In a now-viral TikTok, a tenant in Austin, Texas, shares a massive increase to their monthly rent in their offer for a lease renewal, sparking discussion in the comments about the city’s skyrocketing rent prices.
Text overlay on the video posted by TikToker Kara Perez (@webravelygo) on March 31 reads, “Me checking my new lease to see what the new rent is…”
The user shared an email from the leasing office of their apartment that says, “The rent will increase to $2,750” per month. According to Perez, the cost of rent on their month-to-month lease is $1,895—this makes the new rent a whopping $855 increase per month.
At the end of the clip, Perez lip syncs to audio that says, “This is a joke, right?”
By Monday, the video had over 183,000 views, with users discussing rent control laws and the spike in Austin rent prices.
“This is so unfair. It’s not like they’re making improvements on the inside of where you live either. They just keep upping the rent,” one user said.
“I’m in ATX too. My rent is increasing $300. And I complained about that amount! I’m moving out too. This is really out of control,” another wrote.
“Isn’t that illegal? In most states they can’t raise the rent more than 10% correct?” a third asked.
In a response video, Perez explains that Texas lacks rent control laws, which would allow landlords to increase rent with no cap at the end of the lease.
“If my landlord wanted to raise rent by $2,000 a month, he absolutely could,” Perez says in the clip. “According to the Austin Tenants Council, there are no rent control laws for specifically the city of Austin, either.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Perez via Instagram direct message.
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