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month to month lease - how much can the landlord raise rent to remove roommate

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Kozakistan

Junior Member
I live in Los Angeles...in Hollywood, so I assume I'm rent controlled. I need to take my old roommate off the lease, which is month to month, but my landlord wants to raise the rent over $200. It seems unfair if I'm to assume full liability for the place to also receive a rent increase. I have a new roommate, does that change anything? I don't to put him on the lease.

[email protected]What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Los AngelesWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


nusias9

Member
If that is the case you need to contact the rent control office.
My NYC unit is under rent control. I can only raise the rent once (1) in a 12mth period. Regardless of how many leases may get signed during that period there is only 1 increase.. In addition, rent control tells landlord what the increase will be. If an increase is missed the landlord has to wait until the next year.
Lastly, if the unit is rent controlled they have to tell you at the signing of the lease. But it's not unlikely the landlord is trying to cheat the system.

Here is a tip. I know in NYC if you find out a unit is governed by rent control and the landlord has not informed you you can do the following.

1) notify rent control and find out what the base rent is.
2) demand money back that exceeds base rent. (The base rent will be determined on the last documented compliance that the landlord submitted)

In most cases, rent control will handle this for you. Although, NYC may be different from LA.
 
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/when-rent.shtml

RENT CONTROL

Some California cities have rent control ordinances, that limit or prohibit rent increases. Some of these ordinances specify procedures that a landlord must follow before increasing a tenant's rent, or that make evicting a tenant more difficult for a landlord. Each community's ordinance is different.

For example, some ordinances allow landlords to evict tenants only for "just cause." Under these ordinances, the landlord must stat and prove a valid reason for terminating a month-to-month tenancy. Other cities don't have this requirement.

Some cities have boards that have the power to approve or deny increases in rent. Other cities' ordinances allow a certain percentage increase in rent each year. Because of recent changes in state law, all rent control cities now have "vacancy decontrol." This means that the landlord can re-rent a unit at the market rate when the tenant moves out voluntarily or when the landlord terminates the tenancy for nonpayment of rent.

Some ordinances make it more difficult for owners to convert rentals into condominiums.

Some kinds of property cannot be subject to local rent control. For example, property that was issued a certificate of occupancy after February 1995 is exempt from rent control. Beginning January 1, 1999, tenancies in single family homes and condos are exempt from rent control if the tenancy began after January 1, 1996.90

A rent control ordinance may change the landlord-tenant relationship in other important ways besides those described here. Find out if you live in a city with rent control. (See the list of cities with rent control in Appendix 2.) Contact your local housing officials or rent control board for information. You can find out about the rent control ordinance in your area (if there is one) at your local law library,91 or by requesting a copy of your local ordinance from the city or county clerk's office. Some cities post information about their rent control ordinances on their Web site (for example, information about Los Angeles' rent control ordinance is available at www.lacity.org/lahd/).
 

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