As prices have been going up at the pump, on groceries, and pretty much everything, rents have been on the rise too.
Recently, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share how rising rents are affecting them and how they're coping. Here's what they had to say:
1. "I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, and my rent went up by $350. I’m a teacher and without family support, I simply would not be able to continue living where I’m living. My school is already a 25-minute drive from where I live, and living any farther from it wouldn’t be feasible."
2. "My rent went from $1,940 to $2,300 a month in South Jordan, Utah, a suburb just outside of Salt Lake City. As a single mother, it stresses me out to just provide the basics for my child. What happens if my rent increases next year and I can’t afford to live here? Who is going to help?"
"I make too much for government assistance. Landlords are greedy and there needs to be some kind of regulation that limits the maximum a landlord can charge."
—Channie
3. "I live and rent in West Virginia. I've had a lease for five years until this year. In February, my landlord stated, 'We are switching to month-to-month leases but there isn't a rent increase at this time.' Four months later there's a note at my door that my rent is being raised from $1,225 to $1,400 in 30 days. Without a lease, they can continue raising my rent as they please so I am looking for a new place to live."
4. "Our rent for a small studio apartment in downtown Manhattan increased from $2,100 a month to $3,300 a month! Because of the increase, we are having to move out of Manhattan even though we’ve previously been able to afford living here for the last 10 years. It’s truly ridiculous and honestly sad."
5. "I live in Austin and I rent a 1,100-square-foot house. My rent went up $45 last year, but it went up $230 this year and went from a 12-month to a six-month lease. The landlord is correct in that it is comparable to other places around Austin, but I can get an apartment or duplex around the same size for the same price or a little more and I wouldn't have to do lawn maintenance, or appliance maintenance, or minor repairs."
"That's why I rented a house because I was willing to do those things but with lower rent. I can still afford it, but I will be looking for a new place when my new lease is up."
6. "I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Someone purchased the house I’ve rented for over six years. They explained that my rent would be going up $450 due the price that they paid for the house. I had just been given a raise at work. Now, the money I was so excited to put into savings is being put toward my outrageously raised rent."
"I was given 15 days to decide if I was going to stay or move out. I felt like I had to make a quick decision I wasn’t financially, emotionally, or mentally prepared for. I live alone and have found great independence here after my divorce and now I feel like I either have to get a roommate (which the landlords actually had the gall to suggest) or move somewhere not of my choosing because I HAVE to."
—Heidi
7. "I just received a letter that as of September my rent will be going up $100. On top of that, back in March my ex decided that he no longer wants to pay child support. My first big adjustment was to stop my 401(k) contributions and I depleted my daughter’s savings. I won't have any cushion income as of next month and will probably start selling items around the house to supplement."
8. "I live in Florida, and my rent went from $1,100 for a STUDIO to $1,520. I can't afford to move so I have to stay and suffer."
9. "My place is rent-stabilized so it only went up 1.5%, about $24. With all the horror stories I've heard about NYC rent prices rising after one year (especially over the past couple years) I refuse to even look at any apartments that aren't rent-stabilized."
10. "My rent went up by $240 a month in North Haven, Connecticut. I almost never go out and do as much budgeting as I can already. So aside from trying to cut back more on groceries and not making extra trips out of the house to save gas, I'm going to have to cut back on putting money into savings!"
11. "Living in southern Florida became so unaffordable that I had to quit my job and move to a different state. My rent went up by $750 with 30 days notice. It was barely affordable on my salary before the rent hike, but there was no way to afford it even with a second job."
"Since I was already living in a less than 500-square-foot studio, a roommate wasn’t an option to bridge the gap. I was offered a 2% salary increase, which is in no way enough to meet the new rent.
A ton of us resigned or didn’t renew our positions. Most of us in the same financial position made the reason clear when we resigned and were told that we should look at supplemental housing vouchers from the state. I am a ranked professor at a public university. The answer to professors, who are already state employees, should not be housing assistance from the state; it should be a living wage from the state."
12. "I live in Newport News, Virginia, and after a horrible experience with roommates, I decided to find my own place. I work from home so I tried to find a place that was spacious. I don’t make much so this was hard, but I was able to get a two-bedroom townhouse. Rent was $820, excluding utilities."
"A few days ago, I got the notice that the rent is going up by $200. That may not seem like a lot, but for me it is. Unfortunately, I will have to make it work because it’s even more expensive to move."
13. "My rent went up by $600 in Ottawa, Canada, and I am stressed! I have three kids and we are a one-income family. We were given one month to prepare before having to pay extra. There are no other homes to move to and buying is not an option."
