Uniform Rent Increase Date

ANNIVERSARY DATES

Under space rent control, do space rent increases occur on the same date for all spaces? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is no. Commonly, ordinances permit rent increases once a year on the anniversary date of the prior rent increase for that space. 

The amount of the increase is determined by calculating the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the last rent increase for that space. As a result, allowable annual increases differ from space to space.

SAME DATE FOR ALL SPACES

Would it avoid confusion if there was a uniform allowable increase for all spaces? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is yes. In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency to set a uniform allowable increase date for all spaces in a park, which is calculated once a year. This approach avoids the confusion and complexity of having different allowable increases for each space in the park depending on the anniversary date of its rent increases, or multiple rounds of hearings.

NOTICE REQUIRED

Can park owners ignore the reporting requirements when changing space rents based on the CPI? Yes/No/Maybe

The correct answer is no. When a single date is used for all allowable increases, the reportable dates picked for measuring the annual increase in the CPI upon which the allowable rent increase is based should be those reported sufficiently in advance of the date on which rent increases are permitted. The CPI for the dates used must be published and the park owner must be given sufficient time to notice the rent increases. CPI data published 3-4 months in advance of the planned effective date of the proposed rent increase would meet this purpose, since the CPI for a particular month is published in the third week of the following month, and 90 days’ notice is required for rent increases.

Source: The GSMOL Mobilehome Rent Stabilization Ordinance Handbook, Second Edition: Guidelines for Drafting and Enacting a Mobilehome Rent Stabilization Ordinance.

Prepared by: Bruce Stanton, Esq., Corporate Counsel

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net