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A woman living in Tampa has to find a new apartment after her building presented with a shocking lease renewal agreement for the next year.
TikTok user Emily Therrien, as user emlegssssss, shared that her two bedroom apartment would be increasing its rent for the year-long period by $1,100 per month.
In a follow-up video, she revealed that she currently pays $3,800 per month, a more than 25 percent increase in rent per month. These new costs apply if she chooses to sign a year-long lease.
If she chooses to rent month-to-month, the prices surge even higher.
“If I want to go month-to-month, the rent will be $11,438,” Therrien revealed of her apartment in the Channelside neighborhood of the Florida city.
“I don’t even know how that number is calculated,” the creator said, revealing that she cannot afford to pay the increased rent and will have to move at the end of her lease term as a result.
Therrien also shared that this has been her second year living in the unit, after paying a $100 rent increase after her first year.
Wary TikTok users theorized that the absurd number was intentional and the building‘s management never intended for the tenants to actually pay that much each month.
“They want you OUT,” one person claimed on the video.
Others remarked on the absurd number that the woman was given.
“I could do 11,430 but not 11,438,” a commenter joked.
Rent Control
“The whole United States needs rent control,” insisted another.
Unfortunately for Therrien, Florida, unlike many other states, does not have any rent control laws.
“In fact, Florida Statute §125.0103 prohibits cities and counties from enacting rent control ordinances except under a declared housing emergency—and even then, such measures are rare and temporary,” Korte & Associates writes.
Under Florida law, a landlord is able to increase rent prices at the end of the lease agreement term, which, in this case, is 12 months. Rent is locked in until the lease expires or renews.
“For month-to-month tenancies, landlords can raise rent more flexibly, but they must provide reasonable advance written notice before the increase takes effect,” the Florida law firm explains.
Typically, 30 days’ notice is considered best practice, but in Miami-Dade County, landlords must provide at least 60 days’ notice before raising rent more than 5 percent.
In this case, the rent increase seems to be legal, although whether it is moral is another question entirely. Typically, rent increases between 2 and 3 percent annually, making this change extreme.
‘That’s disgusting’
Though the management’s reasons are not clear, speculation that they are attempting to drive Therrien out may not be too far off base.
“I know some people have asked whether I’m a difficult tenant. I’m not—I’ve never had an issue with the building or the leasing team, and I don’t want this to come across as an attack on either,” Therrien told Newsweek.
“I actually love living here. It’s actually corporate greed that’s disgusting when it comes to rent, and that’s what I wanted to shed light on.”
In an update to Newsweek, Therrien revealed that, a few days after she declined the new lease agreement, the company reached out to her offering to keep her rates the same.
“I hadn’t attempted to negotiate—they came to me.”
While the woman is disappointed by the property’s course of action, she has decided to end this specific relationship, though it may not be amicable.
“Dear Channelside, I loved you, but we’re breaking up in the fall.”
Newsweek could not verify the details of the case.
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