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Apartment lease renewal - is this rate increase normal?
If it is true that for the same price, you could get a better place (or that for a lower price you could get an equivalent place), you should do some soul-searching to decide what monetary value you would place on the hassle of moving to such an alternative.  You should then negotiate aggressively for a rent that is no more than the rent of the alternative place plus your hassle costs, and if the landlord does not meet your price, you should refuse to renew your lease, and instead move out to an alternative.  (Of course, you might also want to double-check your research to ensure you really can get such a good alternative, and that your new landlords won't try a similar bait-and-switch and force you to move again in a year.) Barring local ordinances such as rent control laws, I don't think it's worth it to worry about whether the increase is "normal".  If you can get a better deal somewhere else, then what your landlords are asking is too much.  If you have a good relationship with them on a personal level you may be able to tell them this in a nice way and thus get them to make a more reasonable offer.  Otherwise, the landlords will learn that their expectations are unreasonable when all their tenants move out to cheaper places.