Rent increases

Alameda Family Faces $2000 Rent Increase

A family in the East Bay just learned their rent is about to go up by 133 percent: from $1,500 dollars a month to $3,500.

Surprisingly, the tenant says he’s willing to pay the $2,000 rent increase, he just wants the owner to spread out that increase over three years.

The owner is saying no.

The city of Alameda is siding with the tenant, but there’s not a whole lot the city can do.

It’s a modest three bedroom condo on Bay Farm Island in Alameda.

East Harlem Rezoning Did Not Consider Rent-Stabilized Tenants, Lawsuit Says

Two East Harlem residents filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the city’s recent rezoning of the neighborhood, claiming the move was preceded by analyses that failed to account for pressures facing them and other rent-stabilized tenants.

The suit claims the city did not consider rent-stabilized housing tenants when estimating how many East Harlem residents could be vulnerable to displacement after a rezoning, and what the city could do to protect them.

Housing Woes in Hayward Take Center Stage

Ramon Rios-Parada has lived in Hayward his whole life and can see that things are slowly changing.

When the time came for the 32-year-old social worker at La Familia Neighborhood Resource Center to look for his own place to rent, he heard stories from friends about rents in Hayward being high. What he found were studio and one-bedroom apartment rents looming around $1,200 a month and homeowners charging around $950 a month to rent individual rooms.

Wine Country Wildfire Survivors Victimized by Skyrocketing Rents, Evictions

Some survivors of the wine country wildfires are being evicted from their homes after sharp rent increases. Evictions in burn-affected areas are up – and up dramatically.

The wine country wildfires killed 24 and displaced thousands more.

But three months later, there is now a second wave of victims: losing their homes not to flames, but to evictions.

Local Renters Struggle Under the Weight of Rising Rent Prices

The cost of rent continues to rise in the Central Valley and many renters are struggling to cope with the ever-changing prices.
Many Modesto renters say if the rent prices continue to climb like they have the past several years they may be forced to move out. One local property management firm says the end of the rise might be several years away.

"In one way I’m very angry about having to stay here, but on the other hand I’m blessed to have a roof over my head," said Tina Gilstrap, a renter of eight years.

You Think Your Landlord Is Bad? Try Renting from Wall Street

RENITA BARBEE, 52, was still grieving the death of her mother last fall when she received another shock. Her landlord, the Wall Street rental behemoth Invitation Homes, was raising her rent to $3,000 a month, an increase of more than $800 all at once. Barbee had shared the three-bedroom Los Angeles rental home with her mother, husband, and daughter. But her husband wasn’t working after a recent stroke, and without her mother’s Social Security payments to help cover the bills, there was no way that Barbee’s family could afford to stay put on just her salary as a city dispatcher.

Rent Prices Rise Rapidly in Central Valley

Rent is on the rise in the Central Valley.

The Central Valley experienced some of the fastest growing rents in the mid-sized city category, according to a study by RENTCafe, a website that connects renters with properties.

The five-year analysis revealed that the average rent in Stockton, Lodi, Tracy, Manteca, Modesto, Turlock and Merced has risen year over year since 2013,
Stockton placed No. 2 on a list of fastest growing mid-sized U.S. cities in terms of rent increases, with a 7.8 percent rent increase year over year.

Raul R

Hello I have only been a resident of vallejo for 9 years, 7 at my present address. My present landlord purchased these apts. 2 years ago has raised the rent once, last Aug. by 10% but wants to raise it again in April. She has given me advance notice within legal limits but wants a 30% increase...$320 to be exact from my current rent of $880. What I find disconcerting is that no one else has received notice...I know because I talked to my neighbor nextdoor. Vallejo needs rent control for people like myself who only have their SSD to live on. I can afford another 10% but another 30? 

Marin Landlords to Enter Mediation Before Hiking Rents

Marin landlords will now be required to enter into mediation with their tenants if they increase rents more than 5 percent within a 12-month period.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt an ordinance imposing the new requirement. The mediation requirement also will be triggered if a landlord reduces services to a tenant, if that service reduction is equivalent to more than a 5 percent rent hike. Landlords will be required to notify their tenants of the new ordinance by Feb. 12.

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