Man Explains Why Moving Often Is Better for Tenants

A man who changed 5 apartments in 5 years explained why he's a proponent of constantly moving. According to TikToker J. Shaw (@jshaw.3) apartment complexes try to take advantage of long-term residents by raising rent. Upon further investigation, he realized that many units often offer incentives for new renters, saving them money in the long run.

He posted about his rental experiences in a viral TikTok that's accrued over 4.9 million views on the popular video-sharing application. The social media user begins his clip by rejecting the notion rental increases are caused by tenants who are quick to move from location to location.

According to him, market fluctuations are actually a scam utilized by management companies to increase profits and take advantage of devoted customers.

"I seen a creator on here talking about people need to stop moving and bouncing around. That's why the rent's high. Just renew your lease, like all this other stuff. But, let me give you the perspective of a mover, right?"

Shaw then continues to address viewers and explain why he hops from apartment complex to apartment complex.

"I've had five apartments in the last five years. Let me tell you why. In one of my apartments, my lease was up. They sent me a renewal offer. They said, 'Your rent is going up $150.' I said, 'Why?'"

He argued that the unit he was living in had diminished in value if anything due to him living inside of it.

Furthermore, he contested that since the apartment's management company didn't update any of the fixtures inside of his apartment or the building he's living in, that he should probably be paying less, not more than they were proposing to him.

"Nothing has changed in this place. If anything it should go down. After all the damages I caused in here and my kid. So, but it's going up? They said, "Yeah you know the market, blah, blah, blah.'"

Shaw didn't believe that this was a valid excuse for as to why his rent should increase from month to month and questioned that logic as well.

So Shaw decided to look on the apartment complex's website and see what they were charging for their units. He quickly discovered a pricing scheme that seemed to prey on the fact that once people were moved in, management companies were banking on the fact that most people wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of moving from place to place.

"The market? OK. I do my research, I pull up the website. There's a unit next door available. Same layout, same floor plan, same style. There's no new renovations. $200 cheaper than what I'm paying currently. Not the new rent. That would've been $350 cheaper. What I have now it was $200 cheaper than that."

He said that the rent offer was for first-time leasers at the complex. "But what's the catch? It's for new tenants. New business. OK. So, I try to call them, try to figure this out. 'Hey bro, by the way, I'mma just can I just move in that one? Cause, I'mma just move in there, it's $200 cheaper.'"

He requested that he just move into the more affordable unit that is identical to the one he was currently living in to the building's leasing agent. "Same floor plan, same everything we good, right?"

However, an employee for the building wasn't amenable to Shaw's proposal.

"No you actually have to pay a $500 transfer fee just to move units. And then on top of that, you don't get that new price, that new rent. That's only for new tenants. Since you're an existing tenant, it would just be the same rent as your other place."

The TikToker grimaces in front of the camera in what appears to be an attempt at understanding the logic of the building complex's leasing agent. It appears that loyal customers who pay their rent on time are financially penalized for deciding to continue with that arrangement.

At this point in the video, Shaw seems baffled. "Make it make sense. So then I say, 'You know what, screw it, we gone. 60 days, here you go. We out.' I check the apartment website, what do you know? The unit that I'm moving out of is now $200 cheaper for a new tenant. You see how that works?"

He said that this situation has him convinced that renting spikes aren't caused by residents who decide to jump from abode to abode, but rather by leasing companies that decide to up-charge existing residents in these locations.

"It's not us, it's the apartment complexes, it's the scam that they have going on."

Furthermore, he said that there additional benefits to moving to different apartment complexes in some areas. Especially if they've been recently built. "But this is the best part. When you pull up a new complex. They will have newer renovations. And they'll give you two months free, just because you're a new tenant moving in."

Shaw added that more often than not, newer tenants will enjoy "rent [that is] cheaper than the last place you stayed at. So while moving costs and all of that sucks, for sure I hate doing that. In the long run, I have a cheaper place. A nicer place, and two months free."

"So, that is why I move around. It's not our fault at all. It's the apartment's fault, it's the apartment industry."

Numerous folks who responded to Shaw's video agreed with his sentiments, with at least one person stating that the next big national issue citizens should vote on is widespread rent control law.