Tenant Asking to Keep Rent the Same ,How Should I Respond?

Question

Hi everyone, my tenant Sarah sent me a message asking if I could keep her rent the same this year. Her email was polite, and she expressed appreciation for the home and my role as a landlord. However, she often has small requests, and I have always tried to accommodate them.

she is those typic tenant who sweet talk to you but constantly bugging you and won’t let you increase her rent. Fake nice drama tenant I called.

When she first moved in, she mentioned the words lawyer( altho is upstair tenant isuue to me) and  I told her to go ahead. Last time, when I tried to increase the rent by just $35, she fought hard, and I had to tell her to either accept the increase or move out. Now, she is reaching out three months ahead of her lease expiration to ask for no increase again.

How can I politely but firmly tell her there is no way i am keeping the rent the same? If you have dealt with a similar situation, I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Caleb Brown · Answer

Charge market rate. If she does not want to pay market rent then she can move out and you can have someone else rent it. Do everything according to what is required, have everything in writing. Keep emotions out of it.

Aaron Ameen · Answer

Tina, I’ve been in the same boat before. I left rent flat for too long, thinking I was keeping things smooth with my tenant, only to realize later that market rents had jumped 60% and I was way undercharging. It was a painful lesson.

I’d just keep it polite but firm. Something like:

"Hey Sarah, I appreciate you reaching out early. I always aim to keep rent adjustments fair and aligned with the market. After reviewing local trends and rising costs, I’ve decided on a modest increase for the upcoming lease term. I’ll be sending over the renewal details soon, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. Let me know if you have any questions."

No need to justify beyond that. If she pushes back, just hold firm: "I understand wanting to keep costs steady, but I’ve been more than fair with rent adjustments. If the updated rate doesn’t work for you, I respect your decision, but I won’t be making exceptions."

At the end of the day, tenants will always want to pay less, but our job is to run a sustainable rental business. Hope this helps—have you checked current market rents in your area? That might help reinforce your case.

Greg M. · Answer

There is a very simple word for your tenant, it's BULLY. And you are allowing yourself to be bullied.

Mentioning a lawyer is a bully tactic. I can guarantee she's never hired one. People have TV show ideas about lawyers. They never have a basis in reality, where the lawyer asks for a $20K retainer and tells you that you're probably going to lose.

She "won't let you increase her rent"? I don't recall a tenant getting a say in this. This is the sale price of my product and if you don't agree, but from someone else.

I charge an assh*le tax. I also offer awesome tenant discounts. You need to start doing the same.

Let her know that the renewal will be presented 60 days before the expiration and at that time it will include any rate changes. She will have 30 days to accept/decline.

Melanie Thomas · Answer

Hi Tina, IMO never keep the rent the same. As investors, our taxes, HOA fees, and expenses never go down. I recommend increasing the rent every year, even if it’s just a small amount, to set the expectation for tenants. As long as you’re not pricing too far above the market rate, they’re likely to stay. Good luck & happy investing!

John Morgan · Answer

I would say my property taxes and insurance on your unit went up $84/month this year from last year, so I will need to bring your rent up $75. When I phrase it like this, people understand I’m not a greedy landlord and have higher costs too not including labor and materials going way up every year.

Chris Chisholm · Answer

One thing I learned was that "No." is a complete sentence.  Unless your local rentalmans office or laws state otherwise you don't need to validate your reasons for a rent increase, especially one that is only $35.  If you do feel the need to explain just be direct.  The more you go on the more ammo you will give them to continuously debate and both you.  There is nothing impolite about responding to her request directly asserting your position.  "As previously discussed the new rent as of ____ 2025 will be $_____.  Please let me if you are still interested in renewing the lease when it expires or moving as soon as possible so we can proceed accordingly."

Gustavo Delgado · Answer

I would check the market conditions and calculate your numbers. This is a business after all.

Maybe keep her on a month to month so you can increase accordingly later.

Joe S. · Answer

By the way, what is the current rent and what are you offering?

You’ve received some pretty thought out answers already so hopefully I will not repeat too much of them.

At the end of the day, this is a business and turnovers in my experience are way more in expensive than several years of rent increases combined … so you have to do your math and figure out whether it would be worth losing this tenant if she decides to go elsewhere. We both know that for most tenants it’s too much of a trouble to move if it’s just a small rent increase. Of course it may be welcomed if she went elsewhere. It sounds like she gave you an indirect threat before by using the word lawyer in the past. (She probably doesn’t realize it, but she muddied the water for future interactions when she pulled that stunt.)

Tina Lee · Answer

Thank you all for taking your time to reply to me! I will tell my tenant no.

Tenant Asking to Keep Rent the Same ,How Should I Respond?

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