Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Leasing law

A few California cities have rent control ordinances, which govern the amount of rent that a landlord may charge. Most cities don't. The best way to find out is to look at the web site for your city or county and look for information about a rent control ordinance or rent control commission. Even if you are in a rent control city, it may be that the unit you are looking at is exempt from rent control.

As a general rule (except for rent control cities), there is no legal limit on the amount a landlord can charge for rent. If the landlord is discriminating against you (or charging higher rents/deposits) on the basis of race or gender or national origin, that would be illegal. However, if the landlord is charging you a higher rent because they consider you a high-risk tenant because of credit or eviction problems, that is legal.

The best approach to the situation is probably to find a landlord who doesn't run credit checks on new tenants, or who is willing to accept a cosigner on the rent instead of charging more money.