Delaware rent increase law

To renew a rental agreement with a higher rent or other changed terms, give the tenant written notice at least 60 days before the agreement expires, stating the changed terms, the rent and deposit amounts and the date they take effect. The Code does not cap how much rent may rise.

25 Del. C. § 5107(a)

• Unless the tenant tells you at least 45 days before the last day of the term that the tenant is ending the agreement, the changed terms are treated as accepted. A tenant who rejects them has given an effective notice of termination. 25 Del. C. § 5107(b), (c)
• These rules do not apply where rent and deposit are set by income under HUD rules; HUD rules then control. 25 Del. C. § 5107(d)
• The section speaks of renewal before the agreement expires and does not separately say how the 60 days apply to a month-to-month tenancy. 25 Del. C. § 5107
• A rent increase demanded within 90 days after a tenant's good faith code complaint or other protected act is presumed retaliatory unless a listed defense applies. 25 Del. C. § 5516(b), (c) See Retaliation on the Delaware page
• Use a statutory delivery method for the renewal notice. Section 5113 allows personal service or leaving the tenant's copy at the rental unit or usual home with an adult resident. Mailing may be registered, certified, or first class supported by a certificate of mailing, with postage prepaid and the proper address. Posting is an alternative only when combined with a return receipt or certificate of mailing. Keep the delivery evidence; ordinary posting alone does not meet that alternative. 25 Del. C. 5113(a)-(c)

Delaware's Landlord-Tenant Code sets no rent control and no limit on rent increases. Local ordinances were not read for this page, so check the city and county where the property is.

25 Del. C. chapter 51 25 Del. C. chapter 53 25 Del. C. chapter 55 25 Del. C. chapter 57

• The notice rules for renewing at a higher rent still apply. 25 Del. C. § 5107(a) See Rent increase notice on the Delaware page
• Nonrenewable rentals of 120 days or less a year in the Broadkill, Lewes-Rehoboth, Indian River, Baltimore and Cedar Creek hundreds are outside the Code, as are hotels and motels. From March 8, 2027, only transient lodging in a hotel, motel or tourist home (as the state lodging tax law defines them) is excluded, so a non-transient residence in a hotel or motel is no longer excluded by that paragraph. 25 Del. C. § 5102(3), (4)

You may not seek possession, otherwise force the tenant out, raise the rent or cut services because the tenant complained in good faith about a code violation to you or an enforcement authority, because an authority filed a code violation notice, because the tenant organized or is an officer of a tenants' organization, or because the tenant pursued a legal right arising from the tenancy. Such an action within 90 days of the complaint or act is presumed retaliatory.

25 Del. C. § 5516(b), (c)

• Defenses include a proper early termination notice, a good faith need to live in the unit, remodel or demolish it or take it off the rental market for at least six months, a condition the tenant caused, full code compliance, a periodic termination notice given before the complaint, and rent increases tied to documented tax or cost increases or to comparable rents. 25 Del. C. § 5516(d)
• A tenant from whom possession was sought in violation of this rule may recover three months' rent or three times the damages, whichever is greater, plus costs but not attorneys' fees. 25 Del. C. § 5516(e)
• Similar protection covers a tenant who is a victim of domestic abuse, a sexual offense or stalking and sought help from a court, police or a service program: an action within 90 days of an incident is presumed unlawful unless a listed ground applies. A tenant behind on rent cannot use this protection. 25 Del. C. § 5316(a), (b), (d)