I (24F) have been living in a lovely apartment since August, that I want to stay in next year. My girlfriend (25F) and I recently decided to move in together next year. She would like to move into my place.
My landlord has seen her around before and knows her by face, but I'm not sure if he knows we are together--lesbian couples are often erroneously read as "best friends," lol.
We live in a small Midwestern college town--it's more progressive here than the rest of the state, but still a more conservative area than I am used to (I'm from NYC). My landlord and his wife are in their mid sixties. I'm very friendly with them and they like me a lot. This is the only place they rent out, so they get to know their tenants, and are discerning about who they rent to.
My landlord has already texted me saying he'd be fine with me renewing the lease for the fall. The problem is, the lease stipulates that he is allowed to raise the rent if another person moves in with me. I've asked the prior tenant, a friend of mine, because her boyfriend moved in with her halfway through her living there. She said they raised the rent by like $15 when the boyfriend moved in, for the increased water. That would be fine with me. But the lease stipulates they can raise it by up to $200.
I'm worried that, if my landlord and his wife are homophobic, they will try to raise the rent an unreasonable amount to keep us from staying. On the other hand, I have no evidence that he is homophobic...I'm just nervous and want to keep the apartment.
How do I ask him if my girlfriend can move in with me? I can see three options:
- "My partner would like to move in with me next year."
- "My friend would like to move in with me next year" (and then let him assume what he wants, given that it's a one bedroom apartment and my "friend" and I would likely share a room). The main problem with this plan is that, if he sees her as my roommate instead of my partner, he might try and raise the rent more than he would for a couple.
- "You've met [girlfriend's name], right? She would like to move in with me next year." That way, I keep it ambiguous and don't "rub it in their face" (my mother's words). I don't like this option very much, because it feels dishonest and also just kinda shitty, but I'm open to it if it means I can stay in my apartment.
Any advice on phrasing, or wisdom from people who have been in a similar situation, would be really helpful! Thanks!
TLDR: lesbian couple, my girlfriend wants to move into my apartment next year, semi-conservative Midwestern town, worried landlord will raise my rent/be shitty.
Submitted April 02, 2019 at 01:08PM by staticstate311 https://ift.tt/2YOtvIW
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