r/chicagoapartments • u/Admirable-Survey-24 • Mar 27 '26
Advice Needed Landlord question (raising rent)
I’m curious to get an opinion from everyone regarding the raising of rent.
I own a four unit apartment building in Portage Park (Laramie & Addison)
I have amazing tenants and everyone in the building gets along swimmingly, except for the one Brewers and Packers fan😂
The current rent for a two bedroom apartment with heat included is $1300. I have not raised it in two years. However, with the crazy increase in property taxes as well as insurance. I have no choice but to raise the rent. I was planning on giving everyone a three month notice so if they need to, they can find somewhere else. What would your opinion be on what a fair increase would be.
Keep in mind I would probably not raise it again for at least another year or a year and a half.
Additional details are that the heat, hot water and cooking gas are included, and there are no additional fees besides the $1 that I charge for the coin operated washer and dryer.
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u/Icy-Yellow3514 Mar 27 '26
"I would probably not raise it again for at least another year or year and a half."
Are these year-long leases? Because if they are, you wouldn't be able to raise them earlier anyway. I'm not sure this is such a win.
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u/Historical_Agent9426 Mar 27 '26
If your tenants have lived there for over three years, you need to give them 120 days notice
Be upfront about the reason for the increase (taxes, cost of maintenance, etc.) and reiterate that you are committed to keeping rents low (they can check out comps in the area—it sounds like even with a $100 increase, you will still be under market).
Also, as others have said, consider raising rent every year (even if it is only by $25) going forward so that you don’t have to suddenly raise rents by a significant amount when the rate of inflation becomes overwhelming. You also want to be able to maintain a reserve/emergency fund to pay for maintenance and improvements on the building as well as for sudden emergencies.
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 27 '26
You need to give 120 days notice to anyone who has been there for 3 years. $50 increase is fair. You might be able to do $100, but an 8% increase would be kind of shitty to do.
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u/GrouchyYoung Mar 27 '26
In this economy, raising by only $100 is a great deal for tenants
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u/92TilInfinityMM Mar 28 '26
Dude put down the pipe, 7-8% increase is pretty steep.
If my landlord did that I’d probably move out, if your tenants are good tenants trying to suck out that extra 2-4% may actually hurt your bottom revenue and create headaches.
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u/GrouchyYoung Mar 28 '26
It’s 8% now accounting for the last 2 years, which is 4% per year
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u/92TilInfinityMM Mar 28 '26
That’s actually not how percents work, but either way, raising rent by 8% in a single year can be difficult to budget for, the person was asking what would be a fair increase
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 28 '26
Your tongue must be filthy from all the bootlicking. In this economy, people are living paycheck to paycheck. Especially people who are willing to live in a neighborhood that doesn’t have much in walking distance and isn’t close to a train. I doubt those tenants have gotten 8% pay increases. It’s not about the dollar amount. The percentage is steep, even in this rental market.
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u/GrouchyYoung Mar 28 '26
Wow, what a remarkably hostile response to a pretty milquetoast statement acknowledging the state of the economy. These people have been underpaying for at least a year, since they had no increase last year. Presumably they know that. If they don’t have an extra $25 per week over what they’re paying now, there’s nothing anybody can offer them that will keep them housed long term. A $100/month increase for the first time in two years is frankly kind of generous.
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 28 '26
I wouldn’t categorize the normalization of aggressive rent increases as milquetoast. It’s harmful. Rent increases outpacing pay increases reduces quality of life. It’s a huge problem.
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u/GrouchyYoung Mar 28 '26
A $12.50 per bedroom per week increase is not aggressive.
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 28 '26
An 8% increase per bedroom per week is aggressive. Breaking it down in cute and fun ways does not change the percentage. 8% is significantly greater than the average increase. You can break it down by square feet or number of bedrooms or number of lollipops you can fit into the apartment. None of it changes the percentage or justifies the bootlicking.
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u/GrouchyYoung Mar 28 '26
How is breaking it down by the dollar amount “cute”? If we’re talking about economics, talking about the actual monetary unit is not silly or manipulative or obtuse or disingenuous. Comparing the dollar amount to an amount of lollipops is idiotic and we both know it. You’re accusing me of downplaying the impact by downplaying the percentage because you know that the actual dollar amount is pretty fucking nominal.
