How to negotiate with your landlord 

"hey ive noticed that you are wanted in 27 states" worked for me

"Im increasing your rent" "Pause" *pauses landlord but never unpauses*

Tenant: I noticed you license is expired Landlord: PaUsE

This reminds me of the quote, “Landlords offer housing like scalpers offer tickets”

My brother actually sued one of his previous landlords for his security deposit back and won. The landlord claimed my brother didnt pass his checkout (off campus student type houseing) and so he wouldnt get his deposit back. My brother countered that he was checked off by an employee and was the 1st of 6 roommates to leave, of course things would get messy when the last guy left 6 weeks later. In the process of filing a civil case, he found out the landlord was 18 month expired on his rental buiness license. My brother got his security deposit back along with his other roommates getting theirs and the guy got a huge fine along with having to pay for the previous 18 month expiration and the next 2 years license all before he could accept renters again. It was july and school started up pretty soon.

NY residents make sure to take notes

I feel for people who live with that. Our landlord for 10 years was a firefighter, and it was just his childhood home that he was saving for when his kid was old enough. So he frequently renovated things in it for us, totally redid and maintained the landscaping, and raised our rent all of like $50. Once. By the time we moved out, we were like 60% below market. It sucks that he was such an exception to the rule

My landlord in China once tried to increase my rent... I just told him "Okay, I'll move out then" And he said Okay please stay, no more increase. Prior to me renting the house, it had been vacant for a year and he still pays mortgage so he knew what was astake because the house was in a high end estate.

Or in otherwords: Appeal to their decency, Appeal to the local market, Appeal to the Union, Blackmail them.

My friend found out his apartment was rent controlled by requesting a form from the city. He's going to be getting a huge payout because his landlord increased the rent WAY past what was allowed.

Instructions unclear: I’m now outside the building and the lock is changed

#1 part of engaging with a landlord is to know local and state laws! They vary massively from place to place, know your rights and responsibilities. Loved the video, a great set of ideas that might help in many situations.

PAUSE. Is your landlord trying to raise your rent? Just tell him “PAUSE”. He will be frozen in place until you say “RESUME”

This is why i study the hell out of my lease agreements. Landlord tried this two months after my 2 year renewal, but didn't have it in the contract that he could raise rent, therefore he was stuck with me for 22 months

Landlord: Your rent is going to increase. *Red Sun in the Sky starts playing*

Landlord: We sold to Open Door. Pause, good luck!

Fun fact in many areas reporting an unlicensed rental property will often get you evicted by the city. Cuz you can't live in an unlicensed building.

"Okay, okay, you dont have to pay any rent anymore! Just leave me and my family alone!" "Pause."

Instructions unclear I tried to pause my landlord but he just got angrier at me. Now i pay him double rent.

I feel like they just send you a letter about the new rent price and if you wish to stay you pay or move out. Only two options.

Check into whether your landlord has been doing everything he promised. Mine promised to mow our grass, but he came only four times the whole summer, and he left big patches of grass unmowed, which meant I had been doing it myself. When he came around talking about a rent increase, I just said, "Listen, I've been mowing the grass... I'll keep doing that. Forget the rent increase." My rent stayed the same for 10 years. It's more work, but if your landlord is the lazy type, he's not going to do much for you anyway. Take advantage of that.

When my last landlord tried to increase the rent, I just said 'no' and when he asked why I said 'Because I don't want to pay more', and it absolutely flabbergasted him and he just walked away.

Imagine having to study and research and work your ass off just so you can live comfortably

Landlord: that's alright. I am giving you official notice. You can find someplace else

Not my wifi buffering when he says pause 😂

I rent out my old house to family friends. I've charged $900 / month since 2016, and last year they started paying $1,200 unprompted. I thought it was a mistake so when I tried to give it back they said "Oh, xxx across the street pays $1,800 and we we don't want to take advantage." 8 Billion people on Earth and I guarantee this is the first time this has ever happened anywhere. Blew my mind.

