In Breeze, the rent control feature allows you to calculate and create new lease charges that match state guidelines. The feature has two parts:
A setup page, where you enter the rent increase percentage allowed by the state and the CPI. The maximum allowed rent increase includes CPI.
A Rent Increase function that creates new lease charges that match the guidelines.
The Rent Control Setup Page
Go to Admin > Rent Control.
This page lists rent control records. The CPI number varies by region, so you will need a unique setup record for each region you operate in.
Click Add New.
Complete the screen.
Area/Region | Enter the region for the setup record. CPI % varies by region. |
State | CA (California) or OR (Oregon). |
Month From, Month to | The date range for the setup. |
State Fixed % | Enter the fixed percentage increase amount for the state. |
CPI % | The consumer price index. This varies by region. |
# of Increases Per Year Allowed | The number of times you can increase the rent in a year. For example, in California, you can increase the rent twice a year. Note: The percentage amounts (fixed and CPI) apply to a whole year, so if you increase the rent twice in one year, the total increase amounts cannot exceed the guidelines. |
Notes | Any description you want to add about the setup record. |
Click the Properties tab and click Add Properties.
Breeze lists the properties in the selected state that have not yet been assigned to a rent control region.
Select which properties the rent control setup will apply to. If your setup is for a particular region, make sure the properties are located there.
Click Save.
Creating Rent Control Lease Charges
Select Accounting > Accounts Receivable > Rent Increase.
Select the Rent Control Rent Increase tab.
Complete the filter. The following fields require explanation:
Type | % of Rent: Increase the rent by a percentage of the current rent. Flat $ Amount: Increase the rent by a dollar amount. Max Legal Increase: Increase the rent by the maximum amount allowed by the Rent Control law. |
Lease Expires From/To | Filter leases by a date range. |
Rent Increase Effective MM/YYYY | Enter a start date for the new lease charges. |
Months since Last Increase | Filter lease by the number of months since the last rent increase. The number is a minimum -- at least X number of months since the last increase. |
Click Display.
Review the screen.
The New Proposed Amount is the amount calculated by Breeze according to the input in the filter. The proposed amount is compared to the Legal Max Amount. If it is higher than the legal maximum, Breeze uses the Legal Max Amount as the New Amount. If the New Proposed Amount is lower than the Legal Max Amount, then Breeze uses the New Proposed Amount as the New Amount.
If you want to keep the old lease charge in place for one or more tenants, select the Exclude check box for them.
Click Save to create new lease charges. To view the lease charges, go to the Tenant screen, and look at the Current Scheduled Charges.
A note identifies the new charge as a Rent Control Increase (RCI) charge.
Notes
1. If a property has been set up for rent control, you cannot use the regular rent increase function (Accounting > Accounts Receivable > Rent Increase). The property will not appear on this page if the effective date of the rent increase is within the rent control period.
2. If you try to increase a tenant's rent, and they have already reached the maximum increase amount, or the maximum number of rent increases allowed per year, they will be marked as Excluded.