Contrary to what you may think, when interest rates are rising, homeowners are not the only ones getting stung.

Many of the landlords are paying mortgages too – and when their payments increase because of higher interest rates, guess who will end up paying for this increase (at least partially). Tenants, that’s right.

So if you’ve been hit with a rent increase, what are you going to do?

A. Ring the estate agents and make a fuss.

B. Tap dance on your rent increase notice, then rip it into a million pieces, then burn it and then pay.

C. Get even – the smart way.

All those in favor of option C – here is your game plan.

1. Check whether the rent increase is legit.

First, check if your landlord / agent have done everything properly. By law they are supposed to send you the Notice of Rent Increase via registered post, and give you at least 8 weeks of notice. The notice must include the amount of rent increase and the date on which the increase will occur. If your last rent increase was less than 6 (in some states 12) months ago – they can’t send you a new one. If any of the above conditions wasn’t fulfilled – you don’t have to pay the increase.

2. Negotiate it down.

If you believe that the rent increase is too high, negotiate it down. It may sound unusual, but you can – and should – negotiate with the agent / landlord, and if you are a good tenant and they are happy to have you stay, you could end up paying lower rent. If a tenant is moving out, the landlord will incur advertising expenses to find a new one or even risk the property standing vacant for a period of time – which certainly was not their intention, when they sent you that rent increase.

3. Apply for rent increase investigation.

If your negotiation failed but the rent increase still looks excessive to you, you can apply for a rent increase investigation (at no cost to you). Your rent increase form will have the details of the right people to contact.

4. Get even and get your money back.

If all else fails, there is a way of getting your money back – even though you will end up paying the rent increase. You may not know that your landlord is responsible for a portion of your water, gas and electricity bills. Under Residential Tenancies Act, you are only responsible for the usage of electricity, gas and water – and your landlord is responsible for all the supply charges for gas, electricity, water and for the sewage charges. So gather your bills, look at them and find the Supply service charges, total them and contact your agent in writing (presenting all the bills as evidence) to ask for your money back.