California landlord issue. I suspect he wants to get rid of me because I fixed the unit up so much & he has?

Question

told me several times that he was willing to release me from my lease if I want. This after he saw how much work I did on the unit.Now he says he's raising my rent again. He raised it Dec. 1ST $45 & he's raising it Sept 1ST $50. Plus he says he is switching me to a month to month lease.My new neighbor got a years lease. I suspect he wants to get me out so he can raise the rent even higher than I'm paying. I asked a few mo.s ago if he wanted me to move, cuz he'd sent 2 e mails saying he'd release me from my lease if I wanted. He never wrote back. I'm a terminal cancer patient & moving is hard on me. What I'm wondering (1) Can he raise my rent again after only 9 months? & (2) should I be concerned that he's switching me to a monthly lease? I am aware he keeps deposits. On SSI and ill I can't afford this. I'm starting to think I should not pay my rent in order to be able to move, but I don't know how that works. New n CA. Lived n unit 2 yrs. Pay rent on time. Quite & alone What do u think

Answer 1

You have a few issues.

First, you need to understand that he can simply stop renting to you if he wants to.   When you pay your rent on the first he can tell you that you have 30 days to go.

I do not advise you to stop paying rent, an eviction on your record will make renting very hard in the future.   I do not listen to any excuses about evictions, it is an automatic "no way" to me, and most decent landlords.

In CA (this is state specific) he can not raise your rent more tehn once a year.    He gave propert notice (30 day min) but he can not actually raise it until Dec 1.    He can raise it to whatever he wants.

If you need to exact code I will look it up for you, just drop me an email.

Answer 2

Continue to pay your rent, so he will not have a reason to evict you.

Contact the local government office, in charge of regulating housing for the sick and disabled, and file a formal complaint.

Answer 3

By putting you on a month to month lease he could soon give you a thirty day's notice to move.  Ask him if he want's you out, and if he doesn't , then request a lease that carries 12 months.

Answer 4

Contact an advocate in your area.  You may find this through the Senior Citizen Center (even if you are not).  You may qualify for a subsidized apt. somewhere else and they may be able to find volunteers to help you move.

Sad that a landlord could be so uncaring.