Legal advice for new landlord
Hey everyone ! My names giovanni and looking for some advice on a situation i came across with a tenant. I purchased my duplex with a VA loan and plan on living in the back unit. I had inherited the tenant for the front unit. The tenant is currently paying 1043$ On a monthly lease and the last time the landlord increased was back in 2020. Currently the average rent for a 2/1 house ranges from 1500-2000$. I went to the tenant to give them a rental agreement for 1650$ as a 6 month lease and they were reluctant to even consider that new rent price, even stating that they thought it would just go up to 1200$. I said I'll try to work something out so that they can stay but at the same time I cannot afford to pay the mortgage if I bring down the rent even more. My question is how do I go about raising rents on a inherited tenant without getting into legal trouble in CA? I've read multiple things online such as I cannot raise more than 10% in a year but also read that if I am the landlord and also living on the property then I can be exempt for this. Do I make it stay as a month to month and increase the rent 100$ every month or start suggesting the tenant to look for another place so I can get somebody that will pay my asking price? Thank you for anyone who replies.