Storage Unit Rent Increase Laws

When Is It Illegal For A Landlord To Increase Rent In The State Of Washington

It’s illegal for a WA landlord to increase rent for discriminatory or retaliatory circumstances.

As per the Fair Housing Act, it’s illegal for a landlord to increase rent based on race, color, disability, familial status, national origin, or religion.

It’s also illegal for landlords in Washington to increase rent in order to retaliate against their tenant for certain actions. When a tenant signs an angreement, they are given certain rights. For example, they have the right to live in a unit that meets the state’s safety, health and building codes.

If you don’t provide such a property, the tenant has the right to report you to a relevant government agency. It’d then be illegal for you to increase their rent because they’re excising one of their rights.

Are Your Belongings Susceptible To Cold Temperatures

If you are storing important goods like records, vintage items, artwork, electronics or more, youll want to protect your belongings from the elements and that includes cold Richmond Hill winter temperatures. Take a look at this list of sensitive items:

• Antiques or vintage items, especially wood furniture
• Artwork and collectibles
• Furniture and goods made of leather, metal, wood, fabric, or upholstery
• Electronics and media

Are There Any Quirks In New York State Law On Self

• The state of New York requires all warehouses to have a license except for the self-storage industry. However, self-storage facilities can choose to have a license.
• Self-storage facilities should have insurance.
• A self-storage in NYC cannot contract with other self-storage facilities to assume part of the liability for an occupants loss. This was determined by the New York State Insurance Department, Office of General Counsel, in opinion number 11-04-03.

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Sneaky Ways Public Storage Companies Charge You More Money

Did you know that there are more than 48,500 storage facilities across the United States? To put that into perspective, there are three storage facilities for every McDonalds location in the country.

Those facilities are run by various companies. Some are large, national chains, while others are regional or local boutique storage facilities. Needless to say, you have a lot of options when choosing a place to store your belongings.

Unfortunately, many of the big, national companies try to nickel and dime their customers or even scam them.

The storage facility you choose may advertise one price. However, when you go to rent your storage unit, theyll bill you another. Or the company could make you pay for add-ons you didnt think youd needed and probably dont.

Lets uncover the tactics that national self storage companies use to charge you more money to store your items, including:

• Constantly changing their prices

• Selling you bogus insurance

• Making you buy your own lock

Youre also going to get a look at how Bargain Storage, a boutique storage company, differentiates itself from the big guys.

When you search storage units near me, avoid the surprises and expensive bills dont go with a national cube storage chain that pays for search engine advertisements. Instead, choose a small, locally-operated public storage company with transparent pricing.

Ny’s Requirements For Occupancy Agreements For Self

• Must be written, dated, and signed by both the owner or his agent and the occupant.
• All disclosures must have the name and address of both the owner and the occupant and the street address of the self-storage location where the property will be stored.
• New York law requires all disclosure forms to have the phone number occupants use to reach someone when they have questions about their property, fees, or notices received from the rental facility.
• Occupancy agreements must give the occupancy charge and any additional charges occupants must pay. Additional charges include both optional ones like insurance and mandatory ones like utility fees for temperature-controlled units and applicable sales taxes.
• If the valuation of the property is increased, the self-storage facility owner must send a letter to the occupant with the increased valuation, the higher monthly rate proposed, and a pre-addressed request form that the occupant can use to request the higher rate. Owners of self-storage in NYC cannot simply increase the monthly rate per a perceived increased value of the property in the storage unit.

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Emily Dickinson’s A Bird Came Down The Walk

Question: How is it legal to be to charged insurance on my tiny rental?

Answer: The self-storage company can require you to have property insurance of some kind. What they cannot do is force you to buy it through them. They have to let you get insurance for the value of the contents through a third party.

Question: Im being charged insurance, pre-lien fees and less than 30 day late fees – is this legal?

Answer: If you are late paying the monthly bill, late fees are always reasonable. Insurance is something they can mandate, just as a landlord may require tenants to have renter’s insurance.

Question: What is the correct procedure for advertising a self-storage unit for sale?

Answer: If you own the items in the unit, you can put up a general classified offering the items for sale. If you’re essentially foreclosing on the property, you need to research the required rules for your jurisdiction on trying to notify the owner, give them proper time to respond, and then hold the sale.

