Lease

• A lease, also known as a rental agreement, is the agreement between the landlord and tenant that details the terms of the relationship. A lease can be either written or oral, and the parties must come to an agreement on the property to be rented, the length of the tenant's occupation and the amount of rent to be paid. In general, oral leases are month-to-month, with each party agreeing to renew the lease at the end of each month.
  
  

Lease Period

• Whether a landlord can increase your rent depends primarily on the period of your lease. A landlord cannot typically raise the rent on your apartment after you've entered into a lease. For example, if you've entered into a one-year lease, the landlord cannot raise your monthly rent during the year. After the lease ends, however, the landlord can raise the rent before you enter into a new lease. So, if your lease year ends and you want to live in the apartment for another year, the landlord can raise the rent for the new year-long lease.
  
  

Notification and Renewal

• If you have a year-long apartment lease, the lease may include a clause for automatic renewal. Such clauses are typically accompanied by a rent increase clause as well. For example, the Maryland Attorney General's Office reports that when a lease has an automatic renewal clause, the landlord has to notify the renter of a rent increase before the automatic renewal provision takes effect so the renter has enough time to decide if she wants to renew the lease.
  
  

Other Considerations

• If you've entered into a month-to-month oral agreement, your landlord can increase the rent at the end of each month if she chooses. When you're in a monthly rental situation, you effectively renew your lease each month, which allows the landlord to increase rent as she chooses. This is one reason why it's always good to get a written rental agreement, and to make sure you review the terms carefully, paying special attention to any automatic renewal and rent increase clauses.