What does a graduated lease's periodic rent increase typically relate to?

A graduated lease often includes provisions that specify periodic rent increases based on the cost-of-living index. This index reflects changes in the cost of goods and services over time, which means the rent can be adjusted in alignment with inflation or changes in living costs. This approach helps ensure that the rental payments remain proportional to economic conditions, providing both landlords and tenants a fair framework for understanding future rental obligations. By linking increases to the cost-of-living index, the lease aims to protect the tenant from potential excessive increases while allowing landlords to maintain rental income that keeps pace with the economy.

The other options, while related to rental agreements, do not accurately capture the primary mechanism for adjustments in a graduated lease. Market fluctuations can affect rents but are not typically the basis for scheduled increases in this context. Real estate valuations influence property prices but do not correspond directly with periodic rent adjustments in a graduated lease structure. Fixed percentages, while sometimes used for rent increases, do not reflect the variable nature of cost-of-living changes and can result in increases that are either too high or too low relative to the actual economic conditions.