When new owners took over Kathy Layden’s apartment building in Redwood City in 2018, she wasn’t completely taken off guard when they increased rents. But, then, eight months later, the landlord sent her another letter for a rent hike.
In the years that followed, she saw annual rent increases between 5% and 7% for her two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on Hudson Street. Layden dipped into her 401(k). She started using credit cards more often. She got a roommate.
“It was frustrating, but I started to expect it and did my best to make it work,” she said in a phone call with SFGATE. “I wasn’t getting the kind of salary increase that would make up for that.”…