And the biggest rent hikes go to...tenants I know by name

By Teri Karush Rogers| March 25, 2011 - 11:42AM

If you want to keep your rent increases on the lowish side at lease renewal time, step inside your landlord's brain for a moment, courtesy of this recent comment posted by a building owner on BrickUnderground:

"So here's how many landlords work," he or she explains. "Upon lease renewal for a market rate apartment I have a business decision to make. What price to offer the next lease? Let's say that the tenant always pays on time. Generally for me this means I don't know the tenants name. A tenant I don't know is a tenant I want to keep."

In other words, renters, keep your head down and your checks prompt if you want to catch a break at renewal time.

It's worth noting that this particular landlord's point is that he may lose the flexibility to cut trouble free tenants a break if the $2,000-a-month threshold for turning rent-regulated apartments into market-rate apartments goes up. For the latest developments on that political hot potato, check out CurbedNY's 'rent wars' coverage.

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topics:

rentals renting