Government: "I'm increasing your property taxes but you cant raise the rent to cover it" "Pause"

The last rent increase I had was due to the place not having raised the rent in a DECADE, while the costs have gone up a lot. There are MANY areas that do not have "local laws" limiting increases, and I've never HEARD of a "landlord license".

Landlord: I am raising your rent. Also Landlord: Wait, why do I hear boss music?

A tenants union is the real move. Your whole building together has a lot of power.

Three years ago my apartment complex increased the rent $350 more per month, their reason all units will be remodelled. We had to move to another unit that was already remodelled. We had to pay $500 for moving expenses. Now we live downstairs dealing with noisy upstairs neighbors and rent has increased twice since then. We can't afford buying a house with a mortgage of $2,500 to $3,000. We currently pay $1800. Hoping the rates change soon.

so pretty much, if you dont have enough info to blackmail your landlord, have fun having your rent raised😂😂

This is why my parents haven't raised the rent on their tenant. She has been here for almost a decade, and she's a delight. She takes good care of the property. I'll never forget when she called during a snowstorm saying, "collaps is imminent." She needed help getting snow off the porch, and sure enough, it looked like it was about to break. 😅

“When all else fails? Time for Blackmails!”

That last zoom into the Landlord's face while he was busy explaining had me wheezing😂😂😂

Gotta love the sheer number of “this will never work in real life” advice vids on RU-vid

Me to my landlord, "Is my lease up? No? We'll discuss when I renew".

Edit: Well, this blew up, thanks folks. Apparently to some people, tricking a law disobeying landlord is a Karen move. Play dumb can work. My last landlord tried to raise the rent more than the percentage that law allows and only mentioned it verbally, no official lease change no nothing. Even if the law allows it, he needs to give a 3month notice. I didn’t argue with him, I acted like I didn’t know such law existed and I even told him the raise made sense since rent was sky rocketing everywhere. The week before the rent raise, I asked him very politely to have the updated lease since I will be paying more rent and I bet his ass can’t give it to me otherwise I have evidence to sue him. He dropped the rent raise. I asked him if he’s sure about not raising the rent, because I don’t want him to have hard feelings since he’s the boss here, acting like I was on his team. I then told him “please give me an updated lease if you still wanted the rent raise, and knowing the current rent market I will comply, however as a tenant I want to play by the book.” He never mentioned any raise again.

"I'm raising the rent 20%." "Are you also wearing level 4 plates?"

God im so lucky. My landlord just raised rent only because they were charging like 300 less than average rent cost. They have me like 6 months notice to raise rent to average.

I accidentally paused at the first “pause” and spent a minute thinking it was apart of the video until I finally realised that I actually accidentally paused the video. 😂😅

My landlord demanded more food and more space on the bed it’s outrageous and yet he’s adorable. It’s my cat btw.

My friend owns a duplex. When one tenants lease was up he said, good bye. If you don't have a lease, the land lord can charge anything. If you don't like it, buy your own place

101 ways to piss off your landlord. 😂

My dad’s landlord tried to raise rent to match other houses in the area once. When he told my dad he was like “this house is much shittier than all of those and you do nothing to care for it. If I left this house after you raise rent, there is no way in hell anyone would take up this property. I’d probably have been robbed cuz of the area this house is in by now if I didn’t have a shit car.” The landlord did not raise the rent

Landlord license? Never heard of that. 😂

Landlord: PAUSE! Tenant: PAUSE! They remain paused for eternity

Landlord: You've 5mins to get out of my house.

Funny... had a friend who literally tried this. Threatened the owner/landlord with a lawsuit, and he backed off. Six months later he was kicked out when the landlord had to sell the place and now about a year and a half later, I don't know if they are paying more or not, but they did go from having a place for just him and his GF to now having two roommates.

Step 1 : Say no Step 2 : Say it's cheaper elsewhere Step 3 : Join an union Step 4 : Blackmail them

Landlord: "STOP PAUSING MEEEE"

I once asked a neighbor to a rental property who the owner was. He said, "Do a background check on them ." Good idea.

