California Rent Cap Gives Little Recourse to San Diego County Tenants Hit With Illegal Increases

Kendra Sherman was unsure what to expect when the El Cajon apartment building where she lives was sold last year. The 53-year-old single mother has rented the same three-bedroom unit for a decade and works full time as a medical office assistant. She said she had grown used to modest, predictable rent hikes, but that changed when her lease came up for renewal this summer.

The building's new owner told her rent would rise by more than $300 a month, an increase of over 14%. That is nearly double what California law permits. Other tenants of the same owner told inewsource they, too, had seen increases over the past year that topped the legal limit. One, who was granted anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said rent went up by $350 a month, or 16%, earlier this year.

The state's Tenant Protection Act, passed in 2019, restricts rent increases within any 12-month period to 10%, or 5% plus the change in the cost of living, whichever is lower. The figure is calculated each April and takes effect Aug. 1. In San Diego County the current maximum is 8.6%, and it will stay in place until the next adjustment in August 2025. Some properties, including certain single-family homes and condos, are exempt, but California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said the cap covers most rental housing older than 15 years, including units rented by Section 8 voucher holders.

According to inewsource and two housing attorneys, those exemptions do not appear to apply to the El Cajon properties. The owner, Eddy Wibowo, holds at least three multifamily rentals in the county. Each was built more than 15 years ago without low-income tax credits, and none seems to be restricted as affordable housing. Tenants in two of his buildings described similar experiences, saying he told them he needed to bring the property closer to market rates.

Sherman's new lease also added charges for water and trash that her previous lease had included in rent. Attorneys call such charges "junk fees" because they can push the total cost well beyond the legal limit. When she objected, text messages show Wibowo reduced her "rent" to match the 8.6% cap while raising what she would owe for trash, water and "facilities," leaving her monthly total unchanged. In a brief phone call, Wibowo, who holds an active state real estate license, appeared unaware that state law caps rent increases and said he would call back. Later calls, texts, an email and a home visit went unanswered.

Sherman has contacted the Legal Aid Society, one of the few sources of free legal help in the county, but demand far outstrips the nonprofit's capacity and she does not know what will come of it. She said the higher payments leave no room in her budget, including for utilities. "We're sitting here boiling through the summer (because) there's no extra budget for the gas and electric bill," she said, adding that some expenses are going on credit cards. "It's scary. My anxiety is through the roof with this thing."

Attorneys and advocates say the problem is widespread in jurisdictions with few local tenant protections, and inewsource's reporting over the past 18 months has found tenants at all income levels facing increases above the cap. That reporting also revealed that half of the county's six public housing agencies were not checking whether voucher rents exceeded the state limit. Since then, the agencies for the city and county of San Diego and for Oceanside have changed their policies, while those in Carlsbad, Encinitas and National City said they were already checking. Nearly 30,000 low-income families now have been promised the protections.

Tenants in rent-controlled cities have another path. In Berkeley, which limits increases to 65% of local inflation, renters can petition the Rent Board, which can adjust rents and order refunds. The board averages 125 petitions a year, most seeking reductions. If a landlord does not pay an awarded refund, the tenant can withhold rent until it is satisfied. General counsel Matt Brown said the system, in place for 44 years, has made rights and responsibilities widely understood, though staff acknowledged it took decades of political will and community support to build.