Raising Rent: Guide to Scheduling Rent Increases for 2026
- Catherine LaGaly
- Sep 5
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
The countdown has begun! It’s time to prepare rent increase notices for your manufactured housing community residents. While you may not be increasing your rents January 1, you are likely reviewing and increasing them soon thereafter. Though the process can be complicated, it is essential to schedule rent increases properly in order to maximize revenue.
Properly timed and structured rent increases are crucial for maintaining financial stability and ensuring the continued provision of community amenities. ManageAmerica offers comprehensive tools to assist landlords in this critical process. Below we will cover some important factors to consider when preparing your manufactured housing community’s rent increases.
Table of Contents
Why Annual Rent Increases Are Important
Annual rent increases are crucial for maintaining the financial health of your manufactured housing community. They help cover the rising costs of property maintenance, taxes, and other operational expenses. Additionally, regular rent adjustments ensure that your rental rates stay competitive within the market, reflecting the value of the amenities and services provided to residents. By strategically implementing rent increases, you can sustain the quality of your community while maximizing revenue.
Structuring Your Rent Increases
There are a few ways you can structure rent increases, depending on the individual agreements with residents:
Rent increases can occur on the same date for everyone (for example: January 1), providing uniformity and simplicity in administration.
Rent increases can be rolling, dependent on each resident’s lease expiration date, offering flexibility and potentially spreading out the impact on management resources.
Rent increases can vary based on clauses in the lease or the prospectus, allowing for customization based on specific agreements and conditions.
Understanding why annual rent increases are important can help you choose the best structure for your community and ensure you are maximizing revenue while maintaining good relationships with your residents.
Timing Your Rent Increases
When raising rents, it is crucial to follow your local regulations in terms of how much notice you are required to give your residents. Proper timing is essential, not only for compliance, but also for maintaining positive relationships with your residents. For example, if you would like to increase your rents for January 1, and your local regulations require 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day notice, you will want to notify your residents according to the deadlines below:
State Requirement | Notice Deadline |
90-day notice | September 30 |
60-day notice | October 31 |
30-day notice | November 30 |
Understanding how to raise rent as a landlord involves not only knowing the regulations but also communicating effectively with your residents to ensure a smooth transition.
Clear and consistent communication can make all the difference in how rent increases are received. A well-structured rent increase is only effective if it is explained transparently and delivered reliably. Using resident portals and mobile apps, you can share notices digitally, track delivery, and even provide reminders that highlight the amenities and services residents benefit from. This approach not only ensures compliance but also reinforces trust, demonstrating that rent adjustments are part of maintaining a well-managed and high-quality community.
Once you’ve established the right timing and communication plan, the next step is determining how much to raise rents by—an equally important decision that depends on careful analysis of your budget, the market, and resident considerations.
4 factors to consider while Calculating Your Rent Increases
Once you have determined the structure of your rent increases and the required notification deadlines, you will need to calculate the amount of the rent increase. Below are important steps to take and factors to consider as you do so.
1. A Market Survey
Conducting a market survey involves systematically researching rental rates and trends in nearby communities, including manufactured housing communities and site-built housing. This helps you understand how your rental rates compare within the geographic area. A thorough market survey can provide insights into how other communities are handling rent increases and what competitive advantages or disadvantages your community might have.
Key questions to consider include:
Has the overall market increased at all?
Has the city reassessed properties recently?
What are the median rent costs in the area?
Are nearby communities increasing rent, and if so, by how much?
How is your competition structuring and implementing their rent increases?
2. Your Budgeted Expenses
Revisiting your previous budgets is crucial in determining appropriate rent increases. Your budgeted expenses directly impact the financial health of your community and justify the need for rent adjustments. Consider the following:
What have you budgeted this past year for property taxes, maintenance, and operating costs?
Are you staying within your budget consistently, or are expenses increasing?
Have you made capital improvements on the property beyond general upkeep and maintenance?
How do these expenses align with your current rental income, and do they necessitate a rent increase to maintain financial stability?
Rent planning works best when aligned with your community’s overall financial strategy. By connecting rent adjustments to your annual budget and forecasts, you can anticipate how increases will offset rising costs, fund improvements, and sustain growth. With tools like MA Insights, you can model multiple financial scenarios, track utility recovery, and see how rent changes impact long-term revenue before putting them into effect.
