In San Francisco, a lot of residential renters are covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance which supplies rent control and just cause for eviction. This implies rents can just be raised by certain amounts annually and the renter can only be kicked out for "just causes." In addition, some rentals have restrictions on just how much the proprietor can charge the new occupant due to previous expulsions. The Rent Ordinance is administered by the San Francisco Rent Board.

Effective January 1, 2020, there is state rent control and just cause needed for eviction for lots of residential systems not covered under the Rent Ordinance. If the system does not fall under an exemption, then it is covered. For the units covered only under California rent control, yearly rent increases are topped at 5 percent plus the expense of living boost or 10 percent, whichever is lower, for renters who have actually inhabited the unit for 12 months or more.

The Rent Board website has extensive info 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 rent increased by any quantity at any time with a correct composed notice.

Major Components of the Rent Control Under the Rent Ordinance

- Landlords can only raise a tenant's rent by a set amount each year (tied to inflation). Landlords can also petition for other increases. Notably, capital enhancements can be gone through to the tenant for a maximum boost of 10% or increased operating and upkeep costs for a maximum boost of 7%, however these lease increases must be documented and authorized by the Rent Board before they can be imposed. The renter can request a difficulty exemption for the capital improvement and operating and upkeep passthroughs.

• Tenants can petition the Rent Board to reduce their lease if the property owner has stopped working to provide agreed upon or lawfully needed services-e.g., the landlord removes storage area, parking, washer/dryer, etc or the landlord fails to keep the premises as safe and habitable (e.g. the home has uncorrected housing code offenses).
• Tenants can only be kicked out for among 16 "just causes" unless the occupant shares the rental system with their proprietor. The majority of these expulsions deal with allegations the renter can challenge (e.g., tenant is violating the lease) but some are "no-fault" like owner move in or an Ellis Act eviction.
  
  Rent Control Coverage Under the Rent Ordinance
  
  If you live in San Francisco, you are typically covered by rent control. The significant exceptions are:
  
  - You reside in a rental system with a certificate of occupancy after June 13, 1979, with a few exceptions. This "new construction exemption" is the greatest exemption in San Francisco. The Assessor's database, is where you can typically learn the date your structure was built which will offer the approximate date for the certificate of tenancy. Illegal systems do not have a certificate of tenancy, so are covered under the Rent Ordinance unless exempt for other factors. Some "accessory units" typically called in-law units are still covered under rent control despite having a certificate of occupancy provided 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 also still covered under lease control. However, efficient January 19, 2020, these more recent systems 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 defense of the Rent Ordinance, and often covered by the lease control of the Rent Ordinance. Make a visit with the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco for support for subsidized housing.
• You reside in a property hotel and have less than 32 days of continuous occupancy.
• You reside in a dormitory, medical facility, abbey, nunnery, and so on- You live in a single household home (see below).
  
  Single Family Homes Including Condos Have Limited Rent Control Coverage
  
  You usually do not have complete lease control security if you live in a single household home (a single household home with an illegal in-law system counts as a 2-unit structure) or a condominium and you (and your roomies) moved in on or after January 1, 1996. While these systems do not usually have limits on rent increases, they do have "simply cause" eviction protection (unless otherwise exempt for factors such as above), indicating you can only be forced out for one of the simply causes unless the tenant shares the rental with their .
  
  Exception: If you moved into a single household home which was vacant because the previous occupant was evicted after a 60 or one month eviction notice (a no-fault expulsion), then you have complete rent control defense. (You can discover if there was a previous expulsion by going to the Rent Board site or looking for the proprietor's name on the California Superior Court's website.)
  
  Exception: If you moved into a single household home or apartment which had housing code infractions that were mentioned and uncorrected for a minimum of 6 months before the vacancy, then you have full rent control. You can discover the code infraction status of your building at the Department of Building Inspection's website.
  
  Exception: If you reside in an apartment where the subdivider of the building still owns the condos, you have full lease control defense, 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 areas or live/work units in which renters 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 property manager in fact knows that people live there and enables the renters to live there is what counts.
  
  Rent Increases Under the Rent Ordinance
  
  Tenants with rent control can just be given rent increases based on what the law allows. Each year, a property owner can offer renters an annual lease boost, which is based upon the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (i.e. inflation). Landlords can also pass on some costs to occupants immediately (without having to petition the Rent Board), consisting of 50% of recently embraced bond measures, increases in PG & E expenses (when paid by the property manager), and a part of the yearly "Rent Board Fee" which funds the Rent Board. In addition, landlords can petition for "capital improvement" lease increases and "running and maintenance" rent increases. If occupants think they have actually gotten a prohibited rent increase (now or in the past) you need to be available in to the SFTU drop-in clinic for guidance on filing an Unlawful Rent Increase petition at the Rent Board to get your lease overpayments refunded and your lease set properly.
  
  Annual Rent Increases
  
  The yearly lease boost (document 571) can be enforced on or after the renter's "anniversary date." The rent increase can not be given faster than 12 months from the last increase, the "anniversary date." It can be offered after, in which case that date becomes the new anniversary date. Annual boosts can be "banked" by the property owner and imposed in later years.
  
  90 Day Notice Required For Rent Increases More Than 10%
  
  State law (California Civil Code Section 827) needs a 90 day composed notification for any rent boosts which, alone or cumulatively, raise a renter's lease by more than 10% within a 12 month duration. Rent increases for 10% or less require a thirty days notification. This covers both lease controlled and non-rent regulated units.
  
  Capital Improvement Rent Increases
  
  Among the more unjust parts of rent control is the capital enhancement passthrough. Capital improvements are enhancements for the building, the property owner's financial investment, which renters mainly pay for through a passthrough. Not only can the property owner get the tenants to pay for increasing the value of his or her financial investment, the landlord can then compose the expense of the improvements off in their taxes. Capital improvements are things fresh windows, a new roofing, painting of the outside of the building, and other similar enhancements to the residential or commercial property which add significantly to the life or worth of the residential or commercial property instead of regular maintenance. Landlords need to finish the work, petition the Rent Board and win approval of the lease increase before the cost can be passed on. Tenants can contest the boosts at the hearing on specific premises, like that the work was never done, was not necessary, or was done to gentrify the building, however it is hard to stop such a passthrough in its whole. However, the tenant may certify for a challenge exemption.
  
  Once the capital improvement has been spent for, then the occupant's lease goes back to what it was prior to the passthrough (plus any permitted boosts in the interim)