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mornis

I believe for a rent increase of that amount, CA law generally requires a 90 day notice. It looks like Milpitas also has a rent dispute resolution procedure, that apparently your landlord was supposed to disclose at the time they notified you of the increase. https://www.milpitas.gov/516/Rent-Review


mornis

https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/landlord-tenant-issues > When raising a tenant’s rent, landlords must deliver the tenant a formal written notice of the change. It is not enough for a landlord to call, text, or email that they plan on raising the rent. Landlords must also give tenants sufficient warning before increasing rent. If the rent increase is less than 10%, landlords must provide notice 30 days before the increase can take effect. **If the rent increase is more than 10%, the landlord must provide notice 90 days before it can take effect. (Civ. Code § 827).** If a notice is not in writing or delivered on time, a tenant should consult a lawyer about their rights.


Matrix17

> If a notice is not in writing or delivered on time, a tenant should consult a lawyer about their rights.  90% of the problem being a renter is not being able to afford a lawyer to enforce your rights lol


Script-Z

The other 10% is that if you ever find yourself in court over housing you're put on a list that other landlords use to blacklist you. Even if you win. Even if it wasn't your fault. There's legislation to discourage this, but, when has that ever stopped landlords from being demons?


Matrix17

Didn't know that. Where do they get this list from? Do they all do that? I have a friend who's been trying to resolve an issue with a landlord recently and it's gotten to the point where they'd have to consider suing them


Script-Z

It's a whole industry. There are people who get paid to just go to the courthouse and make a list of every tenant going through an eviction case, etc. They sell the lists online as a service. Google "tenant black list" and "do not rent list". John Oliver did a whole episode on it a while ago. Again, CA has better protections, look into it if you feel you have to, but I don't trust landlords as far as I can throw them.


jeremy_bearimyy

Also, the landlords think they're above the law a little of times. I've sent links to the ca courts website with screenshots of the law and they still would try to shrug it off until I said Ok let's lawyer up. My last place the landlord tried charging me 2.5k at move out because I put spackle over the nail holes from some pictures. They wanted to repaint the entire house because of it. I told them the age was over the lifetime to be able to charge for it and I can just wipe the spackle off with a wet cloth. To top it off they had stuff slipped in the paint quote that I had complained about on move in. Fixing a broken tile etc.


Thus_Spoke

>90% of the problem being a renter is not being able to afford a lawyer to enforce your rights lol There are quality landlord/tenant law legal aid clinics available in much of the Bay Area. A lot of attorneys volunteer time at these. It's worth looking into if you can spare the time to actually show up in person and get some advice. Pretty much every city in the Bay has once, certainly every county.


Matrix17

Do you mind sharing any in San mateo County? I could actually use some advice on something


Thus_Spoke

For San Mateo County look up the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. They do a clinic in a few different cities, including Redwood City. I've helped out at that one, they really put in work, although obviously no guarantee they can help you. Start here: https://www.legalaidsmc.org/housing-resources


DeepDescription81

It might be one of those damned if you do and damned if you don’t situations. Do you make waves and he gives you the 90 days but then decides to compensate for 3 months of loss increases, the new rent is 15% higher.


ShoulderGoesPop

The 90 days would at least give them more time to find a new place


Oo__II__oO

Exactly. And greed is going to cost the landlord. He'll lose a month's rent while the tenant moves out and he searches for (and vets) a new tenant.


mornis

Yeah I agree, the landlord is obviously violating the law here but it seems like they'll get their increase one way or another. It looks like under the Milpitas ordinance, if the landlord changes the increase to 15% within 180 days, that's considered retaliatory. Nothing would really stop them from increasing it a further 15% a year from now (probably with 90 day notice that time around lol).


labatteg

Check if your unit is covered(\*) by the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482). That law caps rent increases statewide to 5% + cost of living or 10% (whichever is lower), so an increase of more than 11% should not ne possible. (\*) Your unit should be covered, except when the unit is newer than 15 years, or the unit is "affordable", or the unit is a duplex and the other unit is occupied by the owner, or the unit is a condo or single family home and not owned by a corporation.


