I know what he's doing is illegal, but I don't know how to confront him about it. I really hate confrontation and I'm not good at this sort of thing. I can't afford a 13% increase, which is triple the annual limit where I live. How do I respond to him? (Serious answers please, no Mao larping.)
Can he kick me out if I don't sign a new lease? I really don't want to be forced out. I'm looking for a new pace now but it's almost impossible to find one that fits my needs in this area (also moving without a car is expensive and time consuming).
Document everything. You should refuse the rent increase.
Typically the Landlord is going to have a ton of power in this relationship. Laws protecting against retaliation are difficult (meaning expensive) to enforce.
That said, some landlords are huge fuckwits and they will make a big mistake if you just keep calm and stand by your legal rights. If this happens, and it happens often, you can defeat them
It's hard to help with specifics without knowing what specific state you're in. Housing laws vary by state. Don't doxx yourself.
If you find yourself in legal trouble consider sending me a message