The comparison
Two numbers, one on each side.
The increase, annualized. Renewal rent minus current rent, times twelve.
The move, totalled. Everything it costs to get from here to there.
If the second is larger than the first, renewing wins on a one-year horizon, and renew or move will say so.
What a move actually costs
| Line | Notes |
|---|---|
| Application fees | $50–$75 per adult, non-refundable |
| Administrative fee | Varies by property, charged at signing |
| Security deposit | Partly offset by your returned deposit, but not immediately |
| Movers | Varies by distance and volume |
| Utility connection and transfer | Deposits and connection charges |
| Lease overlap or downtime | Days of double rent, or days without a home |
| Time | Touring, applying, packing, unpacking |
Add the recurring difference too: the new building’s fee stack against your current one. A lower rent with a heavier stack is not a saving.
Worked: renewing wins
Current rent $1,450, renewal offer $1,495. Increase: $45 a month, $540 a year.
Move costs: $150 in application fees, $200 administrative, $900 movers, $150 utility setup, three days of overlap at $50 a day. Total: $1,550.
The move costs nearly three times the annual increase, and that is before any difference in fee stack. Renew.
Worked: moving wins
Current rent $1,450, renewal offer $1,690 — the situation facing a rent increase in Dallas covers in full. Increase: $240 a month, $2,880 a year.
A comparable building two blocks away is quoting $1,475 with six weeks free — about $1,305 effective — and a fee stack $20 lighter.
Annual saving against the renewal: roughly $4,860. Move costs of $1,550 are recovered in about four months. Move.
The days we earn nothing
When the first case is yours, we say renew. The calculation that points away from our own revenue is the one that makes every other calculation on this site believable.
The variables that shift it
Fee stack difference. Sometimes larger than the rent difference. Compare true monthly cost, not rent.
Concession at the new building. A deep concession makes year one cheap and year two a reset. Price both years — see the year-two reset.
Your notice deadline. Most Dallas leases require written notice, commonly 60 days. Miss it and you can roll to a month-to-month holdover rate above both options.
Non-financial reasons. A shorter commute, more space, a different floorplan. Those are legitimate. We run the number so you know what the preference costs, then it is your call.
What to send
Current rent, renewal offer, term offered, notice deadline, your building or neighborhood, and whether you took a concession in year one.
Back comes both sides on effective rent, the itemized move cost, and a recommendation. That is what renew or move does, and it is free either way.