Although owning a home, or an office space is a lifelong goal for most people, renting has many advantages, too. It makes more sense from a financial perspective. For example:
- There are no maintenance costs and repair bills. Your landlord is responsible for all the home repair and renovation costs.
- You can have access to amenities (such as pools or fitness centers) that would otherwise cost you a lot of money.
- You’re Not the one paying property taxes, or down-payments.
- You can live anywhere, so your lifestyle can be more flexible.
Of course, it always depends on your way of life, finances, and job. If you, however, choose to rent a place, please read some essential advice we provide in this article. There has been an increase in rent overcharge cases, so you must be careful. If you suspect that you are being overcharged – continue reading and learn all about it.
What Are Illegally Deregulated Apartments?
There are cases of the non-stabilized lease, for sure. But often, the tenant is being deceived by the landlord and overcharged. These apartments have been in fact illegally deregulated. A landlord can legally deregulate an apartment if the rent is more than $2000 and if there is a vacancy.
If you have your suspicions and some indicators are present, make sure you consult with an attorney or another expert. Professionals at The Genau Group will deliver full analyses of your landlord’s costs, including your rental rate and real estate taxes. Your first step would be to request the apartment’s rent history and analyze it with an expert to determine how the rent was increasing over the years and whether it was legitimate, or not. Other documents you will need are copies of cashed checks from the bank, a copy of your lease, and subsequent lease renewals.
4 Ways Your Landlord May Be Overcharging You
The next step is to learn about some popular tactics landlords often use to charge you more money. When you identify them, you can put a stop to it, with the help of your lawyer.
- Lying in regulation applications
Some landlords may lie in their regulations to avoid stabilization. They may falsely claim that they have lived in the apartment, or fabricate tenet history.
- Manipulating the number of spaces that they rent
Sometimes they want to make it seem they have fewer apartments than they actually do, so they might try to discount renting a space or charge multiple people for one apartment.
- Claiming they made improvements that they did not make
Claiming they made major improvements is one of the landlord’s most common tactics. Whether improvements never happened, or they are not significant enough to justify increased rent collection.
- Ignoring new rules
Hoping their new tenets won’t have enough knowledge about the matter, landlords may simply ignore new rules and updates.
It’s recommended for everyone who pays rent and lives in the stabilized building to check their rental history. If you can prove your landlord has been overcharging you and win in court, you will get a lot of money or free rent as compensation.
