A woman in Tampa just opened her two-bedroom lease renewal on camera, and the number she saw made her jaw hit the floor. Content creator Emlegs, @emlegssssss on Tiktok, shared a video detailing a staggering rent increase on her New York-area apartment. If she renews for another 12 months, her rent jumps by over $1,000. If she stays month-to-month, the price skyrockets to an eye-watering $11,438 per month.
Visibly stunned, she told viewers she “definitely cannot afford it,” calling the hike “almost like they pulled it right out of their a**.” The video, posted just days ago, has already racked up over 7.7 million views. It’s struck a nerve with renters across the country, sparking frustration and solidarity in the comments. Emlegs’ story reflects the ongoing U.S. rental affordability crisis, where housing costs are outpacing wages and leaving millions cost-burdened.
In the video, Emlegs walks viewers through the numbers. She lives in Channelside, Tampa, in a two-bedroom apartment. Her current lease is month-to-month, but renewing for another 12 months would mean a $1,000 increase. The alternative, month-to-month, is even more absurd. “11,438 USD,” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t even know how that number is calculated.”
Her experience isn’t an outlier
According to the New York Times, nearly half of all renter households in America – 22.7 million – were rent-burdened in 2024, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. That’s the highest number on record, up nearly 9 percentage points since 2001.
The problem is even worse in high-cost states like California and Florida, where more than half of renters are burdened. And it’s not just low-income households feeling the squeeze. Almost half of renters earning between $45,000 and $74,999 are now rent-burdened, double the share from 2001…