In San Francisco, most property occupants are covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance which offers rent control and simply cause for eviction. This suggests leas can only be raised by certain quantities per year and the tenant can just be evicted for "simply causes." In addition, some rentals have constraints on just how much the proprietor can charge the new tenant due to previous evictions. The Rent Ordinance is administered by the San Francisco Rent Board.

Effective January 1, 2020, there is state lease control and just cause needed for expulsion for many property systems not covered under the Rent Ordinance. If the unit does not fall under an exemption, then it is covered. For the units covered just under California lease control, annual lease boosts are topped at 5 percent plus the cost of living increase or 10 percent, whichever is lower, for occupants who have occupied the unit for 12 months or more.

The Rent Board site has comprehensive details about the Rent Ordinance and you can download the San Francisco Rent Ordinance and Rent Board Rules and Regulations or concern our counseling clinic to find out more about the Rent Ordinance or state law. Tenants who do not have lease control can have their lease increased by any quantity at any time with an appropriate written notice.

Major Components of the Rent Control Under the Rent Ordinance

- Landlords can just raise an occupant's rent by a set amount each year (connected to inflation). Landlords can likewise petition for other increases. Notably, capital enhancements can be gone through to the renter for a maximum increase of 10% or increased operating and maintenance expenses for an optimal increase of 7%, but these lease increases should be recorded and approved by the Rent Board before they can be enforced. The renter can request a hardship exemption for the capital improvement and operating and maintenance passthroughs.

• Tenants can petition the Rent Board to reduce their rent if the property manager has actually stopped working to offer concurred upon or lawfully required services-e.g., the property manager eliminates storage space, parking, washer/dryer, and so on or the property manager stops working to maintain the premises as safe and habitable (e.g. the apartment has uncorrected housing code offenses).
• Tenants can only be evicted for one of 16 "just triggers" unless the occupant shares the rental system with their landlord. Most of these evictions handle accusations the tenant can contest (e.g., renter is breaking the lease) but some are "no-fault" like owner move in or an Ellis Act expulsion.
  
  Rent Control Coverage Under the Rent Ordinance
  
  If you reside in San Francisco, you are typically covered by lease control. The significant exceptions are:
  
  - You reside in a rental system with a certificate of tenancy after June 13, 1979, with a couple of exceptions. This "new building and construction exemption" is the biggest exemption in San Francisco. The Assessor's database, is where you can generally learn the date your structure was constructed which will provide the approximate date for the certificate of occupancy. Illegal units do not have a certificate of occupancy, so are covered under the Rent Ordinance unless exempt for other reasons. Some "accessory systems" frequently called in-law units are still covered under lease control despite having a certificate of occupancy issued after June 13, 1979. (SF Administrative Code Section 37.2( r)( 4 )( D)) Unauthorized units that existed before June 13, 1979 and were brought up to code after that date are likewise still covered under rent control. However, reliable January 19, 2020, these more recent units are no longer exempt from the remainder of the Rent Ordinance due to their certificate of tenancy date.
• You live in subsidized housing, such as HUD housing tasks. Tenants with tenant-based help such as Section 8 coupons are still covered by the eviction protection of the Rent Ordinance, and sometimes covered by the rent control of the Rent Ordinance. Make a visit with the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco for support for subsidized housing.
• You live in a property hotel and have less than 32 days of constant occupancy.
• You reside in a dorm, health center, abbey, nunnery, etc- You live in a single household home (see listed below).
  
  Single Family Homes Including Condos Have Limited Rent Control Coverage
  
  You typically do not have complete rent control protection if you reside in a single family home (a single household home with an illegal in-law system counts as a 2-unit building) or a condo and you (and your roommates) moved in on or after January 1, 1996. While these systems do not generally have limitations on lease boosts, they do have "just trigger" eviction security (unless otherwise exempt for reasons such as above), indicating you can only be forced out for one of the just causes unless the renter shares the rental with their property manager.
  
  Exception: If you moved into a single household home which was uninhabited due to the fact that the previous occupant was evicted after a 60 or thirty days expulsion notification (a no-fault expulsion), then you have complete rent control protection. (You can learn if there was a previous eviction by going to the Rent Board site or looking for the landlord's name on the California Superior Court's website.)
  
  Exception: If you moved into a single family home or condo which had housing code violations that were cited and uncorrected for a minimum of 6 months before the job, then you have complete rent control. You can discover the code violation status of your structure at the Department of Building Inspection's site.
  
  Exception: If you reside in an apartment where the subdivider of the building still owns the condominiums, you have complete rent control security, unless it is the last unsold system and the subdivider lived in the system for a minimum of a year after subdivision.
  
  Commercial Units Used as Residential with the Landlord's Knowledge Are Not Exempt from Rent Control
  
  Commercial spaces or live/work units in which tenants continue to reside in a nonresidential unit with the understanding of the landlord are covered by lease control unless exempt for other reasons. Whether the proprietor actually understands that individuals live there and enables the renters to live there is what counts.
  
  Rent Increases Under the Rent Ordinance
  
  Tenants with rent control can only be given rent increases based upon what the law permits. Each year, a property owner can provide tenants a yearly rent increase, which is based on the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (i.e. inflation). Landlords can likewise hand down some costs to tenants automatically (without needing to petition the Rent Board), including 50% of recently adopted bond procedures, increases in PG & E expenses (when paid by the property manager), and a portion of the yearly "Rent Board Fee" which funds the Rent Board. In addition, property owners can petition for "capital enhancement" rent boosts and "operating and upkeep" lease increases. If renters believe they have received an illegal lease increase (now or in the past) you must come in to the SFTU drop-in clinic for recommendations on filing an Illegal Rent Increase petition at the Rent Board to get your rent overpayments refunded and your rent set correctly.
  
  Annual Rent Increases
  
  The yearly rent increase (document 571) can be imposed on or after the occupant's "anniversary date." The rent boost can not be offered quicker than 12 months from the last increase, the "anniversary date." It can be provided after, in which case that date becomes the brand-new anniversary date. Annual increases can be "banked" by the proprietor and imposed in later years.
  
  90 Day Notice Required For Rent Increases More Than 10%
  
  State law (California Civil Code Section 827) requires a 90 day composed notice for any rent boosts which, alone or cumulatively, raise a renter's rent by more than 10% within a 12 month duration. Rent increases for 10% or less require an one month notice. This covers both lease controlled and non-rent regulated systems.
  
  Capital Improvement Rent Increases
  
  One of the more unjust parts of lease control is the capital enhancement passthrough. Capital enhancements are improvements for the structure, the property owner's financial investment, which tenants primarily spend for through a passthrough. Not just can the proprietor get the tenants to pay for increasing the worth of his/her financial investment, the proprietor can then compose the expense of the improvements off in their taxes. Capital enhancements are things fresh windows, a brand-new roof, painting of the outside of the building, and other comparable enhancements to the residential or commercial property which add substantially to the life or value of the residential or commercial property instead of regular maintenance. Landlords must finish the work, petition the Rent Board and win approval of the lease boost before the expense can be passed on. Tenants can contest the boosts at the hearing on certain premises, like that the work was never ever done, was not essential, or was done to gentrify the structure, but it is challenging to stop such a passthrough in its totality. However, the occupant might qualify for a difficulty exemption.
  
  Once the capital enhancement has been paid for, then the renter's rent goes back to what it was prior to the passthrough (plus any allowed increases in the interim)