Raise the rent. Give the notice
the law requires.
State the current rent, the new rent and the effective date — with the month-to-month acceptance mechanics spelled out and a clause holding the change to whatever advance notice applicable law requires.
- Old rent, new rent, effective date
- Advance-notice clause built in
- Fixed terms defer to the lease
How it works
From the rent you want to the date it can lawfully start — in a few minutes
- 01
Name the parties and the property
The landlord or authorised manager giving notice, every tenant on the lease, and the address the rent applies to.
- 02
Set the old rent, the new rent and the date
The current monthly rent, what it changes to, and an effective date that clears your state's minimum advance notice — counted from when the tenant receives this, not from the date on it.
- 03
Send it and keep the proof
Deliver it the way your lease and state law permit, and keep evidence of when it went out. The notice period runs from delivery, so the proof is the part that matters later.
Last updated August 20, 2026
Written by LawLease EditorialReviewed by LawLease Legal Team
By next step
Which rent-change document you need
A rent increase notice changes one term of a continuing tenancy. If the term is ending rather than continuing, or the tenant will not accept the new rent, a different document does the work.
- LR
Lease renewal agreement
Where a fixed term is ending, the new rent belongs in the renewal rather than in a notice.
Learn more - RL
Residential lease agreement
The document that decides whether the rent can move mid-term at all — check it before you send a notice.
Learn more - LR
Late rent notice
Where the issue is rent unpaid rather than rent changing — an itemized reminder, kept separate from formal process.
Learn more - RR
Rent receipt
Record each payment at the new rate — amount, method and the period it covers.
Learn more - NO
Notice of non-renewal
Where you would rather end the tenancy than reprice it, on the notice the tenancy requires.
Learn more
What is a rent increase notice?
A rent increase notice is the written notification a landlord gives a tenant that the rent is changing. It names the parties and the property, states the current rent, the new rent and the date the change takes effect, and confirms that everything else about the tenancy stays as it is.
For a month-to-month tenancy it also explains the mechanics, because they are not obvious: remaining in the premises on or after the effective date accepts the new rent, and a tenant who does not want to continue at that rent ends the tenancy on whatever notice the agreement and state law require. For a fixed term it defers to the lease, which usually means the change lands at renewal rather than now. It is also called:
- Notice of rent increase
- Rent change notice
- Notice to increase rent
- Rent adjustment letter
- Rent raise letter
Whether you can change the rent at all right now is a question for the tenancy itself, not for this notice. Read the residential lease agreement before sending — a fixed term generally holds the rent until it ends.
Notice periods, caps and timing
Timing is nearly the whole compliance question here. Almost every state sets a minimum advance notice before a rent change can take effect — thirty days is the common floor for a month-to-month tenancy, and a number of states require sixty or ninety, often stepping the requirement up once the increase passes a set percentage. The period generally runs from when the tenant receives the notice rather than from the date written on it, and many states also require the change to begin at the start of a rental period. This document states on its face that it takes effect no earlier than applicable law allows, which protects the notice but does not choose the date for you.
Two further limits sit outside the form. A small number of states cap annual increases statewide, and rent-stabilised housing in a number of cities caps them locally, sometimes with a filing or registration step before the increase is valid. And in many states an increase arriving soon after a repair request, a code complaint or tenant organising is presumed retaliatory unless the landlord can show an ordinary business reason. This notice documents a change; it does not validate the amount or the motive behind it.
30–90 days
the advance notice states commonly require, often keyed to the size of the increase
From delivery
when the notice period usually starts — not the date typed on the letter
Not mid-term
a fixed-term rent changes only where the lease itself allows it
- Count the notice period from delivery
- The clock generally starts when the tenant receives the notice, not when you wrote or posted it. Use a delivery method the lease and state law permit, keep evidence of when it went out, and add a margin rather than dating the effective date to the exact statutory minimum.
- A larger increase can require longer notice
- Several states set a longer period once the increase passes a threshold — a modest rise may need thirty days where a substantial one needs sixty or ninety. Check the rule for the size of increase you actually intend before you pick the date.
- A fixed term does not move mid-lease
- During a fixed term the rent is what the lease says unless the lease itself contains an escalation clause. Otherwise the increase belongs at renewal, and a renewal agreement rather than a notice is usually the cleaner instrument for it.
- Align the effective date with a rental period
- Many states require a rent change to take effect at the beginning of a rental period. Where rent runs monthly from the first, the first of a month is the safe default, and it avoids the awkward part-month proration that mid-period dates create.
- Caps exist in some places
- A couple of states limit annual increases statewide, and rent-stabilised units in a number of cities are limited locally — occasionally with a registration or filing step the increase depends on. This notice records a change that has been lawfully noticed; it makes no representation that the amount is permitted where you are.
- Timing near a complaint can look retaliatory
- In many states an increase within a set window after a repair request, habitability complaint, inspection or tenant organising is presumed retaliatory, shifting the burden onto the landlord. Where the timing is unfortunate but the reason is ordinary, document the business rationale before sending rather than after it is questioned.
How to write a rent increase notice
Five steps, and the fourth one — the effective date — is where this document is won or lost.
Whether you can raise the rent now is decided by the lease, not by the notice.
- Fixed term or month-to-month
- Any escalation or renewal clause in the lease
- Whether the unit is rent-stabilised or otherwise capped
Free sample rent increase notice
Here is the one-page structure before you start. Your answers fill the parties, the current and new rent and the effective date; the month-to-month mechanics and the advance-notice clause stay in place as written.
Notice of Rent Increase
DATE: TO:
THE CHANGE. Effective , the monthly rent for the premises at will change from to . All other terms of your tenancy remain unchanged.
WHAT THIS MEANS. If your tenancy is month-to-month, remaining in the premises on or after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new rent. If you do not wish to continue at the new rent, you may end the tenancy by giving the notice your rental agreement and state law require. If you are in a fixed term, this change takes effect as your lease permits.
This notice is intended to provide at least the advance notice applicable law requires for a rent change, and takes effect no earlier than the law allows.
Changing the rent?
Real humans read every message — whether it's about how much notice your state wants, whether a fixed term can move mid-lease, or picking an effective date that lands cleanly. For a rent-stabilised unit or an increase you expect to be challenged, get a local lawyer on it.