Great post, Aaron. For our first ~20 years as landlords, my husband and I only raised rent between tenants, after someone moved out, and since some of our tenants stayed for many years, we left a lot of money on the table. When we decided to start catching up, we were left with a dilemma about how much to raise rent, especially since pandemic-era policies placed severe restrictions on rent increases in Washington state. I think including a lease clause about automatic modest annual increases is a great idea.
Regarding your 3 options, I would note that folks should be careful about month-to-month leases. We used to roll our tenants automatically to month-to-month status at the end of their lease term, but we've since learned that in Washington state, landlords have fewer options for ending a tenant's residence if the tenant is on month-to-month status. Now we require every tenant to be under lease at all times, though we are flexible about the lease duration.
Great point about the local regulations, particularly around month-to-month leases. Some people assume month-to-month is better for everyone, but that's certainly not always the case. Good reminder.
Great post, Aaron. For our first ~20 years as landlords, my husband and I only raised rent between tenants, after someone moved out, and since some of our tenants stayed for many years, we left a lot of money on the table. When we decided to start catching up, we were left with a dilemma about how much to raise rent, especially since pandemic-era policies placed severe restrictions on rent increases in Washington state. I think including a lease clause about automatic modest annual increases is a great idea.
Regarding your 3 options, I would note that folks should be careful about month-to-month leases. We used to roll our tenants automatically to month-to-month status at the end of their lease term, but we've since learned that in Washington state, landlords have fewer options for ending a tenant's residence if the tenant is on month-to-month status. Now we require every tenant to be under lease at all times, though we are flexible about the lease duration.
Great point about the local regulations, particularly around month-to-month leases. Some people assume month-to-month is better for everyone, but that's certainly not always the case. Good reminder.