Question:
Am I allowed to raise the rent on my tenant when the lease is up? He is paying 8000 NIS, and his lease is up shortly and I have people calling asking to pay up 13,000 NIS for the apartment. The Mortgage is very high and I could use the extra money. Thanks
Answer:
Hello,
Yes, you are allowed to raise the rent. (In fact, I don't really understand why you are asking, unless there is something special about this situation.) You should, however, give the tenant sufficient advance notice that the rent will go up so they have enough time to find an alternative apartment.
Best wishes
The reason why I am asking is because I saw a sign with one of the Dayanim from your Beis Din signed on it saying it is "מפקיעי שערים" for a landlord to raise the price on the tenant.
This doesn't apply to charging the going rate when that rate is already established.
What is considered established? I have wealthy fathers/father in-laws calling me up each one offering more than the next one. On the other hand some people told me the price of 13000 NIS for a 2 Bedroom apartment is high. How to determine?
Ask some local mitzvchim what the average price is for such an apartment is.
And to charge more than what the local mitavchim say is מפקיעי שערים ? I thought that it was only by critical items like wine and oil, not renovated high end apartments.
That is not what I meant. I meant to say that if you want to know what a fair price is, ask the local mitavchim.
When people are calling and offering a price, my assumption is that that's the market price. Am I correct?Also, is there a problem to charge more than the fair price - when the renter knows it is above the market value? Thanks
So to sum everything up;
One is allowed to charge whatever he wants for his own apartment and there is no איסור of being מפקיעי שערים. (if the renter doesn't know the real price it might be a shailo of a לאו).
Does the Rabbanim/Dayanim agree to this?
Thanks
No. While you can charge the going rate for such an apartment, you should not charge more than the normal rate because it can be הפקעת שערים, but if this is already the going rate, you are allowed to charge it.
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