Utility costs deserve particular attention, as they are often one of the largest and fastest-rising expenses. If your community is already recapturing these costs through submetering or fair utility billing practices, you may have more flexibility in structuring rent increases. Conversely, if you are not billing back, rising utility expenses may put additional pressure on your budget and necessitate higher adjustments. Incorporating utility recovery strategies into your planning helps balance operating costs, protect NOI, and ensure residents are paying for the resources they consume.
As you assess your budget and cost recovery strategies, it’s equally important to step back and evaluate the broader economic climate—since external conditions often dictate how much residents can reasonably absorb when rents increase.
3. The Current Economic Climate
Considering the current economic climate is essential for making informed decisions about rent increases. Unlike market surveys, which focus on competitive positioning, this involves assessing broader economic factors and their impact on your residents.
Important aspects to consider include:
What does the job market look like around your properties?
Is the economy as a whole booming or heading for a downturn?
Are you seeing any consistent signs of financial strain among your residents, such as increased late payments or requests for assistance?
How is the local economic environment affecting your community specifically?
Review the history of rent increases. How recent was the last increase, and by how much?
Are any of the properties you manage rent-controlled? If so, your local government will have precise guidelines for any increase in rents.
You also want to consider your resident base. Who is your property’s target market, and how does that align with your potential rent increase?
You also want to consider your resident base. Who is your property’s target market, and how does that align with your potential rent increase?
Looking Ahead to 2026 As you prepare rent adjustments for the coming year, keep an eye on the broader trends shaping the manufactured housing industry in 2026:
Affordability Pressures Remain High: With traditional housing costs continuing to rise, manufactured housing remains in demand, but residents may still feel strained by inflation and wage growth that isn’t keeping pace.
Monitor resident payment patterns closely and consider offering flexible payment options or phased rent increases to reduce delinquency risk.
Regulatory Scrutiny is Increasing: Several states are revisiting rent control and notice requirements, making compliance and documentation more important than ever.
Stay proactive by reviewing state and local notice requirements early in the year and keeping documentation centralized in your lease management system.
Utility Costs as a Key Driver: Rising water and energy rates are expected to remain a significant budget factor, making fair utility billing practices an increasingly important tool for balancing costs.
Conduct regular utility audits and, if possible, implement submetering or cost-recovery programs to ease pressure on base rent increases.
Investment Interest is Strong: Demand from investors for manufactured housing communities is expected to remain steady, keeping market rents competitive.
Benchmark your rents against nearby communities regularly to ensure your rates remain competitive while still capturing market demand.
Factoring these conditions into your rent increase strategy ensures you’re not only meeting financial goals but also staying aligned with resident realities and regulatory requirements.
4. Benefits & Amenities of Manufactured Home Communities
When preparing rent increases, it is important to highlight the numerous benefits and amenities that residents enjoy while living in a manufactured home community. These factors can help justify rent increases by demonstrating the value provided.
Key benefits may include:
Professional management to care for the maintenance and operations of the properties
Community guidelines for creating a great neighborhood
Potentially lower monthly costs compared to other housing options
Resident screening (depending on your state’s regulations)
Location and proximity to local attractions
Community events that foster a sense of belonging and community spirit
Highlighting these amenities underscores why annual rent increases are important for maintaining and enhancing the quality of living for your residents.
Effective Rent Increase Strategies with ManageAmerica
Once you have determined how to proceed with rent increases, ManageAmerica has an easy way to structure even the most complicated rent increase scheduling. Our Lease Management System tracks and notifies you of sites with pending rent increases, enables you to calculate and schedule any type of rent increase, and even generates the necessary rent increase documents.
At ManageAmerica, we're not just a software provider but a strategic partner that's uniquely equipped to help you streamline and grow your business. Throughout this process, our tools and features can assist you in every step, from market surveys to budget analysis, ensuring you never miss a rent increase. Schedule a personalized demo to get set up and explore how your team can scale.
“With ManageAmerica, everything is systematic. We get reminders for upcoming rent increases, and if we ever make a mistake and miss one, their support team steps in to rerun it—even after billing. That personal touch gives us confidence we’re never leaving money on the table.” - Julio Jaramillo, Evergreen Communities