My landlord wants to increase our rent at the end of our lease...

[xLukex]

So my landlord sent my roommate and I a letter today which says that he needs to know by January 16th whether or not we'll be staying through August 2007 (our lease is up August '06). Anyways, he is closing off the living room and turning it into a 3rd bedroom. Right now, for 2 bedrooms, it is $600 plus utilities. Now it is going to be $900 plus utilities.

Anyways, this seems like kind of a crappy deal since there is some stuff wrong with this place that should probably be taken care of before he makes a 3rd bedroom. EVERYTHING is outdated. We are good tenants. Neither of us drink, smoke, or have parties.

So, would my best play be to tell him to fix other stuff before we pay $900 or try and get the rent down? Which would seem more reasonable?

My read on him is that he is a sissy--not sure if he has a lot of $$ or not. This is only his second property.

I mean I kind of want to stay for the convenience factor. Not having to move again would be pretty cool, and this place isn't all that bad except for some of the stuff that needs fixed.

So what is my play? I don't really want to piss him off or anything.