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This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the full series here.
When Clara Faria read her rent statement, her heart stopped. Her monthly payment would more than triple, rising from $297 per month to $995. She had four days to make the payment or be charged a $50 late fee.
She sank into the brown leather chair next to her formica-coated kitchen table, where she’d opened her mail for decades. She had heard neighbors were getting rent increases, but said she hadn’t received a notice herself. She had hoped she would be spared, but the reality was worse than she had imagined…