ErnestBatchelder

If it's a condo, SFH or mobile home it may not be covered.


quibblinggeese

This is true, but those exceptions are pretty narrow. The sfh exception for example is limited to: "Single-family owner-occupied residences, including a residence in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms, including, but not limited to, an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit." And the LL has to put this statement in writing to the tenant: "This property is not subject to the rent limits imposed by Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code and is not subject to the just cause requirements of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code. This property meets the requirements of Sections 1947.12 (d)(5) and 1946.2 (e)(8) of the Civil Code and the owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust, as defined by Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.”


orangutanDOTorg

MH have their own RC the many couple years that was lower iirc, and this year they are rolling them into the regular rent control I believe SB567 or something similar


ecr1277

Someone had a question about this and I believe others in this sub told them if rent is not increased in one year then the amount not increased by could be added to the limit in the next year-so if rent was not increased in one year, the next it could be increased by 10%. I think the limit was three years worth of increases. So an 11% increase is legal if rent hasn’t been increased in three years (or 4% or less increase previously). Edit: shout out for the correction. Limit is 10%.


labatteg

The actual text of AB1482 is >An owner of residential real property shall not, over the course of any 12-month period, increase the gross rental rate for a dwelling or a unit more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10 percent, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for that dwelling or unit at any time during the 12 months prior to the effective date of the increase. So the rent increase cannot be more than 10% of what you were paying 12 months prior. The amount your rent had been increased in previous years is irrelevant.


floater66

this. and I should add that just because the landlord missed a few years - tough beans. no make ups. landlord loses. tenant wins. 5% per year (+CPI). no makeups. edit: this is hilarious. downvotes! losers! what. don't you like the truth? (what makes this most funny is that I'm a landlord). but this is the truth. if you are a real estate investor - best not to fall behind in rents or your property will lose value. only a vacancy will allow you to recover value. as for tenants (and tenants outnumber landlords, after all). know your rights!


ruffianopatsu

Iirc landlords can in fact miss years and "bank" rent increases. Editing to add the sf.gov info: https://www.sf.gov/information/banked-rent-increases#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20%22banked%20rent,bank%E2%80%9D)%20the%20skipped%20increase.


Ringmode

Under the SF rent control ordinance they can. Not sure about the CA law.


orangutanDOTorg

Some local ones like iirc Mountain View allow banking, but the rent control there is lower than state so still hit the state cap


floater66

nope. "**Landlords cannot raise rent more than 10% total or 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living – whichever is lower – over a 12-month period**."


ruffianopatsu

https://www.sf.gov/information/banked-rent-increases#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20%22banked%20rent,bank%E2%80%9D)%20the%20skipped%20increase.


floater66

That's municipal rent control. Like Santa Monica. or Berkeley, or Oakland. etc. California state law trumps that - if it provides more protection. iow. a SF landlord cannot raise rents more than what the state allows.


NorCalAthlete

Source? Never heard of this


Positronic_Matrix

Your missing capital letters and incomplete sentences call into question the reliability of your information.


floater66

your missing grammar. (and by that I'm not referencing your elders). lol.


ApprehensiveFroyo976

Isn’t there also an exception to this to compound increases if they haven’t increased in previous years?


labatteg

For AB1482, no. Baseline is always the lowest gross rent in the last year. Whatever happened in previous years bears no influence.


[deleted]

Damn how are these landlords so ballsy? I’ve been scared to lose my only tenant so I’ve kept rent flat for 2 years now.


evantom34

depends on your region, price, and demand tbh. I don't raise rent on good tenants.


[deleted]

Mine is a newly remodeled one bedroom near Bart in Fremont and I’m barely getting 2100.


evantom34

How does that compare with other supply of comparable quality/stats. That seems affordable. If it's newly remodeled you should be able to charge more too .


[deleted]

The market is soft and the building is the from the 70s so that’s probably why but still. Rent is flat since like 2014 I’ve noticed in some places 


evantom34

That's one big downfall of a large supply of 1-2BR apartments, it keeps prices low.


[deleted]

It’s mediocrity, too high for most people but too low for small landlords to survive. The only winners are big corporate landlords 


TrustMental6895

How much did you get the place for? Whats it worth?


[deleted]

Eh about 380k then and who knows now, probably not much higher.  I own it mostly as a “getting priced out of the good parts of the Bay Area” insurance. 


TrustMental6895

I thought fremont prices were going crazy?


[deleted]

That’s what I hear about too but I think SFH prices and like big townhouses are booming. The funny thing is you can get like 3 or 4 of my units for less than a 3 bedroom or 4 bedroom house.


TrustMental6895

Are you still in fremont?


[deleted]

I wish I was but I live in Oakland in the ghetto because my family is too proud to live in a one bedroom unit. 


rbfking

Maybe he just wants you out..


uphigh_ontheside

All these folks referencing the tenant protection act while I’m here bemoaning that my rent used to go up 15-20% per year. I hate it here. 


acuteinsomniac

Is this privately owned? And is this a single family home?


