Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Retaliatory rent increase?

I sent a letter to my landlord regarding many repairs that had not been made for months, such as a toilet that leaked on the floor, a bathtub without any working faucets, a glass door in the same bathroom that had to be held up while you showered, etc.

I told them if the repairs were not made promptly I would use the repair and deduct remedy. Four days after I sent the letter they raised my rent $100 per month and still had not made any of the repairs. This was a month to month rental that I had been renting for 8.5 months before the rent increase. I continued to rent there and paid the increased rent for another 10 months.

How do I collect damages for the retaliatory rent increase?


Asked on 1/18/09, 6:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Re: Retaliatory rent increase?

You probably can not. Whenever the rental terms ends, both the landlord and tenant can try to get the other to agree to any change in terms, but the opposite side does not have to agree. But if the tenant is not willing to accept the new terms of the landlord, they there is no rental agreement and the tenant can not legally stay. If the rent increase is very large, it might be possible to argue that it was made to punish someone for reporting a health and safety issue so as a matter of public policy the landlord should not be allowed to force the tenant out. But a $100 increase probably would not be considered that unreasonable.

If you had reported the problems to the local agency incharge of health and safety then the law would presume it was done as punishment and no rent increase would be allowed, but you did not make such a report. I presume you are not in a rent control city. You can, after giving the landlord reasonable notice and he fails to act, deduct up to one month's of rent to make the repairs, but that is only 30 days worth of rent.

Sorry.

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Answered on 1/18/09, 11:59 pm


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