Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: commercial lease

To answer your question, I would have to review the contract for you, which I would be happy to do without charge. If the landlord failed to exercise his option, he's likely out of luck. But, as the other answer indicated, the increases might be automatic.

Re: commercial lease

It is quite impossible to answer your question without reading the entire lease. Your legal rights are governed directly by the language of of the rental contract. The lease might limit increases to no more than 4% per year, but you didn't mention if increases were mandated.

I've seen commerical lease provisions that contain automatic increases based on inflation. I've seen clients get stuck with increased rental bills months later becuase the landlord forgot to sent them a bill for the correct amount. The tenants were fully aware of the mandatory increase provisions and figured the landlord wouldn't say anything. They were wrong and ended up paying the rental increase.

In some cases, the clauses require the tenant to pay the increase rent regardless of whether they receive a notice or not. You should take the lease agreement to a local attorney for more information.