Cost increase

 The voters of the state of Florida voted to increase the minimum wage. The current wage is $8.56 per hour. On September 30, 2021, that will increase by 16 percent to $10 per hour. Each year, it will increase by an additional dollar per hour until the year 2026, when it will reach $15 an hour. 

My rental expenses are increasing. Last year, our property taxes increased by 28% and didn’t increase rent.  Now we are going to see increases in landscaping costs, repair costs, and likely utility increases. The cost of landscaping is sure to increase. There will be other increases, such as added costs for repair parts, supplies, and other things like utilities. I just don’t know how much our costs are going to rise. 

As a preemptive measure, we are increasing rents on our properties by 5 percent as each lease expires. Next year, we will likely increase by at least ten percent, more if taxes or other expenses rise more than expected. 

Our costs increase, we pass the increase on to the consumer. That’s how economics works.