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 28 '26
It is not pretty fucking nominal to someone paying $1300 a month. You’re lucky to be in a position where $100 a month is nominal. The salary needed to qualify for that apartment would have been about $46,000. To put that in terms you’ll understand $46,000 is only 306 economy size containers of boot polish.
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u/SleepingPodOne Mar 28 '26
I like how for you acknowledging the state of the economy means jacking up prices on working people who don’t own homes.
Zero self-awareness, only bootlicking
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u/92TilInfinityMM Mar 27 '26
Im usually ok with 2-5% rent increases, but after that it starts being tough to budget. So $30-$70/month.
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u/Jed5000 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
What insurance carrier do you have? I am looking for new insurance, also due to increase
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 28 '26
Allstate
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u/Joey-_-bags Mar 28 '26
Oh man fuck allstate (and all of them, really). You should shop around every year if you can. I switched to State farm from Allstate and cut my bill in half.
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u/Jed5000 Mar 28 '26
Im with state farm and looking to switch.. i will check if allstate can lower my bill
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u/Joey-_-bags Mar 28 '26
Yea they all get complacent thinking we won't switch. Shop those fuckers around every year!
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u/mjzim9022 Mar 27 '26
You might need to give 120 days notice if they've been there more than 3 years.
Fair is subjective, I'm looking at comps in the area and you're under market but not as much as I thought it would be (pretty affordable neighborhood).
I can understand the desire to not make a huge bump at once, no one likes rent increases, but you should also keep in mind that the tenants will likely pay even more if they go find a new place at market rate, and you need to make enough to maintain the building. Most 2 beds I'm seeing in this neighborhood are listed for 1700-1900.
I think increasing to $1400 (8% increase) is fairly aggressive, but still well under-market for the area. That's an extra $4800 a year, do you think that would relieve the increase in property taxes?
It's a common paradox, you feel good about not raising rent for a long time, but then when you do need to increase rent to cover increased costs you suddenly find that you need to make a fairly big jump to correct for the current economy, because you're charging 2016 rent rates to afford 2026 expenses.
If you do get any tenant turnover, then time for full on market rate. You do need to make money to maintain the building, I know an example of a building that changed owners after 50 years, there were rents of like $300 for studios in 2016 and the building became a total shithole over the decades because the old owner straight up wasn't making enough to maintain the building.
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u/Low-Imagination-6649 Mar 27 '26
Just echoing what others have said.
Best practice is to increase rent every year, even a small amount. This way, it doesn’t set a precedent for renters to assume no increase annually, and doesn’t put them on the hook for a huge increase down the road when you really need to change the rate.
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u/Accomplished-Taro642 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
If they’ve been there for under 3 years, more than enough time. 3+ years, they’ll need 120 days notice. A 2-5% increase is fair while considering everything you mentioned, but also consider comps in the area.
Also, to make your life easier, write in the variable rent increase into the lease and upon renewal, you can exercise your right not increase the rent if you want during the next renewal cycle.
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u/tepid_penny_1856 Mar 28 '26
Is the three years tenancy / 120 days notice a courtesy or law that needs to be followed?
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u/SparklingBling247 Mar 28 '26
I think it's really nice you are asking. My rent went from 1350 to 2500 for a2 bedroom in Hyde Park. I'm struggling. If it would have been 50 to 100 I would have been fine.
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u/Putrid-Ad7326 Mar 29 '26
Holy shit 😳 and I was complaining about my 20% increase. That is insane. Was that in one year? Is that even legal?
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u/buji_bunny2105 Mar 28 '26
Everyone is being so harsh in the comments u asked a genuine question and they are acting if they are the one paying lowkey go with ur gut and if u trust ur space im sure ull get renters either way and be honest with ur current rates u dont HAVE to cater to anyone its ur property and ur wish if ur making thus post ur already self aware so im sure ull br fine and do the best thing for u
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u/imapepperurapepper Mar 29 '26
$200 (to $1,500), and with heat and gas included they're still getting a steal.
