Rent increase question

[Misha Gnat]

Good afternoon BP!

I recently purchased a duplex and will be occupying one of the units and wanted to rent out the other. It already had tenants that lived there when I bought it and they are paying $725 a month. Comparable living spaces in this area rent for a little over $1000 and that's what I would like to charge also. Should I show these comps. to current tenants and increase their rent to $1000 or would it be easier to just find new tenants and ask current ones to move out? It feels difficult justifying $1000 without doing any updates to the place. I'm very new to being a landlord so I might be looking at this from wrong perspective? 

Appreciate any and every comment!

[Patricia Steiner]

If there is a lease, you have to honor those terms until expiration - so you would not be able to raise the rent until that time.  If there is not a lease or a month-to-month tenancy, you would need to provide 30-days notice of a rent increase.  

Having said that, you're running a business. So when you are legally able to increase rent prices, by all means - increase it to the comparable rent in that market.  You are not bound by the stupidity of the owner before you who may have charged under market rent.  

Again, be sure that you honor whatever lease is in place until expiration and give 30-days notice of a rent increase to the comparable market price.

Congrats on your acquisition.  Best..