Rent increases--what's fair?

squid if you been reading the posts rents are going down and they are going down sharply. Get with the program. Rents in Manhattan are crashing and crashing hard just ask stevejhx

Last year was 7%. This year was 3% for me.

We renewed back in May - we were offered one or two years with no increase. We are in the Ellington at 52nd and 8th - rosenyc.com Our 1/1 also has a windowed den that's important to us. $3395 Usually no more than two or three vacant apartments. But management would not let us move into a bigger apartment in this building without considering it as "breaking your lease."

With the economy and job cut backs, 9% sounds high. Been there long? Get a bargain when you first leased?
Exceptional building and/or neighborhood? Do you have a feel for vacancies in your building?

9% sounds high to me, but there really is no one answer for all apartments. We just rented a classic 6 on the UWS and I was surprised at how high the rents were and how unwilling owners were to negotiate price if the unit was in great condition. So I would be careful about listening to anybody on this site tell you what the "answer" is, because there is no one answer.

My landlord sent out something with like an 8-9, after a 5% the year before (when things were hopping).

I'm probably 10% under market, but I said that wasn't cool, and ended up with 2-3%, less than inflation.

definitely refer to the observer article on lower rents across the board...

Thanks for the replies. The increase would bring us to $3500 and change for a good-sized 2-bd, 2-bth doorman prewar on UWS. No fancy kitchen amenities or reno'd bathrooms, but great light, nice view, and decent space.

It can't hurt to ask them. The old adage goes, "if you don't ask, you don't get." It's also not like they are going to evict you if you make a proposal to them.

Waverly is right. I was scheduled to get another 7% increase which I felt was excessive. So I gathered up tons of facts and figures and then spoke with my landlord (I'm in a Chelsea townhouse).

I had a copy of the latest market stats:

http://www.tregny.com/manhattan-apt-rental-report.jsp

I made note of all the new supply coming onto the market - much of which was shifting from owner status to rental status.

I didn't want to paint him into a box either as I knew his costs (fuel, etc.) had risen.

I noted that my pay increase this year was nothing to write home about - 3%. (Perhaps irrelevant to him - but certainly relevant to me.)

I make a point of being a quite good tenant. I give him post-dated rent checks for three months each quarter. And I try to handle small problems myself.

We had a quite amicable discussion and agreed to a 3% figure.

I love my apartment. Two working fireplaces, a sunny terrace, etc. I always aim for a win-win.

> The increase would bring us to $3500 and change for a good-sized 2-bd, 2-bth doorman prewar on UWS.

$3500 is a good price for what you are getting. That at best seems to get you a 2 bed one bath with not much size, and probably no doorman.

The challenge is stuff that was a little under market.

Yep, $3500 is definitely a good price for what you're describing. Sounds like you were paying under market before and now you'll be closer to market rate, albeit still getting a bit of a deal.

There is no "fair". The landlord can do whatever he wants.

And you can say "no".

In April, when things were markedly better, landlord asked for 5% and we settled on 4%. But my place is probably 10-15% under market. Now, I wouldn't accept a raise at all. By next spring, I'd ask for a cut.