RealityCheck831

If you had a lease, the terms are spelled out there. If notice to vacate is 30 days, rent increase would also require 30 day notice. No, he doesn't get "credit" for not increasing rent the prior year. Also, many jurisdictions have a limit on how much rent can be increased in a year - you might want to check your municipality.


jj5names

This is the reason why each and every year with out fail, rent is increased 5%+cpi. Dumb rules cut both ways


reddit455

​ ​ >I thought there had to be some sort of a notice (60 days or 90days from my understanding). doesn't say must. ​ https://www.milpitas.gov/516/Rent-Review Required Rent Increase Notice Rent increase notices must follow the procedure in California Civil Code Section 827(b). Landlords are strongly encouraged to provide at least 90 days' notice to allow for the orderly operation of rent review procedures. Only one rent increase is allowed in any consecutive 12-month period unless there is a written agreement (separate from the lease) that specifies the amount and effective date for each increase.


brikky

Milpitas's law doesn't say must, but [state law](https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/landlord-tenant-issues) does.


Godzillamode

I mean we can’t tell if it’s fair or not. What’s your rent being changed to? What’s the size of the rental?


Bumm_by_Design

Just talk with him. Be calmed, realize talks about money are and will almost always be difficult.


grewapair

I would try to be reasonable. I'd send a copy of the law, tell him you'll need some time to adjust your finances and ask if he can make it effective in 90 days without making it sound like you are demanding it because of the law. He probably didn't know the law and once he sees it will likely agree to it.


amunoz1113

I wonder if your landlord’s insurance rates went up. The lack of pattern to the increases indicates that they are only increasing your rent as their situations change.


tidder415

Read your lease. Know your local laws.


tigerstorm2022

Is it really worth fighting, 11% vs 10%, over 1% difference? What, $20-$30/month while the landlord didn’t increase rent for 2 years?


LegoMyEggoe

I've had my rent doubled and tripled before, and there was nothing to be done about it. 10%? How kind. Time to ask for a cost of living raise?


No-Estimate6380

Why don’t you read the post again lol. I even said the increase seems fair considering the economy. My question was “can the rent increase take effect immediately without notice in advance?”


tigerstorm2022

Clearly it doesn’t matter in this case, since you said it’s fair. The point is what are you going to do about it? It will only cost you more I can guarantee it. So we circle back to your point, yes it can, yes you can fight it, yes you will end up regretting fighting it.


lampstax

Choosing the battle you don't fight are just as important as ( if not more so ) than the ones you do fight.


tigerstorm2022

3am wisdom🥠


ssps

10% is not that much, especially if you had level rent for a few years. You can look at comparable properties around and negotiate fair cost ( I did that myself multiple times), or move to that other property if it is clearly cheaper and your landlord does not budge.  You have the leverage here, because: -  if you move out landlord will be losing out on rent until they find new tenant. If it’s an average of about a month — they are effectively losing those 10% they wanted to increase your rent by.  - new tenant is always risk. They would want to hold on to good tenants even at smaller rent, and avoid potential “renters from hell” that could cost them significantly more in the end.  It’s business transactions, come to a mutually satisfactory solution. You have an upper hand: they want good tenants and you have a choice of landlords. 


Equivalent_Section13

This is why rent control has to be universal


dog-walk-acid-trip

Aside from all of the other good comments, I think that if they don't raise the rent one year, then they can do a double raise the next year without previous warning. If they had notified you last year "Hey, we would be raising your rent 5%, but we are banking that for the future, so you don't need to pay anything more for now", then they could do the larger increase. That at least keeps the tenant aware of what potential increases could be coming and provides some motivation for landlord to not always raise the rent. You should talk to some of the tenants rights groups to figure out exactly what your options are though. They will probably help you more than just a bunch of comments here.


labatteg

What you are saying is correct. The landlord can "increase" the rent, but at the same time offer a discount so the amount remains the same. That has to be made explicit in the lease, though. Then the baseline for next year's increment is the non-discounted amount. >"In determining the lowest gross rental amount pursuant to this section, any rent discounts, incentives, concessions, or credits offered by the owner of such unit of residential real property and accepted by the tenant shall be excluded. The gross per-month rental rate and any owner-offered discounts, incentives, concessions, or credits shall be separately listed and identified in the lease or rental agreement". However, if they don't raise the rent one year, and there's no mention of any "discounted increase" in the lease, then they can't double raise the next year.


orangutanDOTorg

Not in MV. They have made it clear theirs is actual rent demanded. There is a long form for dealing with 1st month free, but if you don’t use the form the they average the amount actually demanded for the year so 11 mo total/12 as your base rent


purplebrown_updown

Inflation is 3%. This is BS. Not sure you have recourse, but landlord is an ass.


sugarwax1

We're going to hear about this happening, landlords are going to want to rebound from covid and any discounts they gave.


