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Evacuated Home Because Of Neighboring Apartment Fire. Landlord Wants To Increase Rent Before We Move Back In.

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Location: Newark, NJ.
In early April, we experienced a fire within our apartment building. My family and I were not directly affected, but the family above us was. There is no official cause determined yet, however it is heavily suspected that it was an outlet fire. The landlord informed all of us that we needed to move out temporarily so he could perform all the necessary checks and inspections before giving us the go-ahead to move back in. Before we left, he returned 2 months' worth of rent to us. Unfortunately, we had not purchased renter's insurance beforehand, so we had to move in with my cousins. It has been weeks since the incident and we have not been receiving many updates, except that he painted the walls and re-floored the unit. It seems he decided this was a good opportunity to remodel the home. However his most recent update shocked us, that our rent would be increasing from $1,250 to $1,500. I am not sure about the legality of this, since we have not even moved back in yet, and this is coming right after a fire that may have been caused by faulty outlets. We have been living in this apartment since 2014, and while the price has always increased gradually, this is the first time he has imposed such a significant price hike.

submitted by /u/Adventurous_Gold_366
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