Finally caught my lease renewal mistake after 3 years in Oakland

I've been at the same apartment in Oakland since 2021 and always signed the renewal papers the landlord slid under my door without a second look. Last month I actually read the new terms and saw the rent increase was 10%, but state law for most units caps it at 5% plus inflation, around 8.4%. I called the city rent board and they confirmed my building is covered, so I sent a polite note to the landlord with the law citation. He wrote back saying 'this has been our standard practice,' but he did lower it to the legal amount real quick. Made me wonder how many years I overpaid without checking. I'd love to know, has anyone else caught their landlord quietly pushing past the annual cap? What did you do about it?

1 comments

1 Comment

finley_price241d ago

Caught my old landlord doing the exact same thing back in 2019, and it took me finding a random tenant rights PDF online to realize it. He tried to say the cap didn't apply to his building, but a quick call to the county rent board shut that down fast. Ended up getting a retroactive credit for the overpayment on the next month's rent, which was nice but I still had to fight for it. That's the key, you gotta keep every single lease and renewal paper, even the ones you think you don't need. Also take a photo of the signed copy on your phone, saved me when the landlord "lost" my records once. Good on you for catching it, most people never look twice.