I've been living in my current rental (3 br 90s home) in SE suburbs of Melbourne since September 2016, so over 5 years now and current lease is ending in March. The rent has stayed at $350 per week since we moved in and I said I was interested in a 6 month renewal, and the REA has advised the landlord wants to increase rent to $380 per week 'as it is well below market price', so a $30 increase.
I'm fine with the idea of increasing the rent generally, but $30 a week or an 8.6% increase seems like a large jump in one go considering we've been good tenants. Just curious to hear other opinions, and whether it's worth haggling the increase?
Update: Thanks for all the responses. We negotiated an increase to $370 per week for a 6 month lease.
It sucks but averaged over 6 years it’s a 1.43% increase per year which is likely close to inflation. Would it have been easier to stomach if the landlord increased it by $5 p/w each year over the last 6 years as opposed to doing it in one go?
You could try to haggle it but I think I know how that would turn out.