Collier County commissioners may mandate 60-day warnings for rent increases

The Collier County Board of Commissioners is meeting Tuesday morning to discuss implementing a new rule to make sure tenants have time to prepare for rent hikes.

Rent is going up by $200 to $400 a month in some places, so Collier County commissioners will discuss a local rental ordinance that would require landlords to give their tenants a written notice 60 days in advance if rent is set to increase more than 5%.

WINK News spoke with one Collier County landlord who says a 60-day notice is reasonable, but he says he gives his tenants notice a year in advance because he knows many people are having a tough time paying their month-to-month rent right now, and two months may not be enough time for them to either look for a new place or start paying more.

“I don’t have a problem with, you know, telling them beforehand that I’m gonna raise their rent,” said Gerald Weeks. “It’s only fair because some tenants, you can tell him you’re gonna raise your rent, and then all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, they’re gone.”

One person who is currently renting an apartment in Collier County emphasizes that 60 days, with the way prices are going up, may not be enough time. If someone decides to move because of the rent increase, they may have a difficult time finding affordable housing.

“Skyrocketing,” said Luciano Bianco. “It’s… I’ve never seen it get this high. I’ve been here most of my life and it’s just skyrocketing every year, just going up and up. It’s getting harder for people to make ends meet here in this town. A lot of people nowadays are struggling, whether it’s with work, not making ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck.”