Thats because the industry isnt regulated; no ones watching what goes on, so they raise rents because they can. You may view the full account of this posting, including possible attachments, in the News & Alerts section of our website at:https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-warns-against-illegal-price-gouging-amidst-winter-storms, CSSA Office: 5325 Elkhorn Blvd., #283, Sacramento, CA 95842 | Phone: 888-277-2207, info@californiaselfstorage.org Unsubscribe. This information is NOT meant as legal advice, only suggestions. To date, the state has distributed more than 25,000 vaccine doses and will make additional allocations in the coming days and weeks. The Attorney General and local district attorneys can enforce the statute. For issues with your facility or unit, please review your rental agreement and . Guidelines for Self-Storage Rent Increases: Frequency, Amount and Notifying Tenants Timing is critical to the success of a self-storage rent increase, especially in todays market. The following cities currently have rent control ordinances: In California, the amount of time that must be given depends on the property type, lease type, and rent increase amount: Local ordinances may require you to give more notice in specific situations, so it is important that you become familiar with your county or citys landlord-tenant regulations as well as the states rules. You should check with your legal counsel to ensure you are abiding by the law and local ordinances. The proclamation can be foundhere. Governor Gavin Newsom While youre protected by law against some of these actions when renting a residential unit, like an apartment, there are no protections when renting a storage unit. Div. Below we have attempted to provide some information that will hopefully help you as you continue to move forward doing business under these circumstances. Yes, tenants are currently still required to honor the terms of the lease. In terms of enforcement, the following statement was noted in a Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) press release: For employers who need time to fully implement the regulations, enforcement investigators will take their good faith efforts to implement the emergency standards into consideration. Los Angeles rents are subject to a lower rent cap (8% maximum) under most circumstances than rent controlled buildings in other parts of the state (5% plus up to 5% inflation). Many of them are on the front lines of the pandemic, providing child care, working in our hospitals and nursing facilities and making sure theres food on grocery store shelves, hesaid. Is this lawful? Some of my tenants pay in cash. Sacramento, CA 95842. You would not be able to raise the rent by more than 7.5% if you were working in an area with 2.5% CPI. per U.S. household. OAKLANDCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert following the Governors declaration of a state of emergencyin Siskiyou County due to McKinney and other fires. In particular, with regard to the passing and implementation of The Tenant Protection Act of 2019, new limitations were placed on rent increases and how landlords can end leases. resolve disputes between self storage operators and tenants. We have been receiving several calls and e-mails at the CSSA office from self-storage professionals seeking guidance. Although it might be legal to go through the lien process for delinquent renters, some operators have expressed an interest in suspending lien auctions while this COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop. Specifically, this act changed a few things about rent increases and how rent increases must be handled by landlords like you. Code 396 (i). For more information, please see https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2020/2020-99.html. The states response to monkeypox builds on the infrastructure developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to deploy vaccine clinics and ensure inclusive and targeted outreach in partnership with local and community-based organizations. Contact Us. Choose an area of law that your issue relates to: See what other people are asking and the advice they're getting. The letter can only be used to raise the rent for a month-to-month rental agreement.. After the notice is received by the tenant, they will have the option to either accept or reject the notice. You must give the tenant 60 days notice and can only increase rent twice a year. This is the month of Jan 2020. A landlord may evict a tenant for many reasons, but they must go through the proper legal channels and give the tenant due notice. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution. Want to change how you receive these emails? SSA intends to pursue lien law amendments in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. California's anti-price gouging statute, Penal Code Section 396, prohibits landlords and other businesses from raising rent (or the price of many consumer goods and services) by more than 10 percent after a state of emergency has been declared by the President, the Governor, or local officials. Event & Education Sponsorship Opportunities, State of emergency, Moratoriums, Price Gouging, The Meritage Resort & Spa, Napa California, State of Emergency Triggers Price Gouging that may affect Self Storage, oag.ca.gov/consumers/pricegougingduringdisasters, https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-warns-against-illegal-price-gouging-amidst-winter-storms, 2022 Legislative Update on Price Gouging & Electronic Lien Notices, Monkey Pox State of Emergency Does not Trigger Price Gouging that Effects Self Storage, Price Gouging in Effect for Siskiyou County, https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-warns-against-illegal-price-gouging-following-state-0, CSSA Legislative Alert: State of Emergency & Price Gouging, CSSA Virtual Education Series: Next Level Sales & Service Training, CSSA Napa Self Storage Owner's Conference 2023, Napa Optional Activity: CSSA's 4th Annual Charity Golf Classic. If the late fee was agreed to by the tenant as set forth in the lease, youre probably legally permitted to continue with this practice. While lifting of stay-at-home orders ensures that storage operators may continue to remain open for business, they are not the controlling orders for purposes of potential rent increases. This is all about stuff. Although CSSA is known for its well-organized conferences, top-notch speakers, great networking events, and member benefits - one of CSSA's top priorities is helping to represent you in Sacramento. Below is the Attorney Generals News Release stating that this State of Emergency has triggered the Price Gouging statute (see highlight below). Download our tenant screening checklist here, http://rentprep.com/landlord-tips/coronavirus-resources-new-york/, https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/success/real-estate-coronavirus/index.html, https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01253, What percentage of rent increase can occur yearly, When rent increases can be applied (and when they cannot), Who, if anyone, is exempt from rent increases, 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI, the yearly change in cost of living), Preventing the landlord from entering the property under allowed circumstances, Provide