10/30/2025
Landlord just posted this on our door this morning. There are several problems with this and I'm not sure what to do.
Hi, this is a notice to raise our rent, and we live in Lodi, California. First of all, the landlord already raised our rent by the maximum annual amount allowed in CA 7 months ago. In addition, there are several problems with the notice, including the date. It's dated October 1, changes effective November 1, but today is September 29. Also he states the rent will increase to $50 per month, obviously an error, he wants to raise our rent BY that much I assume. Finally, he states on the notice that the increase is due to increased utilities costs. He mentions electricity, sewer, PG&E, etc. He does not pay any of that. We pay all of the utilities ourselves.
I'm not really that worked up over typos and whatnot in the notice, the notifications he posts are usually a bit sloppy, but he's been squeezing us hard the past few years and the rent increases are getting crazy. It was just bumped up in February of this year, and he bumped it by the maximum amount he legally could. We're still in the same year and he's trying to raise it even more, I don't know what I should do. He isn't responding to phone calls.
Also, I don't know if this is legally meaningful or not, but he's refused to maintain the laundry room in our complex for over a year. He decided they weren't worth the cost last year and has just left from nonfuctional ever since.
I don't want to give in to illegal rental increases, but I also don't really want to anger him. He's the type to post eviction notices at the drop of a hat if he's unhappy with something, just to get the tenant to contact him. I also do not make enough money to hire a lawyer, and neither do any of the other tenants around here. I'm not sure how to proceed.
EDIT: To answer a few of the questions in the comments - We are renting a unit in a quadroplex. We originally had a 1 year lease that did include mention of the laundry, but we've been here for a total of 10 years, so the past 9 years have been month to month. The landlord owns at least 1 other apartment complex in town. The landlord has never shared an e-mail address with us, and doesn't have a website, the only way we have to contact him is by phone. All of the tenants here do pay their own utilities directly to the City of Lodi and PG&E.
