A landlord has been slammed on social media after sharing a video appearing to show him telling a tenant that he was going to raise her rent by more than double the amount she was paying.
Real estate investor Raul Bolufe, from Miami, can be seen in a TikTok video on the phone to a woman who he says rents one of the properties he recently purchased.
He explains that she is currently paying $1,100 a month, which is a ‘pretty low price’ considering the area and ‘today’s market,’ and similar properties in the neighborhood are going for about $2,500.
Raul suggests he could ‘take the lower end of $2,200,’ to which the woman who says she has lived in the building for 10 years exclaims: ‘Are you kidding me? That has to be a joke! I can’t afford that s***. I have kids and I’m already working two jobs as it is. Where do you want me to go now?’
To date the clip has been viewed more than one million times, with many commenters claiming that Raul’s rent-raising tactics should be illegal.
Real estate investor Raul Bolufe, from Miami, has caused a stir on TikTok. He filmed himself appearing to tell a tenant her rent would go from $1,100 to $2,500
‘Watching this made me sick to my stomach. This is absolutely what’s wrong with landlords,’ one person said.
‘I understand going up a few hundred dollars but more than doubling her rent is grotesque.’
Echoing similar sentiments, another added: ‘Ridiculous, it’s legalized theft and he does it with a smile. This is why no one can afford to live anywhere, it’s sad.’
But some viewers spoke out in support of Raul, highlighting his need to make money as a businessman.
‘Most of the people commenting as if they’re the home owner. At the end of the day, the property is business,’ one person said.
‘New owners don’t have any contracts with the current tenants. He can raise the rent as much as he wants. If the don’t like it they can go,’ another wrote.
However some expressed skepticism over whether or not the video was real.
In a follow-up video titled ‘Raising my tenant’s rent part two,’ Raul films what appears to be another part of the conversation he has with his inherited occupant.
In the clip, the woman threatens to burn the house down ‘so nobody gets anything’ and call the cops.
Raul suggests he could ‘take the lower end of $2,200,’ to which the woman who has lived in the building for 10 years exclaims: ‘Are you kidding me? That has to be a joke!’
In a follow-up video titled ‘raising my tenant’s rent part two,’ Raul films another conversation he has with his inherited occupant
Realizing that the tenant is not willing to cooperate, Raul tells her: ‘If you don’t wanna stay for that price, I’m going to have to put [out] a 30-day notice you could leave peacefully on time, but I definitely can’t make it work at that current rent amount.’
In response to Raul’s ultimatum, the woman tells him she is going to call her brothers.
She then informs him: ‘I dare you to try to pull up and give us the eviction notice. This is ridiculous. I’m not paying over double my rent.
‘You think I give a s*** about your investment. Pull up to the house I dare you, we’ll be here waiting and it won’t be a good time for you.’
The woman then proceeds to hang up the phone. In a bid to get the matter sorted once and for all, Raul is seen in ‘part three’ pulled up outside the house.
He explains that the woman said over text that she would be home. However, when he arrives, she refuses to meet with him.
She says on the phone: ‘You really thought I’d meet you in person after you tried to double my rent? I’m not paying more than $1,100.’
In a state of exasperation, Raul tells the woman that he would work with her ‘to try and figure this out,’ but just his insurance and taxes alone add up to $1,100 a month.
He continues: ‘I’m trying to get you the best price here.’
However, the tenant is having none of it and she simply tells Raul: ‘I’m not leaving.’
She also informed him that she had changed all of the locks on the doors, ‘so don’t even try to put an eviction notice on my door… or else.’
He explains that the woman said over text that she would be home. However, when he arrives she refuses to meet with him
She says on the phone: ‘You really thought I’d meet you in person after you tried to double my rent? I’m not paying more than $1,100’
Raul concludes by saying the woman has left him with no other option than to call the sheriff.
The property pro’s third installment left viewers equally as divided.
One person sided with Raul, writing: ‘Evict her now. Insurance in Florida has nearly doubled. Landlord is not running a charity. He tried to be nice.’
However, another disagreed with the landlord’s actions, writing: ‘Gotta take her side in this one, especially since there might be laws that put a cap on how much you can increase rent, but doubling it man is wrong.’
In 2021, there was an average 20 per cent increase across the US’s biggest 50 cities, which forced many renters to dig deep into their savings, downsize to subpar units or fall behind on payments.
Nowhere was the jump bigger than in the Miami metro area, where the median rent surged to a whopping $2,850, 49.8 percent higher than the previous year.
Then in May 2022, median rent in Manhattan hit an all-time high of $4,000 per month, a 40 per cent increase from the previous year.
Previously Kelsey Barberio, 27, revealed in a TikTok video that the rent for her apartment had been raised from $2,100 to $4,175 – a nearly 100 per cent increase after just two years.
Experts say many factors are responsible for sustained astronomical rents, including a nationwide housing shortage, extremely low rental vacancies and unrelenting demand as young adults continue to enter the crowded market.
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