2
Ok. Let’s see if the increase amount is legal or not.
If rent is raised twice within a year, the rate of the second increase will be calculated from the original base rent from the start of that year, not the recently increased rate.
Rent cannot be increased more than 5% + your CPI (Consumer Price Index) or 10%, whichever of these is lower. The annual CPI rate for Oakland, through June 30, 2023, is 3%. This means that rent cannot be increased more than 8%.
If the increase is Illegal:
You can write a letter to the landlord to inform them that the rent increase attempt is illegal. You have the right to continue paying your current rent (before this new increase). There’s always a chance that your landlord will try and continue to pursue that invalid rent increase. So if you do receive a 3-day notice based on the increased amount, be ready to pay the increased amount. You can petition to get that money back through the Rent Adjustment Program.
If the Landlord insists that you pay the rent increase, and you believe it is illegal you can complete a Rent Adjustment Program petition within 60 days of receiving the rent increase notice.
If the rent increase is illegal and you have repairs issues, this is the perfect time to cite those repair issues. A good way to enforce your rights is to ask for repairs.
If you want to enforce these rights, you have the right to write a letter about the invalid eviction notice that includes a list of repair issues that need to be fixed and a desired timeline of when you would like those repairs completed by.
If the increase is legal:
You can try to negotiate with the landlord for a lower rent amount. Note that the landlord can deny that request.
