Elderly woman may be forced to move after landlord raises her rent by nearly 30%
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Is your landlord jacking up your rent? You're not alone.
A local tenants' rights group says the number of complaints they're getting about rent increases has nearly doubled since this time last year.
Morning Insider Tim McNicholas shows us how an 88-year-old widow may soon be forced to move.
Greg Beaubien helps out his mom, Janice, however he can; from the dishes to the bills.
But now, there's a problem that he can't quite scrub away.
"They're trying to raise her rent by $344 a month. They know she's an 88-year-old widow on a fixed income," he said.
Greg tried to negotiate with Calibrate Property Management, which manages the Arlington Heights property, after they raised his mother's rent from $1250 to $1594, but they won't budge.
So they're stuck with a 28% increase, more than Greg and Janice can afford.
"28% is just too much, and I think really shouldn't even be allowed," said John Bartlett, head of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization – a tenants' rights advocate that fields calls across Cook County.
Bartlett says the group received 60 calls last month about rent increases – up from just 36 in March of last year.
"Maybe from the pandemic, that they didn't increase the rents very much, and now they're trying to, I guess, make up for lost time," Bartlett said.
Calibrate would not agree to an interview, but the company sent an email pointing out that rent is going up across the country.
They also said their renewal rents are based on current market trends.
"We feel like they're trying to push her out, and we just want her to be able to live in peace," Greg said.
"I just think that they should negotiate a little bit," Janice said.
The company also claimed in their email that comparable units are renting for more than $1800; more than what they want Janice to pay.
But that's no comfort to her, and the whole situation has her feeling "very stressed."
