The current state of the housing market in the United States is a landlord's dream... But it's a tenant's worst nightmare, unfortunately.
A TikTok is making its rounds on the social media platform exposing the harsh reality of being a renter in this economy, and many are commiserating with a young TikToker's experience when it came time to renew her lease.
On March 31, TikToker Kara Perez (@webravelygo) shared with her followers the disheartening situation she found herself in as her current lease agreement was coming to a close and it was time to re-up the terms for the new lease agreement.
In the now viral video, the Texan TikToker revealed to her followers she would be incurring a sizable increase to her monthly rent in the landlord's offer for a lease renewal.
The increase was no small chunk of change either, rather, the rent was set to be increasing by nearly $900 per month.
The situation has been the catalyst for an important discussion in the comments about the city’s skyrocketing rent prices and the increase in cities nationwide.
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In the nine-second video, viewers can see Kara staring directly into the camera, sporting a look of confusion and shock.
Text stitched over the video read:
“Me checking my new lease to see what the new rent is…”
Kara then cut to an email she received from the leasing office of the apartment that stated:
“The rent will increase to $2,750 [per month]."
Kara then informed viewers the cost of rent on the month-to-month lease is $1,895. With the changes in the lease agreement, there would be an upcharge of $855 per month.
At the end of the TikTok, Kara lip syncs to audio that said:
“This is a joke, right?”
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The brief TikTok has been viewed over 185,000 times, accrued almost 10,000 likes and received 1,100 comments from fellow renters.
In a follow up video, Kara responded to a question that has popped up quite frequently which asked if the actions the landlord was taking by raising the rent were illegal.
The short answer, according to Kara, is no.
Texas, at present, does not have any rent stabilization laws in place which make it entirely legal for a landlord to raise their tenant's rent however they see fit.
This differs from other states where rent can only be increased within a certain percentage bracket so as to keep landlords from doing exactly what Kara's landlord did to her.
It might be time for Kara to peruse the housing market for a new apartment.