My renewal is in a month and my landlord has requested a 3000 yen increase, as above, citing increased energy costs (my electric bill is separate but gas is a fixed communal cost for the building).
I'm aware that rent increases in Japan require either mutual consent or proving the need to increase rent through the legal system, and obviously I don't feel 3,000 is a reasonable increase even with rising energy costs (it would be a more than 5% increase for me). I've looked around and my rent isn't really absurdly low for the area, either.
My question is, should I just outright refuse the rent increase, or just counter-offer something like a 1000 yen increase just to avoid even the potential hassle of legal arbitration?
by Branduil