had old carpet into the increase I proposed.  They took it well, but ultimately opted to move out of state.  When they left we gave their whole deposit back (my wife still digs at me about that).  We renovated and re-listed at $1,500/m pre RC and got great tenants upstairs; just renewed them for a new year with no increase.  The toughest decision we made was whether to just non-renew the tenants we inherited or just make an increase to what was fair before rent control took effect.  I feel I am a bit more empathetic than most, but I also undervalued the rent we could get for the unit if it was improved... I thought at most I'd get $1,350...maybeee 1400.  I had some friends nudge me a bit and we easily got $1,500.  I was initially a little surprised, but after the work and money we put in I feel it's more fair now, and I also really don't feel the need to make an increase for the next few years, even after a 38% tax increase from last year.