When can a Sacramento landlord raise my rent and by how much? Here’s what to know
Sacramento limits the amount rent can be increased — but the details can be tricky.
If you’re protected under Sacramento’s Tenant Protection Program, your landlord can only raise rent 9% once annually.
That’s 5% plus the consumer price index figure for April. The maximum is adjusted annually but cannot exceed 10%.
And the program, which protects tenants by establishing limits in rent increases and limitations on unwarranted evictions, only protects multi-family homes built before Feb. 1, 1995 — excluding newer buildings.
“It’s absolutely vital for renters to be informed about their rights and the protections that are set in place because many individuals, especially non-English speakers, tend to not really be able to understand jargon...which often leads to self evictions,” said Luis Fernando Anguiano Quiroz, the statewide communications associate of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
According to California law, a rental increase notice must be in writing.
If the rental increase is 10% or less, the notice must be given to the tenant at least 30 days before the increase. Tenants should be given a 90-day advance notice if the increase is more than 10%.
The 30-day notice requirement applies regardless of whether the rental unit is subject or exempt from the rental limit.
Most rent increase notices will state that the new amount will take effect at the beginning of the next rental period. But the increase can start anytime in the month as long as the landlord has given the tenant a proper notice and is entitled to receive the increased rent.
“There’s a lot more that can be done to ensure that tenants are on the same level of understanding of their rights as landlords,” Anguiano Quiroz said.
Here’s what tenants need to know about who’s protected — and who isn’t — under the Sacramento Tenant Protection and Relief Act, how to calculate a rent increase and what to do if the increase is above Sacramento’s legal limit:
Calculate your rent increase
In order to calculate the percentage of the rent increase, you should know the lowest rent that your landlord charged you during the last 12 months, the combined total of the new increase and any other increases during that period.
And when determining the lowest gross rental amount, be sure to exclude any rent discounts, incentives, concessions or credits you’ve accepted from your landlord.
Tina Lee-Vogt, the program manager for Sacramento’s community development department, said she encourages people to contact the city’s Tenant Protection Program for assistance on calculating their rent increase to be sure it’s within legal limit because no lease is the same.
“What’s tricky about tenants trying to calculate it and it’s why we try to be available to help them is that the 9% encompasses everything that’s part of their rent...it’s very rare that someone’s lease just covers the cost of just the apartment itself,” she said.
Here’s an example of a rental increase, provided by the the state’s landlord/tenant resource webpage. No matter the inflation rate, increases cannot exceed 10%.
Assume that rent has been $3,000 per month since June of last year. Your landlord wants to increase your rent by $150 to $3,150, beginning on June 1. Here’s how to calculate the percentage of the rent increase and the amount of notice that the landlord must give you:
150/3000 = 0.05, or 5%.
The current rent increase of $150 doesn’t exceed 10% of the lowest rent charged in the past 12 months ($3,000). So your landlord must give you at least a 30-day written notice.
My rental increase exceeds the annual adjustment
Your landlord proposed a rent increase that exceeds the annual rental adjustment.
Now what? Contact the city’s Tenant Protection Program. The office will be able to contact the landlord about complying with the ordinance.
Anguiano Quiroz said you can also contact a local legal representative or a tenant protection organization.
“There’s always something that tenants can do in these situations,” he said. “But especially when it comes to the law of housing, tenants do need to put in a little bit of extra work to seek out these resources.”
The rent increase will only be granted if your landlord files a petition to the city to seek review by a hearing examiner, who will then make the final decision unless the landlord seeks judicial review.
The hearing examiner will consider the following factors:
- Increases and decreases in property taxes.
- Unavoidable increases or decreases in maintenance and operating expenses.
- Substantial deterioration of the rental unit other than from normal wear and tear, that is not due to a lack of routine repair and maintenance.
- The pattern of rent increases or decreases during the occupancy of the tenant.
- Increases or decreases in the number of tenants occupying the rental unit.
The hearing examiner should not consider the following factors:
- Your landlord’s income taxes.
- The cost of debt served for the property where the rental unit is located unless there’s a change in ownership.
- Any penalties for violation of the Sacramento Tenant Protection Act.
- A cost increase for the renal unit that occurred before you began occupying the the property.
For more factors visit, Sacramento’s city code tenant protection page.
Who isn’t protected
The following units are exempt under the protection act:
- Single family homes.
- A rental unit in a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home or a room and board home rented to people for less than 30 days.
- A rental until in an institutional facility: hospital, medical care facility, residential care facility, asylum, a group home for seniors or the disable and a rental unit in a transitional housing program that assists the homeless population.
- A rental unit that is either owned, operated or subsidized by a government entity or subject to a covenant imposed by a government entity restricting the occupancy to families with income of 120% of the area median income or below.
- A rental unit in which the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the property owner.
- Single dwelling units and rental units in a condominium or stock cooperative.
- A rental unit that the landlord or the landlord’s immediate family occupy as their primary residence.
For more information on who’s exempt, visit the Sacramento city code tenant protection page.
Know your rights
Landlords who increase the rent above the annual rent adjustment maximum or increase the rent more than once every 12 months are subject to penalties up to $25,000, according to the City of Sacramento.
Here’s what else you need to know about your tenant rights in regards to rental increases, according to city code:
- A landlord cannot increase the rent in an amount that exceeds the annual rent adjustment unless authorized by a hearing examiner.
- A landlord cannot adjust the rent more than once in a 12-month period regardless of how long the tenant has lived on the property.
- After a rental unit has been vacated, a landlord may establish the base rent for a tenant under a new rental housing agreement. After that, any increase in the rent for that tenant must comply with the limitation under the Sacramento Tenant Protection Act.
- A legal increase in rent in accordance with the annual rent adjustment cannot go into effect until your landlord gives you a written notice to increase rent as prescribed by law. And the content of the notice to increase your rent has to include the information as prescribed in the tenant protection program administrative procedures.
- A tenant cannot waive the limitation on the increase in rent if the increase is legal.
Rental resources
Contact: 916-808-8121
Get help with rent increases and get your questions answered about tenant rights from the city. Email tpp@cityofsacramento.org.
Contact: 530-564-6245
Call the Sacramento Tenants Union, a Sacramento-based housing advocacy organization, with questions about tenant rights.
Sacramento CARES Mediation Program
Contact: 916-850-9010
The Sacramento Mediation Center provides no-cost, voluntary dispute resolution services for tenants and landlords within the City of Sacramento. Email sacramento@calawyersforthearts.org.
Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
Contact: 916-440-1390
In partnership with the city and Sacramento County, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency provides emergency rent and utilities assistance for renters impacted by COVID-19. Email info@shra.org
Check to see if you’re eligible for protections under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which protects a majority of California’s renters against illegal rent increases and unfair evictions.
Make sure you’re not being overcharged in rent
If your unit is not covered by a local rent control ordinance, but you know you’re protected by the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, this calculator will help make sure you’re not being overcharged in rent.
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment tenant hotline
Contact: 888-428-7615.
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Sacramento tenant clinic
Join ACCE every first Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. for a virtual tenant clinic and learn about rental protections, the city’s rental caps and more.
Sacramento Self-Help Housing renters hotline
Contact: 916-389-7877
With help from Project Sentinel and Legal Services of Northern California, Sacramento Self-Help Housing provides telephone counseling and dispute resolution services for unincorporated Sacramento County, City of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Folsom and Citrus Heights residents. Tenant advisors handle concerns regarding landlord-tenant disputes and help refer fair housing issues to the appropriate agency.
The Bee’s Theresa Clift contributed reporting.
This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.