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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    3

    Question Do I Pay the Difference of a Rent Increase

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

    We moved into a house in March 2002. We paid first & last, plus security & a pet deposit upon move in. The rent at that time was $1395. It has since increased to $1540.80. We will be giving a 30 day notice at the end of May. Do we need to pay the difference of the rent increase when we give notice?

    We were only on a lease for 1 year. Since then, we have been month to month. Also, the property was originally managed by an outside agency. The owners have since taken over the property management themselves. We cannot find our original rental agreement & some of the details we don't remember (how much security deposit/pet deposit). I don't expect to get that back after 8 years anyway but we believe we paid cash when we moved in & cannot find the receipts.

    One last detail: the owners destroyed my grandfathers workbench when they were renovating the garage. She said they thought is was theirs & never bothered to ask. She said they would replace it, but have yet to do so. Should I ask for it (or it's value) to be replaced before we move? Or can it's value be used as a bargaining chip in case they try to charge us for any damage? Note: we did no damage to the place, but we have been here 8 years & there has been wear & tear.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Do I Pay the Difference of a Rent Increase

    The answer, unfortunately, is likely found in the lease agreement that you can't presently find. Your landlord may be able to provide a copy.
    Quote Quoting Pre-Payment of Last Month's Rent
    Suppose that at the beginning of the tenancy, you gave the landlord a payment for the last month’s rent and for the security deposit, and that the lease or rental agreement labels part of this upfront payment “last month’s rent.” in this situation, you have paid the rent for your last month in the rental unit. However, sometimes landlords raise the rent before the last month’s rent becomes due. in this situation, can the landlord require you to pay the amount of the increase for the last month?

    The law does not provide a clear answer to this question. If your lease or rental agreement labels part of your upfront payment “last month’s rent,” then you have a strong argument that you paid the last month’s rent when you moved in. In this situation, the landlord should not be able to require you to pay the amount of the increase for the last month. However, if your lease or rental agreement labels part of your upfront payment “security for last month’s rent,” then the landlord has a good argument that you have not actually paid the last month’s rent, but have only provided security for it. In this situation, the landlord could require you to pay the amount of the increase for the last month.

    For example, say that your rental agreement labeled part of the total deposit that you paid when you moved in “security for last month’s rent,” or that “last month’s rent” is one of the items listed in your rental agreement under the heading “security.” Suppose that your rent was $500 when you moved in and that you paid your landlord $500 as “security for the last month’s rent.” suppose that you also paid your landlord an additional $500 as a security deposit. if the landlord properly raised your rent to $550 while you were living in the rental unit, you can expect to owe the landlord $50 for rent during the last month of your tenancy (that is, the current rent [$550] minus the prepaid amount [$500] equals $50 owed).

    If your rental agreement calls your entire upfront payment a “security deposit” and does not label any part of it “last month’s rent,” or “security for last month’s rent,” then you will have to pay the last month’s rent when it comes due. In this situation, you cannot use part of your security deposit to pay the last month’s rent. However, you will be entitled to a refund of your security deposit, as explained in the next section.
    (More information can be found here.)

    When was the last time you raised the issue of the workbench with the landlord? Have you documented its value to the landlord?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Do I Pay the Difference of a Rent Increase

    Thank you for responding. I had already found the documents you linked and got a lot of information there.

    As for the workbench, the last time I talked to her about it was the day her husband destroyed it (March) when I called her to complain. It's monetary value was never established, just the fact that my (deceased) grandfather had built it & it was the last piece of his handiwork I possessed.

    Since then, she has taken to leaving notes in my mailbox for anything she wants done or any other communication she has for us. I have avoided speaking with her since the last conversation was about the workbench & she not only didn't care, but actually started to accuse us for interfering with her renovations saying they can't work around our storage and plants.

    Escrow closes in a couple days & we will move out over the next week. I plan to give notice on the 30th, so the house will be empty when she comes by for an inspection & we will have all of June to do any work or cleaning she calls out.

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