Can a landlord increase rent on a tenant whose month-to-month and not increase it for others with the exact same apartment?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a landlord increase rent on a tenant whose month-to-month and not increase it for others with the exact same apartment?
Asked on January 5, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In almost all case, you can do this legally. The law does NOT require that landlords treat all tenants--even all tenants with functionally identical apartments--the same.
The one exception would be if it could be shown that the reason for the differential treatment was illegal discrimination, such as against people on the basis of their race. For example, charging African American tenants more than caucasion tenants for the same apartment could be found to constitute illegal racial discrimination in housing. However, so long as you avoid discriminating on the basis of a protected characteristic, of which race is the main one, you may treat tenants differently.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.