Lender · CA · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 10k+ votes
This is a very general question I have about leases and the like, applicable to areas with rent control and zillion day advanced notice requirements, bla bla bla.
If your area rewards you by cycling tenants out annually or semi-annually so you can go to current market rent, what if you build the rent hike into your initial lease?
It would read ballpark like "Your rent is $3500 per month, which landlord will discount by $1500 per month to $2000 per month for exactly twelve months. Your rent is $3500 per month, temporarily discounted by $1500/month, with $2000 payable in full via bla bla bla for the next 12 months. Should you decide to stay after this lease is up, the $1500/month discount will end but you are free to remain in the unit."
...You gave them one years notice. Your rent was $3500/month from the get-go, you did not raise anyone's rent. You simply ceased discounting it. If the local ordinances say you can't hike it past 10% without 90 days notice, great! You are actually not increasing the rent at all so this does not apply to you.
This is one of those ideas that has probably been thought of one thousand times before; what are your thoughts and what am I missing?
Lender · CA · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 10k+ votes
10y
Originally posted by :
My guess is the "you must offer the same lease" bit is the problem here. One discounted and one not is not the same lease.
What if instead of specifying "12 months," the landlord specifies a specific month and a year? There, it's literally the exact same lease. The exact same month and year is specified.
Heck, a landlord cold schedule rent hikes 10 years in advance, specifying the year and month, and continue to offer literally the exact same lease under the exact same terms. It goes for $2000 if the year is 2016. It goes for $2500 if the year is 2017. It goes for $3000 if the year is 2018. And so on.
I know it isn't that easy, but I'm curious if anyone can prove it, like when an underwriter says "no" to me and I ask her to prove it, and if she can't then I ask her boss to prove it, and so on up the food chain until I get a "yes." :P
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 314 posts · 153 votes
10y
Most likely those clauses would be deemed "contrary to public policy" and you'd be liable for the excess rent, and there probably is no current written policy regarding it. I suspect the rent control board takes a dim view of someone trying to work around rent control, and ultimately you're beholden to them.