14. "My rent went up by $246 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I’m furious that my rent has increased so much with nothing to show for it and no improvements."
"My kids sleep in bunk beds as it is, but even if I tried to downsize to a one-bedroom apartment, I wouldn’t save any money. The market rent here for a one-bedroom is now more than I’ll be paying for my two-bedroom with the increase!"
—Chels
15. "I live in Sacramento and rent a one-bedroom apartment. When I moved in late 2017, I was paying $895. They just raised my rent again and I'm paying $1,030. That's considered cheap for the area."
"Rent prices here have been raised quickly because of all of the tech people who moved here in search of cheaper housing. Unfortunately, I don't make even a third of what they do.
I recently got a chance to apply for a new low income housing unit and I'm hoping I get it. Landlords are asking that you make three times the rent. If I were making $6,000 a month, I'd own a house."
16. "My rent went up by $177 in Kansas City. It has increased more each year, so it was already over my budget before this last increase. I rent out my place on Airbnb periodically — just a couple of weekends helps cover a lot of costs. I moved my important items to my mom's place and stay with her when mine is occupied."
17. "I live just east of Pittsburgh. We’ve been in our two-bedroom apartment for two years. Come to find out rent went up $250 per month with our lease renewal AND our water bill (paid to apartment complex) went up $20. We pay other utilities separately and all those are going up too."
"We were looking at $1,600+ instead of about $1,300. We can afford it, but it was the last among other changes with the complex that we didn’t want to deal with.
We close on a house next month where we’re paying only a little more than we will in rent and actually get something out of it. Plus we’ll have space for a roommate, so we’re actually SAVING money by buying a house. Luckily we had enough of a down payment saved, our families are helping with moving and closing costs, and our credit was good enough for us to get the mortgage we needed without overly ridiculous interest rates (that being said it’s still close to 6%)."
18. "I live in Tucson, Arizona, and just got a note on my door this past week that rent is going up to $915 a month, originally $705. It may not sound like much, but I can barely afford rent as it is and have had to turn my internet all the way down, cut off streaming, and put basic necessities on credit cards. After the bills are paid (yay, medical debt), I have nothing else."
"This landlord is also awful and paying this much to live in a building that he willfully neglects just adds insult to injury. The water is turned off with no warning, the elevator has been broken for well over a year, my stove has one working burner, and my downstairs neighbor had water damage in his west-facing wall from the monsoon season and no work was done on it until it was forced by the city code department months later.
I'd love to move but just treading water in one place is hard enough and moving is way too expensive. Not to mention I live on the third floor with a busted knee, so there's no way I can move stuff out of here even if I did by some chance find a place for less in a better neighborhood. It's frustrating AF, and if he raises the rent again, I have no idea what I'll do."
19. "I live in Spokane, Washington. Thankfully, I was able to negotiate my rent increase from $150 down to $100 per month! Just goes to show, it never hurts to ask. Rents are going up everywhere, so it wasn't totally unexpected."
20. "My rent went up $767 a month in Frisco, Texas. I could not renew my lease. I had no choice but to return to my parents' house and look for a different job. It’s embarrassing!"
—Christopher
21. "My boyfriend and I moved into a $3,000 one-bedroom in Jersey City in February. We didn’t get pandemic discounts or anything so we thought we’d be safe. But now all the units in our building are renting for $500-$1,000 more a month and my boyfriend and I are worried we’re gonna get hit with an increase when our lease is up in six months. Our combined income is over $200k! We shouldn’t be worried about being able to afford to live in a place year after year."
22. "My rent went from $2,800 to $3,250 and my landlord has already indicated it'll be going up again in January 2023. I live in Corona, California. I could barely afford my rent before the increase, but since it took effect a few months ago I've turned to selling the now-vintage clothes and shoes that I've had for years."
23. And finally, "My rent went from $2,277 to $2,391, for a one-bedroom in San Diego. The annual cost of living increase offered by my job is 3%, so obviously that doesn’t cover it at all, considering I have a 5% increase for rent alone. Utilities and other things like groceries have gone up as well."
"I looked into moving, but it would cost even more to move, so instead I got a second part-time job just to cover the rent increase. I’m not even making that much at the second job because gas is so expensive right now that having two commutes is eating into the extra money I earn.
I have a college degree and 10 years of experience in my industry, but I still don’t make enough money to pay my rent. Meanwhile, the company I work for made out really well during the past two years and is boasting record profits."
—Anonymous