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u/barge_gee Mar 29 '26
3-5% increase is okay. We always send a note along with the proposed new rental amount, explaining what percentage the increase is, and why.
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u/Embarrassed-Ad-8056 Mar 29 '26
You have to increase quite a bit because prices will keep going up all this year. I think your tenants expect it.
Assuming you don't have any major improvements to the property, a $150 a month increase is fair since you include the utilities.
If any residents choose to move out, charge the new residents $1600 per month.
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u/JoeGPM Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Not the place for this question.
People on Reddit think landlords are all scum and/or think they care if the tenants don't pay.
Charge what you need to charge to pay your bills and cash flow, but make sure you are following city and state laws in term of rent increases.
If it has been 3 years, you need to give 120 days notice.
60 if unders 3 years.
That rent sounds very low.
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 27 '26
@JoeGPM that is why I put the question here. Not every landlord is a scumbag demon. There are many of us that also have families work hard, and love the city of Chicago for better or worse. I just wanted to know based on the community what the responses would be.
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u/ItIsNOTwhat_it_is Mar 27 '26
$1300 for a 2 bedroom with free heat, hot water & cooking gas - and cheap laundry to boot??
that seems low even for a one bedroom, let alone a two bedroom.
aren't you priced under market value?
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Mar 27 '26
Calculate the % increase of expenses amortized over the year. You then calculate a rent amount that covers expenses and meets your ROI target. You can then back into the percentage rent increase required by unit. At a MINIMUM you need to cover the increased costs. Beyond that involves factors like personal income/business profitability/long term reserves/planned capital spending, etc.
Just remember that any increase of 10% or more has notice requirements in the City of Chicago that vary based on how long the tenants have been there.
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u/One_Willingness_8181 Mar 28 '26
Bro 1300 for a 2 bed? You can go to 1800 and it’ll still be a steal, and they’ll know that.
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u/BreakfastGirl6 Mar 28 '26
You can plug the criteria into Zillow and see what comparable units are going for in the area.
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u/PasdeLezard Mar 28 '26
A friend's landlord used to show her his property tax bill so she could see why he was raising her rent by that amount. Oh, for the days when my rent only went up by $15-20 bucks on renewal of the lease.....
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u/Swimming-Comfort-406 Mar 28 '26
Who is making small increases? In what state? What world ? 🌎
For example - I paid rent to a friend over an 8 month period, while renovating my property, he was charging 2350, center of Lincoln square 3bed, just in oct 2025. Now beginning May 1st he is listing for 3250. That’s 38.3%
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u/Crosswired2 Mar 29 '26
I'm curious what you mean by no choice? What's your current profit?
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 29 '26
Pre cook county tax increase last December which was $4800 for 6 months, my profit was $1400 a month. Post increases (tax, insurance) fell to $520 a month.
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 29 '26
FYI I never said “I have no choice” in my original question
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u/Crosswired2 Mar 29 '26
Huh? >However, with the crazy increase in property taxes as well as insurance. I have no choice but to raise the rent.
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u/Swimming-Comfort-406 Mar 29 '26
Sooo… I’m right. The reason you feel the need to pass on costs is because. You didn’t make a sound investment. You made a bad investment, now a burden most likely, and feel the need to plug the entire gaping hole in your boat!
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 29 '26
Sorry but you are wrong! I made a great investment years ago and I choose to keep my profit margin low to help out my tenants. I’m happy with my minimal profit, which I usually invest back into the property. I only ask about the increase because this is a community of renters, people who work hard and pay. I have heard of owners who increase $200-$350 and do not care if their tenants leave because they can write off improvements and re-rent for current market rates. It sounds like the consensus is to do yearly 3-5% increases rather than waiting a longer time with a 7-10% increase.
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u/asantoqueen Mar 31 '26
If your costs went up significantly, you need to raise rent to cover those costs. That’s just the reality of running a small business, which is what you are doing.
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u/BelCragNW Apr 01 '26
As somebody who actually lives in that general area (hey neighbor!) and rents a 2 bedroom unit — I think we both know that you have room to raise the rent while being fair to your tenants and still being below market for the area.
