I posted this on legal advice and never got any response. [US - CA]
I'm in SoCal. I've lived at my apartment for over five years. Last year, I signed my lease as usual for a 12 month lease, with the rent increase. This year, I didn't get a renewal letter at the usual time. It took me some time going back and forth with the leasing office to get an answer from them.
Apparently, I've been a month to month renter since last year. Due to some system glitch, my new contract and rent were never put into the system. I've been paying the same rent I paid back in 2022 for a second year.
They told me that at first they had considered asking me for the "back rent," but because I apparently wasn't the only tenant affected by this glitch they came to a "compromise" and said they'd be raising my rent this year based on what my rate was supposed to be, rather than what I've been paying.
Is this all correct on their end, or should I look into this situation more closely? If I was just left month to month as they say in their system, that means they essentially rejected my lease on their end last year. If they put me month to month, doesn't that mean they broke their part of the contract where I signed for a 12 month lease?
I seriously feel like I'm in some bizzaro world right now, because I could have sworn our rent did increase last year, but looking through my statements it really has been the same since the year before. I guess with how everything else has gotten more expensive I assumed it had. I was going through a severe bout of depression that time so my memory may have been shot.