Recently, our town's sewer fees were pretty much doubled (now standing at $53 per month, with increases set for the next couple years.) Trash fees will be going up, water fees are still at drought year punishment high, and the local college district is pushing another half billion of bonds to stick it to property owners.
California recently enacted a statewide rent control, which was retroactive back 9 months. So a property owner who raised rents to reflect the increased costs now has that raise retroactively limited in what they can collect today (prior payment isn't affected, just future payments.)
The limit is 5% + cost of living adjustment in rent raise per year. Raising at anything less than the maximum permitted is stupid; you'll forever be behind the rise in costs of renting property and just giving your money away.
And like the People's Republic of Santa Monica demonstrated, the moment that rent control goes into effect, EVERYTHING going forward gets proposed to be attached to property - utility taxes, bonds, fees to license property owners, etc. Can't let their 'renter' voters ever see the bill for all the free stuff.
How many illegal do the property management companies employ to do the maintenance in Santa Monica?