I negotiated with landlord and the rent increases by $100 instead of $150. I didn't really think it would happen because I live in a big apartment complex owned by a hug company. To negotiate, I basically wrote a letter as to why I was a great tenant. Chat GPT helped 😅

Daughter got a rent increase of $225 a month. She started looking at other apartments and found the unit above hers advertised for $50 more than her current rent. She wrote an email to the rental agency, explaining that she'd always been on time, no complaints, took care of the unit, etc AND then she asked for her rent, as a proven good tenant, to match the new lease rate for the upstairs unit. Win.❤

A: Hi I am raising rent B: This is a Shotgun, let me prove it to you

"Pause" * grabs gun * "I know where your daughter lives"

ny resident here. "we are not negotiating rent at this time." ive never met the landlord.

Proud to belong to one of the fastest growing tenant unions in the USA. When housing is as criminally bad and expensive as it is nowadays, you have to protect yourself with strength in numbers. Don't have a tenants union? Look up and reach out to one to see about how to get started in your area.

Let your landlord earn his money! Make sure to tip him as well! It’s not an easy job. God bless 🙏

Landlord: Proceeds to get a proper license. Also Landlord: Hey... about that rent increase...

In Belgium landlords cannot raise rent above the inflation rate. You're telling me landlords can raise rent whenever they want in the US? Don't you have contracts?

Landlord's answer to all these: "No. This is market rate. If you don't like it, leave."

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I have to kick you out. You haven’t payed your rent for 6 months.” “Pause”

Thank god my landlords are very kind people.

When I used to rent I didn't keep much in my home. Any keepsakes stayed in a small storage unit. It was much easier to show that I was taking care of the property since it wasn't cluttered and dirty. Also, having the option to easily pack up and leave is one of the best bargaining tools you have.

"Hi I'm raising rent 20%" "Great, I won't be re-signing my lease."

Landlord: I’m raising your rent by 20% Me: that’s odd I have a 100% discount right here **loads gun**

I'm absolutely going to use some of these when the rent increase comes.

I didn't have wapo encouraging blackmailing your landlords on my bingo list this summer but damn im here for it.

Tried this after getting a 50% rent raise. Asked to speak with an actual person in a face to face meeting since it was a corporation that bought my apartment complex. They told me no and if I didn't like it get a lawyer. Told them I was gonna form a tenants union and the next day there was a cancelation of lease and letter to vacate on my door. No money for a lawyer as I lived paycheck to paycheck. This doesn't really work, at least not in my state.

In South Africa, rent escalations are usually contractually stipulated when signing the lease, and is usually stipulated as "no more than than inflation or 10%, whichever is less".

so far our tenants pay on time, are nice people, and really care for the property so we don't intend on raising the rent unless the market demands it. bad tenants are just as bad as bad landlords if not worse so it's in the best interest to keep them for a steady income.

Why do the larger and more numerous tenants not simply consume the smaller and less numerous landlord?

Our last landlord before buying our current home was amazing. She owned the property outright and as such was able to charge far below market average and she never increased rent. It’s because of her that we were even able to save enough to purchase our own home at all. We have tenants in a portion of our home now and rent includes all utilities… I let those costs skyrocket for years before I could finally bring myself to increase rent enough to offset just a small portion of that expense and I still felt terrible doing it. I’ve heard of landlords that make the maximum legal increase every year and I seriously just can’t wrap my head around how anyone could do that with a clear conscience 😬

Land lord pause game is awesome dude

Thank you J.D Vance for this excellent explainer!

"I'm raising rent 20% this month" "Aight, find someone who'll pay that shi, I'm out"

"Just kidding, rent will stay the same, have a good one." *Pause.* *Blackmail landlord with their personal informations to decrease the rent payment.*

landrord: I'm raising the rent this mont- me: nah I'm leavin.

Landlord: *Inhales* Tenant: *PAUSE*

LOL, just looked up North Carolina's rent laws and it states "Rent Increases: Rent control is banned in North Carolina. No city or county in the state may “enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance or resolution which regulates the amount of rent” for single-family or multi-unit residential or commercial properties owned privately (NCGS § 42-14.1). "...fun!!

if all else fails, blackmail usually works

I had an awesome landlord back home in canada. We had a 4 bedroom nice brand new house for 2200 a month. Every single year for the lease resign, he'd just say he doesn't need to increase the rent, just take good care of the house. Despite all other homes in BC of this quality surpassing 3k a month. And every christmas he'd come by with a card with my room mates and me for 50$ each. He could've profited heavily off us to follow trends, but he understood we were just 4 best friends trying to make it with what little we had at the time. More need to be like this!

