How to raise the monthly rent if you are a landlord
By Amanda Scali

There is no doubt about it that the property market in Australia is booming. If you have investment properties, you may be trying to decide if you will increase your tenant's rent to cover rising costs in a tight market.

In South Australia there is a condition in the tenancy agreement that states the landlord has the right to increase the rent and states the exact method by which the increase will be worked out, or a condition states the exact amount and exact date an increase will occur (e.g. “rent will increase to $400 per week from 1 July”), a landlord may increase the rent no more than once every 12 months, as long as they provide the required notice.

Landlords may also increase the rent when negotiating a lease extension, provided it has been at least 12 months since the last increase.

Like all increases in costs, there are things to consider first.
 
Impact on your current tenants
 
Raising your rent may increase your return on investment, but you do run the risk of pricing your current tenants out of your property. This can cause them to move, have the property vacant and re-letting fees to contend with.
 
You may also run the risk of losing a good tenant. And good tenants are hard to find. Often keeping a good tenant is better than a slight rental increase.
 
Do your research
 
Ensure that you are adequately pricing your property for the area you are in. You can raise your rental rates high, but it may mean that you have a high turnover of tenants and vacant periods.
 
A property manager will be able to guide you in the process of adequately pricing your property for your area and ask that if you do not have a property manager that you give us a call on 8350 4200 to discuss any questions you may have. We are here to help.