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.
@Eeples: Consider wear and tear on the property. Kitchens, bathrooms, carpet, roof repairs these all need to be replaced at some point, and cost of it is skyrocketing. Too late to put the rent up afterwards to pay for that. Rates, water, repairs and maint, insurance these costs are certainly going up. And many seem to think low interest means rent should be low. But the same won't apply when interest goes up, it's the landlords role to absorb that either way. You also need to consider the cost of the money, why should the owner not receive income on the profit from their investment. There is opportunity cost of that money, they could re-invest it, put it in shares etc.