I was expecting the Adam Sandler treatment with the pause from the movie "Click". Lol

Cool trick to not ever pay rent was discovered by France in 1792!

My landlord was going to raise my rent from $1500 to $1700 and I just told him "$1700 might too much, could we do $1600" and he said "yeah sure lol". Never underestimate how annoying finding a new tenant is, especially in a college town where a ton of the students might rip holes in the walls lmao.

Land lord : Just kidding, rent will be the same , have a good one *pause*

Used to write leases for property management and would sit down with tenants during the process. Here are a few universal things: 1. Federal law- Fair Housing Act. Our office had the entire law on the wall as a reminder. Every year we were required to review any updates or changes to the act. Very, very few landlords or management companies can claim exemption from it and if they do, they have to have proof either locally or federally. All states have localised laws for tenancy/landlord responsibilities, but federal supercedes always. 2. Always. Read. Before. You. Sign. Ask questions if something looks like it conflicts with local or federal laws or sounds fishy. Never for example, pay your security deposit before seeing the property or signing the contract. Oldest scam ever. 3. Like the video mentions, unless specifically outlined in the lease, your rental rate cannot be altered until the contract expires. I've seen landlords try to do this and failed to even put a contract end date (hilarious), then cry and moan to the local branch of Fair Housing that they're stuck. Both landlords and tenants should read the contract in full. 4. Maintenance and contract obligations - Landlords have to outline specifically what they will cover repairs for or pre-existing damages. However, there are some basic amenities regardless the property owner is by state and/or federal law required to replace. Mostly because if they don't, it can damage other properties or is a health/sanitation hazard for the community. Make sure you look up what is covered federally and locally for you when you read your lease. If the landlord tries to say for example, they won't report/hire for repairs damaged sewage lines, call and report them locally as a sanitation hazard. Its typically a universal big no-no. In summary, if you come across a landlord trying to use you to get a quick buck, they're a slumlord by any other name. Report their property to your local/state/or federal housing authority.

I don’t think negotiating will work when the landlords interest rates rise. Tenants think landlords are greedy, but they have expenses too

“You have 90 days to vacate the property “- most landlords

Did he actually stand there and pretend to pause or was it video editing magic cause that was really good 😂

What are we talking about? Agreement is agreement. I would make the laws work so simply. 1. No licenses. Freedom. 2. No limits. The agreement is to decide. 3. Rent set in stone. Rent would HAVE TO be put directly in the agreement and changing the rent would require altering the agreement - which means both parties must consent. If the tenant doesn't want to, to terminate the agreement you have to follows all the rules for usual termination.

Landlord like "ehhh but i wanted to have an extra holiday this year in Cancun"

Thank you dear God above that I’m able to live with my parents.

I love how that random guy pops out of nowhere with a friendly smile 🤗🤗 Yeah 🙌🥂!!!

Wanna know why younger people can’t buy houses? Because older people are speculating in the real estate market and buying houses to rent at exorbitant prices. There needs to be a cap on the number of houses a person can own… what sucks is if this cap is instituted, it will crash the housing market

There's landlord licenses? Never heard of such a thing before.

As someone who represents a property management company you won't have much luck with these techniques. 1. In most states Landlords can raise your rent at will as long as you're on a month to month lease. 2. Renewing an LLC takes literally two minutes and only costs about $25.00. 3. Landlords want to be competitive with other complexes so the only reason to raise rent is because taxes and utilities are going up. Also they have to pay for maintenance crews to make repairs or hire HVAC technicians, plumbers or electricians. Contrary to what people believe, many landlords aren't just pocketing rent and not paying for other costs.

Landlord: *Inhales* Tennent: PAUSE

Glad I live in a country where there are very strict laws about raising the rent.