Rent Control
The San Francisco Rent Board
administers rent control. You can download the rent control law, as
well as other rules and regulations from the
Rent Board Web Site.
The major components of SF rent
control are:
-
Landlords can only raise a tenant's rent by a set amount
each year (see the Rent Board Web Site for the maximum allowable
yearly increase)
-
Tenants may petition the Rent Board to decrease their
rent if the landlord fails to provide agreed upon or legally
required services
-
Tenants can only be evicted for one of 14 "just causes"
(e.g. "owner move-in")
Rent Control Coverage
San Francisco's rent
control law covers most rental property in San Francisco. If you
live in San Francisco, you are covered by rent control unless you
fall into one of these major categories:
You live in subsidized housing, such as HUD housing
projects.
You live in a dormitory, monastery, nunnery, etc.
You live in a residential hotel and have less than 28
days of continuous tenancy.
Some Units Have Limited Rent Control Coverage
Single Family
Houses/Condominiums—Generally speaking, you do not have full
rent control protection if you live in a single family house (a
single family house with an illegal in-law unit counts as a 2 unit
building) or a condominium (in which the condo you live in is the
only condo owned by your landlord in the building) and you (and your
roommates) moved in on or after January 1, 1996.
Although these units do
not have limits on rent increases, they do have "just cause"
eviction protection, meaning you can only be evicted for one of 14
just causes. Certain limited exceptions may apply, see the Rent
Board Web Site for details.
Additional Rent Control Coverage
-
"Illegal" units are covered by rent control, provided
the building was constructed after June, 1979.
-
Commercial spaces/Live-Work units in which tenants
reside in a non-residential unit with the knowledge of the
landlord are covered by rent control, provided the building was
constructed after June, 1979 (even if the rental agreement says
"commercial only," what counts is whether the landlord actually
knows that people live there).
-
Pursuant to 1994's Proposition I, 2-4 unit, landlord
occupied buildings have full rent control protection.
Grounds for Eviction in SF -
