Can Landlords Raise Rents Selectively on Their Tenants? (apartment, lease, tenant)
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My mother is currently living in an assisted living home with 100+ tenants in Calif. When she moved in last March I negotiated a one year lease which is about ready to expire. If the owners give me a notice of rent increase, wouldn't they have to do it in such a way that everybody was paying the same rent, or that when everyones' lease came up for renewal the rents were on track to achieve parity? Or do the owners have the power under Calif. law to set whatever rents they want for each individual tenant?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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CA may be different, but here it varies withing a home, based on the level of care required for the person, based on their condition. There are also some that give a discount to accept a certain number of medicare patients, where they have only social security income and it's not enough to cover the
cost, the state will kick in the balance up to a certain amount. If that amount is less than what they normally get, the difference is discounted.
The number of these is limited to a small percentage of the residents. There are others with a sliding scale where the amount is based on ability to pay.
I know people in the CA Bay Area paying over $6,000 month, and some in our area east of Seattle paying that much, but others as little as $2,800.
CA may be different, but here it varies withing a home, based on the level of care required for the person, based on their condition.
Yes, this home, like most, has separate levels of care at ascending charges, but these charges are separate from the base rent for the room which is what I am referring to.
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There are also some that give a discount to accept a certain number of medicare patients, where they have only social security income and it's not enough to cover the
cost, the state will kick in the balance up to a certain amount. If that amount is less than what they normally get, the difference is discounted.
The number of these is limited to a small percentage of the residents.
This facility does not accept MediCal/Medicare or any government supplements. It's strictly out of pocket.
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There are others with a sliding scale where the amount is based on ability to pay.
But wouldn't this be a form of discrimination, in this case discrimination against a person of means?
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I know people in the CA Bay Area paying over $6,000 month, and some in our area east of Seattle paying that much, but others as little as $2,800.
That would be okay as long as ALL tenants in the SF facility were being charged 6K and likewise at the Seattle facility.
To get more specific, my mother sold a rental property and reaped a fairly nice capital gain. This is opposed to some at the facility who are not as well-off but who still, according to the facility's R&R's have to pay out of pocket for all charges. Would it be within Calif. law for the owners to say, "Well, Tenant A is not so well-off so we'll keep her rent at 2K/mo. but Tenant B is doing quite well, thank you, so we'll hike her rent to $2500/mo. even though both get the exact same accommodations."
Rent in my Bay Area city falls under strict rent control rules... this includes allowable rent increases, procedures to contest a rent increase and banking...
Banking is the ability to track permissible rent increase for application at a future date...
I have been an apartment manager and leasing manager in Los Angeles for last 3 years. As far as I know, there are no restrictions on raising rent on someone and not others.
It is landlord's choice to raise rent. If you can't pay rent, then move to another place. If you are a crappy tenant, then the landlord would raise the rent to give you incentive to move out, then lowering the price a bit after he moves out. I believe these are legal.
I don't think raising rent on someone and not on others violate any discrimination laws. However, if the landlord were to ONLY raise rent for black tenants and not white tenants, there might be an issue since it is obvious race might be playing an issue here. However, it would be hard for tenants to prove that this discrimination happened since tenants do not usually talk to each other about rent and how much they are paying or what not.
But as far I believe, in my opinion, raising rent on some while not on others, without any blatant discrimination issue (sex, age, handicap, etc.), is alright.
However, you should call for legal help. Try Dennis Block attorney. He does evictions but you can call and ask for free consultation over the phone.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,103,317 times
Reputation: 57750
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner
Rent in my Bay Area city falls under strict rent control rules... this includes allowable rent increases, procedures to contest a rent increase and banking...
Banking is the ability to track permissible rent increase for application at a future date...
Legal Advice is not provided at City-Data.com.
Berkeley? Rent control is pretty rare on the west coast, none here at all.
Each rent can be negotiated so neighbors in an identical apartment could be paying double. When we lived in the Bay Area I remember Berkeley doing rent control when they had some outrageous rents to Cal students.
Berkeley? Rent control is pretty rare on the west coast, none here at all.
Each rent can be negotiated so neighbors in an identical apartment could be paying double. When we lived in the Bay Area I remember Berkeley doing rent control when they had some outrageous rents to Cal students.
When I started... rent control was very rare... I've never bought in a city with rent control and now, years later, I'm in several with Rent Control.
I remember Berkeley having some unique problems... it was not unusual for students to sign a one-year lease and move-out after finals... effectively making many units 9 month rentals... also, sub-letting and having friends stay for long periods was also pretty typical...
Here's a list of cities with Rent Control... I didn't list those for Mobile Homes and cities with mediation and only Just Cause Eviction...
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
East Palo Alto
Hayward
Los Angeles [Chapter XV]
Los Gatos
Oakland
Palm Springs [Title 4]
San Francisco
San Jose
Santa Monica
West Hollywood
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