StrayCatScribbler
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Oregon
I'm attempting to renew a one-year lease on an apartment in Oregon. When I originally signed the lease agreement, I was told that as long as I renewed the lease before it expired on April 30th, my rent would not be increased. If I failed to renew the lease before that date, I would roll over into a month-to-month tenancy and my rent would go up by 5%. I renewed the lease on time last year and rent only increased by $5. This year, I am attempting to renew the lease in the same time-frame and am being told that my rent will increase by 5% even though I have not allowed the lease to expire. There is a different property manager this year and she is claiming that this has always been company policy even though I know from experience that is not true.
My lease agreement does not explicitly state that rent will not increase if I renew before expiration, but does say that rent can only be increased the day after the lease expires. I was told that this means that if the lease is never allowed to expire, rent cannot be increased. The new manager says that statement actually means rent increases cannot go into effect until the new lease activates regardless of when it is renewed. The words are still the same, but the meaning has apparently changed. Is she allowed to change the meaning? Is there anything I can do to enforce this statement under its original interpretation?
My lease agreement does not explicitly state that rent will not increase if I renew before expiration, but does say that rent can only be increased the day after the lease expires. I was told that this means that if the lease is never allowed to expire, rent cannot be increased. The new manager says that statement actually means rent increases cannot go into effect until the new lease activates regardless of when it is renewed. The words are still the same, but the meaning has apparently changed. Is she allowed to change the meaning? Is there anything I can do to enforce this statement under its original interpretation?