Renewing a Lease

[silver162]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California

Hi everyone

My apartment lease ends on Aug. 16, 2009. I've decided to renew my lease and informed the front office mgt. in my complex of this yesterday. They drew up a new lease, which I looked through but haven't yet signed. It is the same exact lease I had before but with some changes. One change I noticed is the increase in security deposit amount. When I entered the original lease last yr., my sec. dep. was $400. Now the lease says it is $900. I just want to make sure - is this legal? Do I just pay the difference or is it a whole new deposit? They also informed me that if I choose not to renew and give them a 30 day notice, since the last days of my notice would fall past the date the original date ends, all days after Aug. 16 would automatically be charged at their month-to-month rate which is $600 more than my monthly rent. I was not aware of this either. If my lease ends and I'm automatically month-to-month, would they have had to give me notice of this rent increase?

When answering to my post, if you have any specific Civil Code numbers you are referring to, please let me know. I appreciate your assistance! Thank you in advance!

[Mr. Knowitall]

As long as the security deposit is in a permitted amount, it can be raised in association with a new lease. You can ask your landlord if they intended to raise the security deposit, if that's negotiable, and if you can pay in installments.

What does your present lease say about the month-to-month rate following the end of the lease term? If it's silent, read the material on rent increases here.