Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Louisiana

I live in Louisiana and have been researching the market value rent for my area and notice that my current rent exceeds the amount of market value and increases more than 10% a year


Asked on 2/24/15, 5:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

You should consider moving when you lease is up, but you don't have grounds to cancel your lease just because you feel the rent is too high. Unless you are on government-subsidized housing, there is no limit for what a landlord can charge in rent. The free market usually takes care of that. A landlord can charge whatever a willing tenant will agree to. If he asks too much, he'll get no takers and nobody would sign a lease with him. In your case, if you signed a lease, you must abide by it. The time to question the amount of the rent is BEFORE you sign the lease, not after.

Now, if you are on government subsidized housing assistance, like Section 8, there are rules that landlords must abide by as far as rent. However, that is usually handled directly by HANO or whatever organization is responsible for doling out the money for the assistance program. The landlords are told what Section 8 will pay and that's all they can charge. It is illegal for them to then demand more directly from the tenant.

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Answered on 3/04/15, 6:25 pm


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