What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.
Hello everyone. First off, thank you ahead of time for any help/advice I might get, I appreciate it.
I've rented a unit in California for several years. I rent it month-to-month (no lease) and I never had any issues or problems with the original landlord. In November of this year, the property was sold to a new owner. I received a 60-day notice of tenancy termination; my date to be out by is December 30th. No problem there, I was expecting this to happen eventually as the property had been up for sale for a while.
Here's the problem: The notice of tenancy termination did not say anything about a rent increase. I never received any kind of rent increase notification, written or otherwise, from anybody. December (this month) was the first month I was to pay the rent directly to the new owner. When I went to pay him, he told me I would have to pay him an outrageous 60% increase of my current rent in order to stay through December. Well, I wasn't prepared to defend myself with references to the civil code but I thought that he could not raise rent without a written notice so I refused. He kept trying to badger/haggle/negotiate with me for a rent increase and threatened me with eviction. I told him I would pay him the price listed on my contract and that's it. He told me it was his right as a new owner to raise the rent however much he wanted and told me he was "doing me a favor" by accepting only the amount listed on my contract and not the outrageous 60% more he demanded. I can't find anything online that states that a new landlord in California is exempt from the 60-day notice rule (I say 60 days, because the increase would be more than 10%), am I wrong??
Today he tells me (verbally, no written notice again) that he plans to divide my unit into two separate ones when I leave. He told me he has money problems and needs to commence the remodeling process ASAP. He told me that I had a week to vacate half of my unit so that he could bring in contractors to tear down a wall and block off a doorway as well as do some general remodeling. This would be more than 2 weeks before my tenancy termination notice says I have to leave and he says he can do it because I "owe" him for not paying him the rent increase he demanded, even though he never provided me with any kind of written notice for it. I told him this was unacceptable but he claims its within his right.
I need help! Who is in the right here? Can a new landlord just raise the rent like that without notice when he comes in? I thought my tenancy termination notice made it clear that my contract was to be honored until Dec. 30th and I had to be given written notice of any rent increase. And what can I do to defend myself re: the contractors/remodeling. What do I do if I come home from work next week and find a team of workers tearing down walls in my bedroom? This guy has already entered my premises once without written notice (and it wasn't an emergency); if the contractors come in without written notice/permission can I just call the cops? This new landlord is very "shady" ... he threatened to go into my neighbor's unit and trash all of her belongings while she was at work if she did not agree to a similar rent hike he sprung on her. She doesn't speak much English and was intimidated and left, although reading this forum I have to come to learn it would've probably been illegal for him to trash anyone's stuff without going to court first.
Anyway, I apologize for this being so long but I'm at my wits end and need help! Thanks!
Hello everyone. First off, thank you ahead of time for any help/advice I might get, I appreciate it.
I've rented a unit in California for several years. I rent it month-to-month (no lease) and I never had any issues or problems with the original landlord. In November of this year, the property was sold to a new owner. I received a 60-day notice of tenancy termination; my date to be out by is December 30th. No problem there, I was expecting this to happen eventually as the property had been up for sale for a while.
Here's the problem: The notice of tenancy termination did not say anything about a rent increase. I never received any kind of rent increase notification, written or otherwise, from anybody. December (this month) was the first month I was to pay the rent directly to the new owner. When I went to pay him, he told me I would have to pay him an outrageous 60% increase of my current rent in order to stay through December. Well, I wasn't prepared to defend myself with references to the civil code but I thought that he could not raise rent without a written notice so I refused. He kept trying to badger/haggle/negotiate with me for a rent increase and threatened me with eviction. I told him I would pay him the price listed on my contract and that's it. He told me it was his right as a new owner to raise the rent however much he wanted and told me he was "doing me a favor" by accepting only the amount listed on my contract and not the outrageous 60% more he demanded. I can't find anything online that states that a new landlord in California is exempt from the 60-day notice rule (I say 60 days, because the increase would be more than 10%), am I wrong??
Today he tells me (verbally, no written notice again) that he plans to divide my unit into two separate ones when I leave. He told me he has money problems and needs to commence the remodeling process ASAP. He told me that I had a week to vacate half of my unit so that he could bring in contractors to tear down a wall and block off a doorway as well as do some general remodeling. This would be more than 2 weeks before my tenancy termination notice says I have to leave and he says he can do it because I "owe" him for not paying him the rent increase he demanded, even though he never provided me with any kind of written notice for it. I told him this was unacceptable but he claims its within his right.
I need help! Who is in the right here? Can a new landlord just raise the rent like that without notice when he comes in? I thought my tenancy termination notice made it clear that my contract was to be honored until Dec. 30th and I had to be given written notice of any rent increase. And what can I do to defend myself re: the contractors/remodeling. What do I do if I come home from work next week and find a team of workers tearing down walls in my bedroom? This guy has already entered my premises once without written notice (and it wasn't an emergency); if the contractors come in without written notice/permission can I just call the cops? This new landlord is very "shady" ... he threatened to go into my neighbor's unit and trash all of her belongings while she was at work if she did not agree to a similar rent hike he sprung on her. She doesn't speak much English and was intimidated and left, although reading this forum I have to come to learn it would've probably been illegal for him to trash anyone's stuff without going to court first.
Anyway, I apologize for this being so long but I'm at my wits end and need help! Thanks!
Last edited: