WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A woman who rented a Winter Haven home for the past two years said she has to vacate by the end of February because her landlord raised the rent by $905.

"I understood if she had to go up a little higher, but to go all the way to $2,450 from $1,545," said Shaleen Johnson, 40. "That was just too much of a stretch. I couldn't do it."

Johnson said the rent hike came as she was just getting back on her feet. 

During the pandemic, Johnson said she, like many people, got behind on rent and applied for assistance from Our Florida. The landlord collected nearly $6,000 in federal COVID stimulus money. The funds were enough to cover late fees, one month of back rent, one month of current rent and one month in advance.

"If you knew I couldn't catch up on the rent because of COVID, why would you hit me with $2,450 and think that I can pay that?" asked Johnson. "That just doesn't make any sense." 

The single mom's on disability and cares for her 9-year-old son and grandchild along with her 20-year-old special needs daughter. Johnson said she managed to make ends meet with help from her adult daughter and child support from her ex-boyfriend.

"I've been here for two years making it just fine. Okay, I fell a little behind," she said. "We have COVID. A lot of stuff has been going on."

Johnson has not been able to find a new home to rent and worries her family will end up on the streets.

"I don't know what to do. I'm stressed out," she said. "That we're going to be homeless. That we're not going to be able to find a place to go."​

Orlando REO is the property management company that sent Johnson a rent renewal letter last month. 

"We're a property management company" said Joel Cutler, Orlando REO president and CEO. "We don't raise rates."​

Cutler said comparables on the home Johnson's renting came back higher than the new rate. 

"From a property management standpoint, it's easier to keep [the current] tenants," he said. "To be fair to both sides, it has been tough on everybody." 

Cutler pointed out that property owners faced rent moratoriums after the pandemic began two years ago, and out of the 450 homes his company manages, 35% were on rent moratoriums.

"We're not without compassion," he said. "The owners aren't either." 

As for Johnson, she believes it's all just a money grab.

"I know that you've still got to make your money, but I feel like this is just greed. A lot of greed," she said. "People that are barely making it, you're going to make them homeless. They're not going to have anywhere to go."

Last year, rent increased by 24% in the Tampa Bay area. It was the highest rent increase in the nation.