Kendra Sherman said she wasn’t sure what to expect when her apartment building in El Cajon was sold last year.
The 53-year-old single mother has been living in the same three-bedroom unit for a decade. And as a full-time medical office assistant, she said she has adapted to the regular, predictable rent increases over the past few years. But that changed when it came time to renew her lease this summer.
Effective Aug. 1, the new owner said her monthly payment was going up more than $300 — an increase of over 14%. That’s almost twice as high as state law allows.
Sherman isn’t alone. Other tenants living in units with the same owner said they have also experienced increases in the past year that exceed the cap set by state law. One tenant, who inewsource agreed not to identify over concerns of retaliation, said their rent went up earlier this year by $350 a month — a 16% increase.
The law exempts some properties from the rent cap, but those exemptions don’t appear to apply here, according to a review by inewsource and two housing attorneys.
When contacted by phone, the owner, Eddy Wibowo, appeared to not know that state law limits rent increases for most properties. He did not comment further.
This is not an isolated issue. It’s just one example of a problem that attorneys and advocates say is widespread in jurisdictions with few local tenant protections.
inewsource reporting over the past 18 months has uncovered tenants at all income levels facing rent increases that exceed the cap set by state law. And in San Diego County, the only recourse for tenants who feel they have been wronged is to hire an attorney. For tenants like Sherman, the increase in rent means she can’t even save enough to move to a cheaper apartment.
Read the full article on inewsource.org.
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