Question: Does New York State / City limit the amount of late fees assessed for late payments. For example, is it lawful to charge a $35 late fee on a unit costing $130 per month – That is nearly a 26% fee?

Question: Can the self-storage rental company give me a huge rent increase?

Question: Can a storage unit owner keep personal items that were in storage unit for themselves, or are they required to sell items at auction?

Question: Do I have to give my Social Security Number to a storage facility?

How To Explain The Rate Increase To Your Tenants

Time it with a property improvement

The easiest way to explain an increase is to time it along with a property improvement. Even if its a small change, curb appeal is huge. While that was likely only one small part of the various cost increases that led to your decision to increase rent prices, it is the easiest for the customer to accept. Customers all deal with bills and taxes in their everyday lives, so they will probably have less sympathy for you if you cite those reasons. Theyll understand, of course, but they wont like it. Pointing out the ways in which the facility has improved during their tenure will give them tangible proof of the necessity of their rent hike.

If you havent been doing regular rent increases, the first one will be most jarring to your long-term renters. If youve recently taken over the property and some of your renters havent ever seen a rent increase, some of your long-term renters will be flabbergasted, and youll need to handle them with kid gloves. In this case, youll want to be sure to time your increase with a noticeable improvement to the property like a new, modernized gate, a freshly painted parking lot, or bright, beautiful landscaping.

Communicate the increase amount

Give advance warning

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When Can A Landlord In Washington Increase Rent

As a landlord in Washington, you’re bound by the terms of the written lease. Usually, landlords increase rent at every lease renewal. However, if both parties agree, the rent increase can occur at any point during the tenancy.

The only thing you’ll need to provide the tenant with is an advance written notice.

Can Public Storage Raise Your Rent Without Any Warning Or Notice

Check your contract. Your contract controls. If it says they can then they are allowed to. THey must adhere to the contracted rate

DISCLAIMER: Matthew Solomon is licensed to practice law in both the State of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey.This answer based on general legal principles and is not intended for the purpose of providing specific legal advice or opinions. This answer does not constitute the establishment of an attorney-client relationship.

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Bottom Line: Rent Increase Laws In Washington State

As a landlord in Washington, you have the right to increase rent. You can do so as many times as you’d like, so long as it abides by the terms of the lease.

Typically, you can increase the rent at the end of every lease period. However, if the lease states otherwise, you must follow the provisions of the lease agreement! Before raising the rent, don’t forget to provide a notice. In most Washington cities, you’ll have to provide a 30-Day Notice for a month-to-month tenant!

Are you wondering about other laws in Washington? If so, read our guide about Washington landlord-tenant laws!

What Notice Must A Self

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Georgia. Compass Self Storage in Acworth Ga. has been raising my rates every 3-4 months for the past year and a half. I started out paying $75 in 2012 and now paying $92 with a notification to start paying $101 starting April 1st. The notification is dated March 2, I didn’t get it until March 10th. Is this legal, can they just keep raising the rate indefinitely and can they just only give 30 days notice? I’ve no contract and’ve been paying month to month for at least 2 years. Can anyone tell me how long of a notification they must give in advance? I’m really tired of these constant rate Increases.

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Coyote Wanders Into A Middle School Bathroom In Riverside

Adrian Ponsen, an industrial real estate analyst with CoStar Group, says storage facilities have very few vacant units right now, which is driving up prices.

This is all about stuff. We bought a lot of stuff over the past two years. And thats whats driving a lot of this demand, said Ponsen.

He says during the pandemic, when consumers quit spending money on travel and entertainment, they bought stuff instead. But they had no place to put it all, so they started renting space. Ponsen says rents on storage units typically go up 2% a year, but now theyve been going up an average of 17%.

When you couple all of the stuff that Americans have bought over the past two years with the fact that were in a general squeeze in the housing market where its tough to find more space, this has really been a huge boost to the self storage industry, he said.

The I-Team wanted to talk with Public Storage about the complaints weve received, but the company didnt return our repeated phone calls.

The Better Business Bureaus Steve McFarland says consumers really have only one option.

The advice we give consumers is to shop around and research. Even if its not so close to where you live or your business is, you might find it might be economical for you to shop around and look at different units, he said.