them with one months rent payment, Does not apply to properties built in the last 15 years, Does not apply to single-family homes unless they are owned by a corporation, real estate trust, or an, Does not apply to duplexes where the owner lives in one of the units, Stricter laws in cities that have rent control laws will take precedence over the act, Granny suites that could not be sold independently of the primary house on a property, 60-day notice for all month-to-month or yearly leases with tenants that have lived there for more than one year, 30-day notice for all month-to-month leases for tenants that have lived there for less than one year, 30-day notice for all week-to-week leases. A: Yes https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/success/real-estate-coronavirus/index.html, Q: Do I still have to pay property taxes? Some local cities have stricter increase rules, and those take precedence. Those laws may be more restrictive to the states laws, so it is important to be aware of both sets of rules. They say the company levied huge rent increases, hit them with late fees, and even threatened to auction off their belongings if they didnt come current with their rent. There have been increases, not each year, but reasonable increases. The state allocates doses to local health departments based on a number of factors, including the number of reported monkeypox cases in an area and estimate of at-risk populations. Search for lawyers by reviews and ratings. Consumers have been complaining to the I-Team about this for a few years now, saying the rent hikes are happening when they can least afford it. In a no-fault situation, this bill permits landlords to provide specific relocation assistance to tenants in order to regain full control of the property. Not allowing this increase to go forward will only make life harder for those Californians who have already borne a disproportionate share of the economic hardship caused by this pandemic. This information is NOT meant as legal advice, only suggestions. Starting January 1st, Californias minimum wage will increase to $14 per hour for employers with 26 employees or more and $13 for employers with 25 or fewer employees. What if tenants have been affected (lost job, wages, etc. Check with your attorney. State Mortgage & Expense Forbearance Resource Page https://www.dfs.ny.gov/ (a) "Self-service storage facility" means real property designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual storage space to occupants who are to have access to the space for the purpose of storing and removing personal property or for storing individual storage containers provided to occupants who have exclusive use of the It is unlawful for an owner or operator of a hotel or motel to increase the hotel or motels regular rates, as advertised immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency, by more than 10 percent. National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT) Core FFO per share at NSAT was $0.71 during the fourth quarter, a 10.9% year-over-year . See contract for full details. Although these laws differ, they generally put a cap on raising prices for certain goods and services above a certain percentage from the amount charged immediately preceding an emergency declaration, subject to certain narrow exceptions. On the other hand, youre in business to make money. The U.S. self-storage industry is comprised of more than 52,000 facilities and had total sales in excess of twenty billion dollars in 2008. Your monthly rent for the space will change to <Tenant.ScheduledMonthlyRate> per month. Every case is very "fact-specific" and persons wishing legal advice on a specific matter should contact me or another attorney for an appointment to review their particular circumstances and to create a lawyer-client relationship. The statutory length of time for the protections depends on the type of item. The passed bill also makes it clear that the rental rate cannot be raised more than two times over a 12-month period. State Rent Assistance Resource Page https://access.nyc.gov/ As standard practice and published business practice, if you offer a discount for new tenants that is increased after a certain period, you should be able to continue that practice as long as the increase was agreed to by the tenant when obtaining the promotion. Rent increments have now been capped at a maximum of 5% per year. Although storage renters represent a fraction of. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business. If you are a residential tenant or landlord, contact the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County: Phone: 1-800-655-1812 | Email: fhcrc@fairhousing.net If you are a commercial tenant or landlord, contact the Community Economic Development Department: Phone: (951) 826-2438 | Email: EconDev@riversideca.gov Based in Buffalo, New York, Life Storage operates more than 1,150 self-storage facilities in 37 states and Washington, D.C. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 88.3 million square feet. From there, you will be more in the loop on all rental communication! We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Importantly, many of these laws create so-called strict liability offenses. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. The CSSA is providing information via our , The national Self Storage Association is providing information. As such, before any rent increase is considered, an operator must look to see if the President has lifted the national emergency declaration as well as whether the Governor(s) of the states within which you operate has lifted the state emergency declaration and not just the shelter-in-place or similar order, as discussed below. Find the best ones near you. If you believe you have been a victim of price gouging, report it to yourlocal authorities or tomy office atoag.ca.gov/report.. California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than10%, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. While the price gouging laws are intended to prevent nefarious actors from excessively profiting from disaster (e.g., selling hand sanitizer for $200 a bottle), their impact and practical effect extends beyond those examples. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019, also known as Assembly Bill 1482, is meant to ensure that landlords don't raise rent exorbitantly. As Attorney General,I will use the full powers of my office to protect vulnerable Californians from those who would take advantage. I'm a Self-Storage property manager. This may be fire insurance, theft insurance or other policy that protects the items in storage from damage through precarious means. If you see price gouging or if you've been the victim of it, I encourage you to immediately file a complaint with my office online at oag.ca.gov/report, or contact your local police department or sheriff's office." This response is only general information and is not legal advice. This letter is to serve as your thirty (30) day notice for a rental rate change on your storage unit noted above. It shall not be a violation for a person, business, or other entity to continue an eviction process that was lawfully begun prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency. 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