Landlord raises tenant’s rent by $150 over “rising maintenance costs” despite ignoring years of repair requests, marking maintenance tickets as resolved without fixing anything: ‘The building literally rots around us’

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• What really pushed the tenant over the edge was the sheer audacity of the explanation itself. Management framed the increase like residents should feel grateful their extra money is supposedly funding upkeep and improvements, while tenants are still dealing with broken fixtures, drafts, mildew smells, and common areas that barely function. At some point, “maintenance costs” just starts sounding like corporate code for “because we felt like charging more.”

• Landlord raised my rent for "rising maintenance costs" but hasn't fixed a single thing in years

  I just got the notice that my monthly rent is going up by another $150 starting next term. The letter they sent was full of the usual corporate garbage about how they need to adjust for inflation and the "increased costs of property maintenance" to ensure a high quality living experience. It is honestly insulting because I have been living here for three years and I have yet to see a single contractor or repair person set foot in this building for anything other than a complete emergency.

  
   

• When I moved in the hallway carpet was already stained and the front door buzzer worked maybe half the time. Now the buzzer is totally de*d so I have to walk down three flights of stairs every time I order food or have a guest over. I have put in at least four work orders for the leaky faucet in the bathroom and the cracked window seal that lets a draft in every winter. Every single time they just mark the ticket as "resolved" without actually doing anything or they tell me they are waiting on a part that never arrives.

   

  The best part is that the common area lighting has been flickering like a horror movie for months. I mentioned it to the property manager when I saw him on site last week and he had the nerve to tell me that they have to prioritize "essential repairs" first. 

   

  Apparently the $150 extra I am about to pay every month isnt enough to cover a few lightbulbs or a plumber to spend twenty minutes fixing a sink.

• At this point, the tenant says the building feels less like a maintained property and more like an expensive live-action “before” photo. And somehow, despite everything actively falling apart, management still expects residents to smile politely while paying even more every month.

• It is just a blatant lie at this point. They use the phrase maintenance costs as a catch-all excuse to squeeze more money out of us while the building literally rots around us. They are not maintaining the property they are just maintaining their profit margins while I deal with a bathroom that smells like mildew because the ventilation fan di*d in 2024.

  I am so tired of being treated like an ATM for someone who cant even be bothered to paint over the water stains in the lobby. These people really are just professional parasites who think a coat of cheap beige paint every five years justifies a luxury price tag .

  The draft from the window is currently blowing right on my neck while I type this.

  -MagmaKestrel9

   

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  via Unsplash+ (via Anatoliy Shostak)

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• The story quickly sparked frustration online, especially among renters who said the situation felt painfully familiar. Plenty of people related to the experience of paying increasingly expensive rent while basic repairs somehow remain permanently “in progress” for years.

• Jmfroggie

  Maybe complain when your tickets are marked resolved and they weren’t?! The landlords can only conclude the issues are resolved if maintenance says so and there are no complaints! You can’t just sit back and let these things happen to you.

• Segment-Recapture

  A property owner's expenses are not connected to your rent. Your rent is set by market forces and is going up because they believe someone will pay it.

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• Aggravating-Fox8553

  That is just a fake excuse to get more money lol. asking for 150 more but they cant even fix a simple light bulb or buzzer is crazy. u are literally just paying for their profit at this point tbh. stay strong man

• Big_Nerve_6612

  They are raising the price to a point where they are indifferent between whether you stay or go. I'd take the hint and find something else.

• For many people, the most exhausting part of modern renting isn’t even the rising prices anymore, it’s the feeling that tenants are constantly expected to accept worsening living conditions while being told they should somehow still feel lucky to live there.

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