Knoxville renters face impossible choice as rent rises. 'It feels like survival, not living'
As Landon Way sat in the Steeplechase Apartments leasing office two years ago, it felt like his world was crumbling around him. His rent was jumping from $850 a month to about $1,300 a month. He was essentially being forced to move.
Not wanting to pay that much for an approximately 570-square-foot “hole in the wall” North Knoxville apartment, he asked to break his lease to find a better spot. But through some technicalities in his lease, he had to go to a month-to-month lease, adding an extra $500 a month to his rent.
Way said he emptied his savings while paying about $1,800 a month for two months, scrambling to pack and find a place to live.
When Way, a tenant for two years at the time, asked why his rent was increasing so much, the property manager told him it was to keep up with the market rates. No maintenance or upgrades were coming to the apartments.
“That was actually a really panicked part of my life," said Way, now 35 and working as a bartender. "I was on a two-month notice to find a new place to live, and I had no intention of moving. I had nothing packed. I was not ready for this."
He landed on his feet in a $1,500 a month apartment at the Goldelm at 414 Flats complex in West Knoxville, but said it’s worth it since he likes that part of town and his apartment is twice the size. It’s expensive, but Way said he realizes it’s about the going rate and considers himself lucky for finding it.
These rent increases are all too common for renters in the city with the third or fifth (depending on the data source) fastest-growing rent prices in the U.S.
In the second quarter of this year (April through June) East Tennessee Realtors reports Knoxville-area rent went up 9.6% from the same time in 2022, which equates to about $160 a month, bringing Knoxville's average rent to $1,439 across all size units.
In the same time, rent nationally went up 2.3%.
Many apartment complexes are drastically and unexpectedly raising rents, forcing residents to make tough decisions about what's next.
Knoxville renters forced to leave longtime homes
James Weimer, 31, and Julie Mullins, 31, have been together for 10 years and married for four. They live with two dogs and two cats in an 850-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment in the Rand at Tillery, formerly known as Tanglewood Apartments, where their monthly rent has gone up from $595 in 2019 to $765 through next July.
Rand bought the apartment complex this summer, and raised rent for two-bedroom apartments to $1,295 a month, which is unaffordable for the couple. However, because of a contract with the previous owner they are locked in at $765 for the next year.
Other tenants in the complex didn't get that luxury and are facing hundreds of dollars of increases. The couple feel lucky to have some stability for the next year, but said that also comes with guilt, knowing their neighbors can't say the same.
They won't be able to afford that rate jump when it comes, so the clock is ticking for Weimer and Mullins to find a new place to live, but neither of them knows what that looks like.
Many apartments are either too expensive for them, or they would be forced to move in with roommates, which isn't an ideal dynamic for a married couple.
Life has become brainstorming ways to make more money or find a place they can afford, even if that's farther away from the city.
"It feels like survival, not living," Mullins said.
“(You) bounce back and forth," she said, "feeling helpless and getting a second, third, fourth, fifth wind to try to make that next bill.”
It's common to read on Reddit and online comments about renters feeling forced to leave the city or state altogether. But that doesn't mean it's what they want to do.
Laura Porch, 30, is living at Johnson University in Kimberlin Heights, and her housing is covered by the school. But once she graduates in May with her teaching degree, she’s worried about affording rent in Knox County, and even in the state of Tennessee.
She's looked to cities outside the state like Birmingham, Alabama, and Branson, Missouri.
It's a painful thought. Her family lives in Knoxville, and she and her dad are close. They've never lived more than an hour apart.
"I don't want to leave. At the same time, I may not have a choice," Porch said. "So it's not super fun to think about."
Lucas German, 34, paid $900 a month for an apartment at the Views at West Town in 2019, and is now paying $1,325.
It's forced him to dig into his savings. He's hoping to get a raise at his job and has put off needed medical procedures and appointments since he doesn't have health insurance.
Rent has become so unaffordable, he's considered moving back to Ohio where he lived before. There, he says buying a house and would cost less than renting in Knoxville.
"Buying house has been on my radar for a long time. But in my experience, it's just impossible to get ahead of the curve in this area," German said. "I'm making more money now than I've ever made and my actual standard of living is exactly the same, if not maybe even a little lower than when I first moved here."
People leaving due to rising rents could be bad for Knox County, which is desperately trying to attract and retain young professionals.
From 2010 to 2020, the area saw its 25-54 population increase by 3.3%, according to a Knoxville Chamber analysis of data from website Demographics Now. Knoxville was significantly outpaced in that area by Asheville, Chattanooga, Durham-Chapel Hill and others.
Facing uncertainty as rent in Knoxville increases
Kay Surrette, 37, knows her rent is going to increase. But she doesn't know by how much or what she will do once it does.
She's heard rent for her $1,145 three-bedroom apartment in the Rand at Tillery complex will jump when her lease is up. Right now, those units are listed at $1,650 a month on Rand's website.
Even with a second job and her partner having a "good paying job" that would be unaffordable for the couple, Surrette's three children and their dog Loki.
Surrette said they moved into the complex for a couple years to save up for a house, but rent is forcing them to move out and "throw a hail Mary" in hopes of finding an affordable place.
"I have three really amazing kids," Surrette said. "I just want to give them as much stability as I can. And this feels like the rug is being yanked out from under me and them."
Her lease is up in February 2024, but Surrette won't find out how much rent is going up until November. It's painful to think about making a moving decision around Christmas.
For the next couple of months, Surrette will be playing the waiting game, uncertain of what to do.
Uncertainty is a common thread among Knoxville renters. All the renters interviewed for this story floated ideas like moving to a new place or getting roommates.
When describing their future, three common words popped up:
"I don't know."
What is being done to get Knoxville more housing?
As rent continues to rise and more Knoxville renters face eviction, Knoxville is scrambling to solve its housing crisis.
Last year, there were 1,361 eviction filings in Knox County, down from 1,402 in 2021, according to data from the Knox Eviction Hub, a joint data set from the city and county.
However, filings jumped from 82 filings in December 2022 to 281 in January 2023.
A survey by the East Tennessee Realtors showed 66% of participants said affordable housing should be the local government's top priority.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon is set to propose a set of zoning solutions to make it easier to build multifamily housing in the city, including one that allows the construction of multiple units in a single building that occupies the same footprint as a single-family home, also known as "missing middle housing." Think townhomes and multiplexes.
R. Bentley Marlow, a developer who is running for the city council’s at-large seat B, proposed several similar zoning changes to the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission on Aug. 10, but saw them shot down. He is appealing the decisions to the Knoxville city council at its Sept. 5 meeting.
A record 3,214 apartments were under construction in the Knoxville area in the second quarter of 2023, according to the East Tennessee Realtors, so more housing is coming.
Rent control has been floated as a potential way to curb sharp price increases by the public. However, rent control is prohibited in Tennessee under state law, which would be incredibly difficult to overturn.
To combat homelessness, the city of Knoxville and Knox County are joining forces to create the Knoxville-Knox County Office of Housing Stability.
Regardless of what solutions come, people like Mullins and Weimer hope something gets done fast.
"We were talking about, 'how do you cope?'" Weimer said. "I'm constantly stressed."
"Homelessness has always been a big fear of mine," Mullins said. "And anytime I come home and shut my door, I just think about (how) I am grateful for a space, and it's just scary how easy it is to lose it."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Julie Mullins. The report also has been updated to clarify that total amounts Landon Way paid in base rent and required fees.
Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Knoxville rent increases affect apartment renters
