Woman stunned to see her home’s rent history, learns she is paying 5 times more now

Skyrocketing rent in the US has been a significant issue in recent years, particularly in major cities and highly sought-after areas. Many cities in the US have experienced a surge in population growth, leading to increased demand for housing. However, the construction of new rental units has not kept pace with the rising demand, resulting in an imbalance of demand and supply. Many people have moved to urban areas due to their job opportunities, amenities, and cultural attractions. Also, the limited availability of affordable options increases the problem and forces many people to compete for a smaller pool of rental properties, driving up prices even more. As these factors lead to higher rent, people take to social media to share their distress. This happened to a Twitter user @bartleby_era, who came across the rent history of the apartment she is renting. She was shocked.

She took to Twitter and wrote, "Got my apartment’s rent history and I am going to throw up." She shared a picture of the rent history from 1984 along with another picture of the inflation calculator. The second picture revealed, after factoring in inflation, she should be paying the rent at $404.29 instead of $2000 rent. She further wrote about the rent difference, "like it actually seems like there hasn’t been any illegal shit (tho I didn’t actually go in and calculate all the percentages) but now I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to pay $400 a month instead of five times that." She added, "outside NYC so context: the saddest part is that though i pay $2k/month (rent-stabilized 1bed) it’s still considered a really good deal! the CHEAPEST apartment currently available for rent on streateasy in my neighborhood is a studio for $2,400." 

Many Twitter users responded to this post. @AdrianaGores wrote, "I get it, but to be fair, I paid $500 a month for a 1 bedroom in SF in 1985 (inner Richmond) but I also was making $14,000 a year and that was the top of my budget and anything costing $50 or more was something I had to think long and hard about buying." @abeynola tried to help, "Is this a rent-stabilized apartment? You may have recourse with NYS government. I worked for a nonprofit for years that got people’s rent reduced by reviewing rent history and illegal increases. One eccentric guy did this work as basically his full-time job."

@macbohannon revealed, "One time I made the mistake of looking up what my landlord paid in *annual* taxes on the *entire building* that he inherited and that housed my $3500 apt - it was $758." @Lylanthia gave an insight of her own, "Rent/Mortgage is usually a person’s biggest bill, so not including it in inflation calculations is an oversight at best and intentional lying about the buying power of currency at worst." Other people asked about property taxes and suggested that she should see a lawyer. 

One thing is sure, the rising prices of rent are now a real concern for people!