On the other side: I live in a country where you can only raise the rent by the rate of inflation, so not a whole lot. However, if you do renovations, you can

On the other side: I live in a country where you can only raise the rent by the rate of inflation, so not a whole lot. However, if you do renovations, you can raise the rent to whatever you want. So what happens is that home-owners re-paint the interior every 2-3 years, and set the rent to match the market. I have friends who have gotten the notice of renovations (you can break/complete a contract if it's for renovation), and then 3 months later gotten the option of renting the same space - but only with a 30%-50% markup. Only difference? Fresh coat of painting.