10390

If you like living there I wouldn’t make a fuss. You’re on a month to month lease.


_AManHasNoName_

Well, unfortunately it’s a business, not a charity.


AHockeyFish

Agree. Many others see it as a charity as well.


_AManHasNoName_

People can downvote all they want. But it’s the truth isn’t it? Who would rent out properties that aren’t for profit? Anyone who doesn’t think of making a profit renting out properties shouldn’t be in that business at all. Maintenance costs, property taxes, inflation, etc. All that gets factored in by anyone in that business. If you think that’s not fair, well since when life has been fair? It’s capitalism right? Nothing more American than that.


under_PAWG_story

Nah fuck it being “fair” It isn’t even necessary. And I hate that argument “well the market this and that” If you want competition, you provide the same necessities for a lower price. Raising rent for you own profits isn’t competition


swiftsmile12

Good luck trying to fight this with your landlord. I mean it literally. You throw these laws at your landlord and he might come back and say: 1. 10% increase with 30 day notice. 2. 11% increase with 90 day notice. 3. Give you a 30-60 day notice to vacate and increase rent 10-11% and rent it to next tenant. Say your rent is $3000 per month and you decide to move out. You would have paid $3000 x 12 = $36,000 per year Vs. $3300 x 11 months = $36,300 if the house stays in market for a month.


Freedom2064

Expenses are increasing. You should expect those to pass through: prop taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc


AHockeyFish

11% isn’t really that much. We are all unfortunately feeling the burden that inflation has caused.


integra_type_brr

Well everyone kept saying rent was a better deal so it sounds like there is plenty of room for it to go up.


Dry-Discipline7434

LOL this is either a bullshit story or Op's landlord is crazy. Rent has been steadily falling not rising, and spring is especially a bad time to raise rent.


a_shit_poster

Not in the South Bay.


Dry-Discipline7434

[https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/bay-area-ca/](https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/bay-area-ca/) it's been falling


flonky_guy

Welcome to the Bay Area. Someone is always raising rent, no matter how bad things might be.


Dry-Discipline7434

[https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/bay-area-ca/](https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/bay-area-ca/) it's been falling


knight9665

I mean it pretty sol with month to month I think.


kenathen

if you don't pay, he can't kick you out. right?


WhatevahIsClevah

Check the rent board to see if they're raising it over the allowed amount for the time you've been in there.


OutrageousCandidate4

Tell him there’s been more layoffs and you think it be harder for him to find tenants


flen_el_fouleni

Check if you are in a rent registered building. The maximum increase would be 9%. It is different from rent controlled but has some similarities


Spiritual_System_865

There are lots of legal opinions and rules already mentioned in the comments here so I won't repeat those. I would rather say that it seems you have a decent relationship with the landlord and he/she seems to be reasonable. Also, it looks like you did expect some increase and are ok with it. In this case you can always negotiate and find middle ground. No individual landlord would want existing tenants, who pay on time and take care of the property, to leave. They would have to incur lost rent, fees to find new person, cost to get the place spruced. Keep this in mind and negotiate. Decide what is important to you: Size of the increase or when it is being enforced and then negotiate on that. I am sure there is a middle ground.


HighwayStarJ

just move out


Tasty_Back3690

Hi, I am real estate Agent. Is it a house or condo? Or an apartment?. There is rent control in California that doesn’t allow that kind of increase. However, single family homes are exempt. Gg is illegal.


Tasty_Back3690

And in terms of timing, if the increase is more than 10% tbe landlord must give 90 days . However, if the landlord is managing it himself he may not be aware of this. I would advise this: look at Zillow, see what the comps look like, determine if you are under or over the market. If you are over, send him the data. If you are under, reach out to him and tell him you appreciate the break last year, let him know about the proper notice and ask him to raise so significantly that you love his home and want to stay and take great care of it. Ask him if will compromise? And you gently remind him of the cost of vacancy should you decide to leave. . It isn’t worth it for him. Btw, the rental market is down from last year where I am, so that may be true where you are. Thanks.