Illustration: Emma Erickson |
Dear Apartment Department,
My husband and I found an amazing apartment in Crown Heights with a small landlord. The place is darling: parquet floors, little backyard, beautiful built-ins. The Realtor told us the landlord was looking for a good tenant to take care of the place and said the landlord had told her specifically she wasn’t one to raise the rent. (Honestly, kind of a weird thing to say.) But my husband, a journalist, tracked down former tenants, and they are all like, “Oh, yeah, that landlord tried to raise the rent $500,” or “Yep, they raised it $700 one year” or in smaller increments. Another said $350 after the first year … (They also said the landlord doesn’t like to do repairs and a few other spooky things.) I’m thinking about asking for a two-year lease, but even then, I will be in trouble if the landlord raises the rent by a ton after two years. We are looking for some place we can stay for a while. Is there anything I can do or say to … negotiate in advance about this? Is there any way — besides finding a rent-stabilized apartment — to ensure against crazy price hikes?
Sincerely, Searching for the Secret |
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