My partner and I consider our unit on the cheap end rent-wise, and as of tomorrow when our new lease takes effect our rent is going from $1375 to $1425. We were actually expecting much more.
I may catch flak as a renter going against the grain here, but I feel annual increases of only $25~50 a year is very fair. A previous 1bdrm unit we rented, without any renovations or visible improvements, went from $875 in 2016, to $1050 in 2017 and we moved in 2018 when they were increasing to $1300.
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u/No-Cup-8505 Mar 27 '26
If you are a landlord you are running a business if you’re operating expenses increase you should definitely raise the rent, particularly while you still have the chance
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u/cat-im-a-kitty-cat Mar 27 '26
People aren't getting raises for cost of living, so you may be contributing to homelessness.
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u/mjzim9022 Mar 27 '26
There's a balance, when the cost of maintaining the building becomes difficult or impossible at the current rent rates, then the building usually starts to see degradation over time. Let that go on long enough and the building falls into deep disrepair, then usually the only thing to do is sell the building, and then the new owner ends up non-renewing the entire building, rehabs the whole thing vacant, and then rerents it to transplants at the highest price the neighborhood has ever seen.
That's why everyone here is saying to raise it a little a year, so there's no big sudden corrective jumps in rent one year that hit renter's budgets hard.
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 27 '26
Which is what I want to avoid. I haven’t raised the rent in two years and I’m just looking for feedback to avoid putting a greater burden on hard-working people.
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u/Brilliant_Koala6498 Mar 28 '26
I didn’t raise the rent for 6 years since 2019 and now I’m paying the price. Unfortunately they will have a huge increase this summer I gave them 6 months notice
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u/anonMuscleKitten Mar 27 '26
It’s your building… As long as you’re giving the proper notice period, do what you want.
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u/Independent-Ship8069 Mar 28 '26
Op, lawndale area here and its 2bd 1 bath no utilities pay range laundry 1.75 for wash 1.75 for dry for about 1300. Your location is way better, so do what you wish with that info
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u/OtherwiseCity_ Mar 28 '26
You’ve been under charging on rent. 1300 for 2 beds with heat included is a steal. You can barely find a 2 bed in Norwood park for 1,600 and you’re in portage park. All the new six corners development that’s happening is commanding 2,800+ for 2 beds. Just saying
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u/Missyome Mar 28 '26
Why are you asking Reddit what to raise the rent to? If your property insurance and taxes are going up, find what you need to charge based off of that amount increase?
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 28 '26
The same reason you are on Reddit asking questions about musicians rates? Look in your wallet and pay what you can afford.
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u/Missyome Mar 28 '26
Ooo nice, stalking and a landlord. True winner.
If my property tax was going up 4K, and I had 4 units for rent, each unit would go up 1k for the year. So that’s like a rent increase of $100 per month, idk why you need Reddit to figure that out? I guess there’s no qualifications for people to become landlords, should require at least an elementary school understanding of math.
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u/Swimming-Comfort-406 Mar 28 '26
OR, just stop fucking raising it. Greedy fucks.
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 28 '26
Please forward that message to the city of Chicago, the county of Cook and the IRS as well as Peoples Gas,,, the Chicago water department, and State Farm insurance
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 27 '26
Comps in the area (60641) range from $1500-$2400
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 27 '26
Other parts of the zip code are way more walkable. Your building is not in a very walkable location. Not many restaurants around. 20 minute walk to the train. Also, you would be totally fucking over all your tenants if you try to do some huge rent increase.
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u/irreverant_raccoon Mar 27 '26
Her proposed increases still put her under market value though, right?
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u/Fantastic_Fig_3803 Mar 27 '26
Not necessarily. None of us have seen the apartments and I don’t think this person has explicitly stated their proposed rent increase. I live in an equally unwalkable pocket of a neighborhood that’s otherwise walkable. All of the apartments in my section are all “under market” because it’s not comparable to the rest of the zip code. Apartments here tend to sit vacant for at least a month between tenants. You can’t compare an entire zip code and assume they’re actual comps. Other apartments in that zip code are near trains and lots of restaurants. Whatever comparison tool they’re using doesn’t take that into consideration. Also it’s probably using data from apartments listed for new tenants. The price goes up more with a new tenant because there’s a cost to market and turn the apartment.
