May 27, 2008

I WISH to bring something to the public, or more accurately, to anyone who rents a house or apartment in Bermuda's attention.

Our landlord recently informed us that he was going to increase our rent to over $3,000 ¿ for a two-bedroom basement apartment.

We decided to move because it seemed a bit much to pay for a place that had as many problems as it did. Not to mention no view, no privacy and a faulty front door.

However, I needed to find out how many months' notice I needed to give and also whether or not he could simply increase the rent with only two weeks' notice.

I went online and found the web site for the Rent Commission at www.gov.bm.

I also came across a web site for Land Valuation in Bermuda at www.landvaluation.bm.

According to the Land Valuation, our apartment was rent controlled and valued at $16,800.

That means, if anything, that we should only have been paying $1,400 a month in rent and not the $2,500 to start with six years ago. What can I say; we were new to Bermuda and had heard that rents were high. We had no reason to think otherwise. Our landlord has since increased the rent by $300 a month.

So I called the Rent Commission. Very helpful department who informed me that our apartment was, in fact, rent controlled and therefore my landlord would have had to apply in writing to the Rent Commissioner in 2005 before putting up our rent.

Not to mention that he should have told them he was renting it out for $2,500 to start with.

Staff suggested I revert back to the $2,500 rent immediately from the first of the month.

Should the landlord ask why, I was to inform him that he was required by law to put an official request for a rent increase with the Rent Commission and get the necessary documentation before we agreed to pay anything.

I was also informed that I could take the matter to court to recover the money I had paid as an increase in 2005 ¿ without the Rent Commissioner's permission ¿ for the last three years. I estimated it to be in the region of about $9,000.

If you think your landlord is overcharging you for your tiny rundown one- or two-bedroom apartment, go to the Land Valuation web site and see what the value is on the property. Work it out and yes; take the matter up with the Rent Commission.

What you decide to do after that is completely up to you but personally I would love to have that extra $9,000 in my pocket to help me find a place that's actually worth what the landlord is charging for it.

There's no reason to put up with this astronomically high rents in Bermuda and it's nice to find out after six years that you actually have rights as a tenant!

OUR COMPANY DOES NOT PAY OUR RENT ¿ WE DO!

Warwick