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Final Thoughts: 5 Sneaky Ways Other Storage Companies Charge You More Money

Choosing a self storage company to keep your things safe can be an overwhelming process. If you dont know where to look, you could be ripped off. National storage companies use tricky tactics to try and charge you more money.

When you search for storage near me, think twice before clicking on links to big, chain storage facilities. To get the most bang for your buck, store your extra items with a small, locally-run public storage company. Find a Bargain Storage near you.

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Making You Buy Your Own Lock For Your Storage Unit Space

If youre getting a storage shed during a transitional period, packing your things and choosing a self storage facility is stressful enough. The last thing you want to think about is securing a lock for your unit.

Unfortunately, most public storage companies require you to buy a lock for $15 instead of providing one to you free of charge. And that lock is usually a padlock, which can easily be sawed through.

Self Storage Bill Watch List

CSSA in conjunction with SSA and lobbying firm follow and number of pieces of legislation that make their way through the California

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When Is It Illegal To Raise Rent In Massachusetts

Massachusetts legislation indicates that a landlord may not increase rent in retaliation for a tenant exercising his/her tenant rights.

According to the Federal Fair Housing Act, it is also illegal for a landlord to raise rent based on the age, race, religion, nation or origin, familial status, or disability status of a tenant.

Richmond Hill Self Storage Unit Rental

The Abacus location in Richmond Hill is accessible and convenient in just a few minutes from anywhere in Richmond Hill. Abacus is surrounded by Yonge Street, Highway 7, and Bayview and 16th Avenues. Accessibility is, of course, a huge consideration when looking for a self storage rental unit. Picking a location that is close to home saves you time, and makes the storage unit more valuable and useful as you can access it more easily and frequently. If you live in Richmond Hill, maximize your convenience by securing a unit at Abacus for your self storage needs!

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Washington Rent Increase Laws: An Overview In Spokane

As a landlord, you may want to increase rent for many reasons. Some of these reasons may include to make property improvements, to keep up with the market, and to keep up with rising taxes.

That said, under the landlord-tenant law, there are laws that every Washington landlord must abide by when looking to raise the rent. You can’t simply wake up one morning and decide to increase the rent by whatever amount you want.

In this post, we’ll provide answers to some commonly asked questions regarding rent increase laws in Washington!

How To Deal With Complaints

Step one in dealing with complaints: Expect complaints. You can help managers deal with complaints by prepping them far in advance and offering best practices and real life calls as examples of how to deal with a difficult customer who objects to the rate increase.

First and foremost, arm your team with research about your competitors. People will always come in and say they can get a better deal from the storage facility down the road, but can they really? Make sure managers know your competitors rates, how often they increase rent on average, when their last break-in was, and what makes your facility the better choice. Maybe your customer service is way better or your facility has recently been renovated. Whatever makes you better, be sure to have your elevator pitch prepared when customers come to you and say well, maybe Ill just go to Cheaper Storage Place Down the Road instead!

Always remember your basic customer service skills and remain calm when talking to customers. Show them that youre sympathetic and let them know you hate to raise rent. Explain to them the reasons why it is a necessity in self storage. Some tenants may leave as a result of the price increase, but if theyre willing to commit the time and money that it takes to remove all their belongings from their storage unit , they probably werent planning on sticking around too much longer anyway and used your necessary rent increase as the excuse.

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How Much Can A Self Storage Raise The Rent Per Year What Is The %

The California Self-Service Storage Facility Act does not micro manage the economic relationship between rental facility and the occupant, but it does cover lien sales and late payment charges. My understanding is that storage units are a typically very competitive and they don’t like to lose customers by raising the rent, but be prepared to move your items and close your storage unit if you feel that the facility is not sufficiently motivated to keep your business when it comes time to renew.

Ripping You Off With Storage Insurance

The big public storage companies try to squeeze every possible penny out of you. One of the ways they do this is by trying to sell you storage insurance.

While it seems like it adds value for customers, storage insurance is just an additional revenue stream for storage companies.

Oftentimes, the insurance provider is the self storage company. Other times its a third-party provider that gives the storage company a kickback for selling policies.

They dont even offer good coverage. When you try to make a claim, youll find that none of the items you thought would be covered are actually covered.

Storage insurance is just an easy way for national storage chains to make an extra $10 to $20 per month from you. In fact, most renters have homeowners or renters insurance that already covers items theyve put in storage.

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