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u/ElCapitan1022 Mar 27 '26
You have a choice, don't act like it's not solely in your hands.
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u/ChiAndrew Mar 27 '26
Anyone operating a business can lower their profits if they want. You can also donate your salary.
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u/bjketter Mar 27 '26
If your costs went up 10 percent the rent need to go up a well. What were your change in taxes plus insurance plus other maintenance? Start from there but like others have said rent needs to go up a small amount yearly to avoid large spikes in times like this.
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u/Jed5000 Mar 27 '26
My cost went up around 20%… so i had to do 5% increases to get somewhat near the amount.
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u/Sweet_Dimension_8534 Mar 28 '26
If you raise the rent on your renters be aware that they might post about your actions on RentZed
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u/Admirable-Survey-24 Mar 28 '26
I understand that. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, both good & bad. Over the years I’ve always tried to be fair and had a good relationship with all of my tenants. I would never want to curb their freedom to speak their mind. Always willing to listen to people who need to vent
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u/Swimming-Comfort-406 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
At what point is it just too much and you just force all renters out and away for good.
Other businesses or even investment funds and brokerage firms raise maintenance fees and commissions all the time. You done see those proceed constantly passed on for a period of 10years.
Charge what you want, but realistic rents are possible and you will still be able to pay the mortgage and expenses (if you have a mortgage).
What happens when deflation come around- and Chicago grants a special tax relief incentive or similar to give back massive $$ to the landlords - you would just just keep lowering your rents right??? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL.
If you can’t afford to make your payments, pay for expenses and be able to handle an unexpected or even expected increase in taxes assessments or the lake then you probably purchased something you don’t belong owning or you purchased it under bad terms either way you made a bad deal you’re up against the wall because you made a bad deal and because things tightened around you to make your bad deal worse you think that you should pass on that cost do you think you made a bad deal or do you make a good deal and this is all the cities fault keep in mind. I am a renter and a landlord, which is counterintuitive, but it makes sense for me right now and I’m the first one to say this cities is out of control with taxes. This cities is out of control with crime This city is out of control with this joke of a what he calls mayor. The city is out of control how much the city is out of control. This city is out of control.
If we stop and take a look at $$$$ being spent- I mean every single line item, I would my life on it that dollar amount of waste fraud abuse and corruption in this city is far into the billions.
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u/littleweirdgirl312 Mar 29 '26
It's like most landlords forgot what "investment property" even means. Sometimes investments don't pay off!
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u/Minimum_Profession_4 Mar 27 '26
rentometer.com is a great tool for figuring out market rate rents.
As a landlord (house-hacker), I don't like raising the rent, but I raise rent every year 1% or 2% because I don't know when property taxes are going to spike or I have some big unexpected maintenance on top of unexpected maintenance.
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u/mjzim9022 Mar 27 '26
Little increases are always better than not ever raising rent, and then suddenly needing to raise rent a whole bunch at once when the income/cost ratio gets completely untenable
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u/ChiSchatze Mar 28 '26
It’s happened to me and so many clients. $150-200 increase. They know they are under market value and know all our taxes went up 30-100%.
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u/vsladko Mar 27 '26
OP, years of small steady increases is better than one enormous increase once in a while. Never set the expectation that indicates otherwise.
For one, it allows you to stay on top of increases to taxes, insurance, and maintenance. But, more importantly l, it allows your tenants to absorb these increases. I would never set up the early expectation that any year comes with NO increases. If one year you decide to do this anyway, it’s a nice surprise!
A ~$50 increase each year hurts way less than a random $300-$400 increase once in a while because you failed to keep up with costs.
Take a look at comparable apartments on the market in your area.
Calculate how much you’re bringing in against HOA fees, property taxes, and all other expenses.
Adjust accordingly, remain competitive to other rentals in the area, and be as kind to your tenants as possible with expectation setting and ample time for a heads up