get a lot of complaints from people who say their rent has suddenly and unexpectedly skyrocketed and they simply cannot afford the increase. The new bill is designed to make such steep and surprising hikes illegal.
Eighty-four-year-old Larry Chiolan says he and his wife sold their house and moved to an apartment to downsize, but now they're getting priced out of it.Chiolan says when he first started renting, he was paying $16,000 a year in rent. The bill puts a cap on rent increases for current tenants at 10% and only once per year. It also requires landlords to provide the tenant with written notice of the increase at least 90 days prior to the new rate going into effect. And new tenants can't be charged more than 15% above what the previous tenant was paying.