Utah renters live in fear of it: the dreaded rental increase.
Careful budgeting is quickly upended by a $300 to $400 increase and the renter must figure out either a side gig, a way to bring the grocery bill down or find entirely new accommodations.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights, sought to give renters 90 days notice before a rent increase of 10% or $100 took effect. Month-to-month rental agreements would have been excluded.
“The renter has time to decide, ‘am I going to be able to afford this in my budget or not,’” Bennion said. The bill was designed to help decrease evictions, the lawmaker argued, by giving renters faced with steep increases more time to find a new place to live — a task that’s become increasingly tough in a tight rental market.
“Rent increases are a heavy burden on families across the state,” Bennion said. Plus, she noted, “giving a 90-day notice does not cost a landlord anything.”