Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

You should contact the Santa Monica Rent Control Board. You have specific rights under the local laws that will be greater than under general California Law. http://www.smgov.net/departments/rentcontrol/

In a month-to-month lease, you only have the legal expectation of living in the property, under the terms of the agreement literally one-month-at-a-time. As such, the owner has only to give you a thirty day notice (thirty days assumes that you have a month-to-month lease - if the lease is of any shorter term, the notice can be shorter) of change in terms of tenancy, and he can increase your rent to whatever he deems appropriate.

The mention of Santa Monica, however, potentially raises an important point. You need to check with an attorney in the area, or even with the City of Santa Monica housing department about rent control. Santa Monica has a rent control ordinance. Boutique hotels may be exempt from the ordinance, but it is worth checking.

Without rent control, you have little room to object, nor can you insist that the old rent remain in place. The only way to lock in rent longer-term is to sign a longer-term lease. The landlord cannot increase your rent immediately - he does have to give you the proper notice.

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