Do you think my landlady is a thoughtless person for raising the rent?

Cost of living expenses go up every year and that includes rent to balance the other increasing costs.

Both are right i think is fair i just wanted to make the question. Everything is increasing, but it could be worse. Thank you for answering this i was having this doubt on my mind.

The money landlords get from rent doesn’t just line there pockets. They have to worry about paying the property taxes, insurance, maintaining the building, and then whats left over is there INCOME. Property taxes keep increasing, and so does the cost of everything. She needs to survive too :P.

It’s true, as others have said, that one reason landowners raise rents is to cover their expenses, when those expenses are increasing. But another big reason landowners raise rents is because they can, because decreasing home sales create more demand for rental housing (more people looking to rent). For some landowners, that enables them to stay afloat. Others who are already doing ok may still charge more simply because they see rents going up all around them.

If your landlady is compelled by her own economic situation to raise your rent, she will have little flexibility. But to the extent that she is simply charging what she feels she can get in the current rental market (from someone else if not from you), she may be open to negotiation on the basis of your value as a proven good tenant. That is especially true if she lives on the same property, which makes having a reliable and cooperative tenant much more important for her.

As an example, my wife and I own a home with two rental units. When we have tenants whom we like, we are very cautious about raising the rent even when we know we could get more from someone (and even when our expenses are going up). We wait until those tenants leave (which we hope they won’t), and then reset the rent to current market rates.