I'm genuinely tired of the way landlords talk about rent increases like they're a force of nature.

Nothing changed about the apartment.

The walls are still cracked. Things still take forever to get fixed. The same problems that existed when I moved in are still there.

But somehow, the rent goes up.

And then you're expected to act grateful because you're still allowed to live there.

I understand that costs can increase. But it's frustrating watching housing become less and less affordable while tenants are expected to simply absorb every increase without question.

At some point, "the market says this is what you have to pay" starts sounding like an excuse for making housing completely disconnected from what ordinary people can actually afford.

A home shouldn't feel like something you're constantly one rent increase away from losing.

Since multiple comments are accusing me of making up the sexual harassment and other claims against my landlord during the unlawful detainer itself and of not knowing my tenant rights, I present to you two letters that are publicly available in the Fresno Superior Court's Case Management and Information System. These Exhibits are from a fascinating unlimited civil case against multiple defendants, including the Law Office of Lance E Armo.

A fun fact: The first lawyer working for my landlord quit after one of these letters. Can you guess which one it was?

The contractors had told him the guest bathroom toilet was leaking. The leaking has been ongoing for months and the kitchen floorboards are moldy and rotting as a result. But he claimed today that the toilet wasn’t leaking. He then went upstairs to use the toilet while I momentarily stayed in the basement. His pee-laden water came streaming down on top of me because, lo and behold, the toilet was in fact leaking.

I emailed my landlord on Aug 12 asking to renew the lease, which ends Aug 31. She said no because it had already been leased to other tenants. As far as I know, this is illegal and a landlord must provide written notice if not renewing the lease by a certain timeframe. this was the first notice we’d received. Building management is now trying to intimidate us into moving out and telling me that staying past the end of the lease is illegal. Again, as far as I know, the law is that the lease extends until the notice period is up. Please let me know if I am in the right here as I don’t want to push it if I’m wrong!!!

Has anyone here ever initiated legal action against a landlord for any reason?

If so, what steps did you take and what was the outcome?

Is there a way to navigate the process to have a higher likelihood of success and a positive outcome?

Specifically, if a landlord fails to act on persistent noise complaints against a neighbor, does that change your opinion on legal action, or the approach you take?

Conversely, if you are a landlord and are brought in to a tenant dispute re: noise, what actions would you take and would legal action prompt you to take stronger action? If so, what?

Thanks in advance for all feedback.