The tenancy continues — but at a higher price you did not choose. The question is narrow and checkable: does the increase, as written, agree with the lease and with the notice and cap rules that apply to this unit? This guide states the dates and the arithmetic plainly — old rent, new rent, the percentage change, and the notice days actually given — and flags the rest as questions to ask, by reading the lease and the increase notice together. Send us the lease and the notice together — one without the other cannot be checked.
The pack checklist for a rent-increase review, in order. You need both documents — the lease itself and the increase notice you were given. The answers are in whether their wording and their figures agree.
Write the three figures down exactly as the notice states them: the old rent, the new rent, and the percentage change between them. Check the notice’s own percentage against your arithmetic — a percentage that does not match the two dollar figures is a question to ask, stated plainly.
How much notice does the notice actually give — count the days from the date it was served to the effective date it states, as written. Check how it was served, and whether extra days for a mailed notice are mentioned anywhere in the papers.
List every increase in the last 12 months, with its date and amount. Increases in the same period are read together, not one by one — and the size is measured against the lowest rent charged in that period, so two smaller increases can add up to one larger test.
Check whether the papers mention a cap on how much rent can rise in a period, and whether a cap may apply to this unit at all. A local rule can be stricter than a wider one. Flag this as ask about this — never assume a cap exists, and never assume it does not.
If the notice or the landlord claims the unit is exempt from a cap or a notice rule, find the exact written disclosure the papers rely on. Exemption is a document question, not an assumption: the review reads what the lease and the notice actually say, and never declares a unit covered or exempt as a determination.
Check the term you are in. An increase stated during a fixed term whose lease does not allow mid-term changes is a timing flag. On a month-to-month term, or in a renewal offer, different wording usually applies — the lease text is the first thing to read.
The pattern underneath all six: the review reads the lease and the notice you were actually given, together, and flags where they appear to agree or disagree — it does not rule on whether an increase is valid.
This example is a clearly labelled hypothetical, with invented figures. It shows how the arithmetic is laid out — it is not a real tenant’s figures, and it proves nothing about any real notice:
Treat each point below as a “check whether…” question, never as a conclusion about papers you have not read in full:
Check whether the notice period as written appears to match the size of the increase — in many places a larger increase takes a longer notice period than a smaller one. As an example only: California has its own rental rules that do not apply in other states, and a city rule can be stricter.
Check whether earlier increases in the same 12 months, read together against the lowest rent charged in that period, change which notice period or cap question applies — as a question to ask about this, never as a determination.
Check whether a cap may apply to this unit, and — if an exemption is claimed — whether the exact written disclosure it depends on is actually in the lease or the notice, word for word.
Check whether the timing agrees with the lease: an increase inside a fixed term, a mailed notice’s counting, and an effective date that lands before the stated period has run are timing facts to flag, so the new rent is not simply assumed to start when the notice says it does.
Copy these into an email or portal message so the answers are in writing. Calm and factual — no threats, no demand-letter language.
Send us the lease and the increase notice together, get every clause flagged OK / Caution / Red flag for $9 — in plain English, with the old rent, new rent and percentage checked, the notice period and dates counted, earlier increases in the same 12 months read together, cap and exemption wording pulled out, and the fixed-term wording compared, and the questions to take back to your landlord in writing. No outcome promise, no savings promise, no demand letter, no negotiation, and no filing service.
LeaseLens is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Reports are plain-English risk flags from a concierge review, not a legal ruling on your lease or your notice.
Start a review →That depends on where you live, the size of the increase, and the type of tenancy — in many places the required notice period grows with the size of the increase, and a city rule can be stricter than a state rule. Count the days your notice actually gives, from the date it was served to its effective date, and treat the required period as a check-whether question about your papers. If a notice looks defective, seek a local tenant attorney or legal aid promptly because deadlines are short.
Check the lease itself first: an increase stated during a fixed term whose lease does not allow mid-term changes is a timing flag to raise as a question. On a month-to-month term, or at renewal, different wording usually applies. That is a question about your papers, not a determination.
In many places increases within the same 12-month period are read together, not one by one, and the size test is measured against the lowest rent charged in that period. List every increase in the last 12 months, with its date and amount, and check the combined percentage as a question to ask about your papers.