Times are financially tough for many people and although tenants are lucky not to have to contend with maintenance costs, they’ve got rising rent prices to deal with. It’s bad enough when a rent hike is reasonable, but when the landlord hikes the prices unreasonably, it can cause ructions.
Proper rental management
People rent for many good reasons, such as not having to worry about paying a mortgage and not worrying about maintenance. All you’re essentially responsible for is your rent. A lease is a legally binding contract and once it has been signed, there aren’t many reasons for a landlord to suddenly up the rent in an unrealistic way.
It goes without saying that if a new person moves into the apartment, the rent will be adjusted. APM or Affordable Property Management in California has been providing full-service property management for more than 30 years. They are one of the most trusted property management companies in California and offer accurate rental evaluations and reliable tenants.
They know that landlords expect tenants to pay rent on time and they make sure that both tenants and landlords comply with all the rental rules and procedures in California.
Keeping tenants informed on rental changes
Tenants don’t want any rental surprises. They expect things to happen legally and fairly and they expect to be notified of changes. It was at the beginning of 2020 that new laws with regards to rent increases and rent control went into effect in California.
Some rules changed completely with regards to the way landlords do business in California. New limitations were placed on rent increases and the way landlords can end a lease. In California, there are certain time periods that have to be given for rent increases.
Thirty days have to be given for month-to-month leases, 60 days for month-to-month or yearly leases and 90 days for all increases of more than 10%. You can see the necessity for landlords to keep up to date with rental changes and to keep tenants updated on the changes.
Rent control in California
Many of California’s renters spend half of their paychecks on rent. Do tenants have rights when landlords hike their rent and they’re already battling? How much is a typical rent increase to be expected from the landlord or property manager?
Some cities and states have adopted rent control laws. In 2019 California passed rent control laws. This limits the rent increases.
With rent control, a landlord or property manager can’t just raise the rent as they want. As it is, a tenant who has a lease can’t have their rent raised during the lease period.
Evict the tenant
A landlord can terminate the tenancy and evict the tenant for quite a few reasons and one of these is objecting to paying the new rental increase. However, the landlord or property manager can’t just willy nilly announce to the tenant to pack their bags. Before terminating the tenancy, the landlord has to give the unwilling tenant written notice.
The landlord or property manager will typically give the tenant a 3-day notice to pay rent. If the tenant still refuses to pay the rent, the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit with the court once the three days have gone by. In anger, the tenant might put a fist through a door or window and vandalize the property and then a three-day unconditional quit notice will be on its way.
The tenant isn’t allowed to fix the violation, and if the tenant refuses to move out, this is also the reason for the landlord to go to court and file an eviction lawsuit.