In partnership with the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a settlement with Mission Rock Residential California, Inc. (Mission Rock), a residential management company that oversees over 30 apartment buildings in California. The settlement resolves a joint investigation by the California Department of Justice and Marin County District Attorney’s Office concerning Mission Rock’s unlawful rent-increase practices and other violations of state and local tenant protection laws. The investigation found that, in 2022, Mission Rock raised rents for approximately 140 families close to the maximum permitted by California’s Tenant Protection Act (TPA), while at the same time requiring those tenants to start paying for water, sewer, and garbage services that had previously been included in their rent. Mission Rock switched these tenants to a ratio utility billing system, known as “RUBS,” under which tenants were charged utility fees based not on each unit’s actual usage but on a complex formula to allocate costs for the entire property, including common areas. The complaint, which was filed today in conjunction with a proposed stipulated judgment, alleges that this resulted in several months of rent payments that exceeded the TPA’s rent cap. Due to early intervention by the California Department of Justice and the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, Mission Rock stopped billing existing tenants for the full utility charges. As part of today’s settlement, the residential management company will make a payment of $495,000 and be subject to strong injunctive terms to deter future misconduct. The complaint and settlement were filed with the Marin County Superior Court.