Question About Apartment Leases in Dallas (Howe: apartments, leasing, how much)

[CGGirl]

I don't know if my building management is just incompetent or if this is commonplace. Here's the situation. Lease requires that tenants provide 60 days written notice if they are going to move after the lease is up. Therefore, the apartment must also give 60 days written notice to the tenant of any changes to the lease, i.e. increase in rent. From my research, it appears that there are virtually no tenant right laws here. Unlike where I moved from, where there was a statutory cap on how much of an increase in rent was allowed each year.

Here's the deal. Monday will be 60 days before my lease is up. Monday is a federal holiday. They have yet to give me any new renewal terms. In every apartment that I have lived in, they have given me notice way ahead of the 60 day limit. Because otherwise, if they raise the rent an obscene amount, I would have time to find another place and give notice. I called the leasing office on Monday and they told me I was due to get the notice of renewal options on Thursday. I received nothing today.

I am a bit irked because if they raise the rent to the market rate, that would be an increase per month of over $300. But since they are so dang late in giving me the new terms, I will have no time to find a new place if necessary and would be in violation of the lease by giving less than 60 days notice if it comes to that.

Is this normal around here?

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by CGGirl

I don't know if my building management is just incompetent or if this is commonplace. Here's the situation. Lease requires that tenants provide 60 days written notice if they are going to move after the lease is up. Therefore, the apartment must also give 60 days written notice to the tenant of any changes to the lease, i.e. increase in rent. From my research, it appears that there are virtually no tenant right laws here. Unlike where I moved from, where there was a statutory cap on how much of an increase in rent was allowed each year.

Here's the deal. Monday will be 60 days before my lease is up. Monday is a federal holiday. They have yet to give me any new renewal terms. In every apartment that I have lived in, they have given me notice way ahead of the 60 day limit. Because otherwise, if they raise the rent an obscene amount, I would have time to find another place and give notice. I called the leasing office on Monday and they told me I was due to get the notice of renewal options on Thursday. I received nothing today.

I am a bit irked because if they raise the rent to the market rate, that would be an increase per month of over $300. But since they are so dang late in giving me the new terms, I will have no time to find a new place if necessary and would be in violation of the lease by giving less than 60 days notice if it comes to that.

Is this normal around here?

You are right about tenant's having fewer rights in TX than in certain other places where the laws strongly favor tenants (NYC for example). There's no rent control or rent stabilization in TX that I am aware of. I don't know if the situation you describe is common place here, but incompetence is everywhere so it probably happens. I would be on the phone to the management or in the leasing office first thing manana. Is it possible that due to the federal holiday that legally you and they have until the next biz day, Tuesday, to provide notification? If not, could you give notice tomorrow and then retract it if they offer to leave your rent alone or give you some sort of incentive to stay? Apartment occupancy rates went down over DFW recently due to the crappy economy. They may want you to stay enough that they will incentivise you to do so.

[WillysB]

So that leaves two business days before Monday? Then Tuesday leaves 59 days for move out notice? Had you figured a move out on day 60 and a move in somewhere else on a new day one, not being the same day as 60? Or, in this case, day 59? Or just stow your property the night of move out, go out and party all night and move in next day? Or may be a coupla days earlier or a coupla days later?

[CGGirl]

That leaves one business day - tomorrow. Problem is that I like my apartment and want to stay. However, I have no idea what they will raise the rent to. The county I lived in last in Maryland had a cap on how much rent could be increased. Dallas doesn't have a cap. Now - logic tells me that they would want me to stay especially since they advertise referral bonus on every employee's t-shirt! However, the fact that the market rent as stated in the lease is 300 dollars more worries me.

Companies do things that make no sense to me so it wouldn't be that crazy to think they would raise the rent by that much, kwim?

[billdfw]

First off, I would re-read your lease. A lot of apartments put the rent in the lease at market rate and then discount it for the 12 month lease. The terms of the lease usually say that at the end of the 12 months, the rent automatically goes up to the market rate. If it does not say something like this, then your rent will not go up. But based on experience, I believe it will probably have a clause like this.

Also, the lease usually has a provision that they can change the lease with a 30 day notice, not a 60 day.

[CGGirl]

Nope, I read the lease. The term is 60 days written notice. It's only 30 days if they left the spot in the lease blank. The terms are mutual, i.e. apply to both parties - the tenant and the landlord. There is no provision in either the lease itself or any of the addendums that state that if the lease is renewed, the market rent will be the new rent. The only time the market rent is referenced is as a penalty for breaking the lease.