In San Francisco, the majority of domestic renters are covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance which provides rent control and just trigger for expulsion. This indicates leas can only be raised by particular quantities per year and the tenant can only be forced out for "just triggers." In addition, some rental units have constraints on just how much the landlord can charge the brand-new renter due to previous expulsions. The Rent Ordinance is administered by the San Francisco Rent Board.
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Effective January 1, 2020, there is state rent control and simply trigger required for expulsion for lots of property units not covered under the Rent Ordinance. If the unit does not fall under an exemption, then it is covered. For the systems covered only under California lease control, yearly lease boosts are topped at 5 percent plus the cost of living increase or 10 percent, whichever is lower, for tenants who have inhabited the unit for 12 months or more.
The Rent Board website has comprehensive information about the Rent Ordinance and you can download the San Francisco Rent Ordinance and Rent Board Rules and Regulations or pertain to our counseling clinic for more info about the Rent Ordinance or state law. Tenants who do not have lease control can have their lease increased by any amount at any time with an appropriate written notification.
Major Components of the Rent Control Under the Rent Ordinance
- Landlords can just raise an occupant's lease by a set quantity each year (tied to inflation). Landlords can likewise petition for other boosts. Notably, capital improvements can be gone through to the renter for an optimal boost of 10% or increased operating and upkeep costs for an optimal boost of 7%, however these lease boosts need to be recorded and authorized by the Rent Board before they can be imposed. The occupant can ask for a hardship exemption for the capital improvement and operating and upkeep passthroughs.
- Tenants can petition the Rent Board to reduce their lease if the property manager has actually stopped working to offer concurred upon or legally required services-e.g., the proprietor takes away storage space, parking, washer/dryer, and so on or the property owner fails to maintain the premises as safe and habitable (e.g. the home has uncorrected housing code violations).
- Tenants can only be evicted for among 16 "just triggers" unless the tenant shares the rental with their landlord. Most of these expulsions handle allegations the renter can dispute (e.g., renter is breaching the lease) however some are "no-fault" like owner move in or an Ellis Act eviction.
Rent Control Coverage Under the Rent Ordinance
If you reside in San Francisco, you are generally covered by rent control. The significant exceptions are:
- You reside in a rental with a certificate of occupancy after June 13, 1979, with a few exceptions. This "brand-new building exemption" is the most significant exemption in San Francisco. The Assessor's database, is where you can usually find out 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 reasons. Some "accessory units" often called in-law systems are still covered under lease control in spite of having a certificate of occupancy issued after June 13, 1979. (SF Administrative Code Section 37.2( r)( 4 )( D)) Unauthorized systems that existed before June 13, 1979 and were brought up to code after that date are likewise still covered under lease control. However, reliable January 19, 2020, these more current systems are no longer exempt from the rest of the Rent Ordinance due to their certificate of occupancy date. - You reside in subsidized housing, such as HUD housing projects. Tenants with tenant-based support such as Section 8 coupons are still covered by the eviction defense of the Rent Ordinance, and sometimes covered by the lease control of the Rent Ordinance. Make a consultation with the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco for help for subsidized housing.
- You live in a residential hotel and have less than 32 days of continuous occupancy.
- You reside in a dorm, hospital, abbey, nunnery, and so on- You live in a single family home (see listed below).
Single Family Homes Including Condos Have Limited Rent Control Coverage
You usually do not have full rent control security if you live in a single family home (a single household home with an unlawful 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 typically have limits on rent boosts, they do have "simply cause" eviction defense (unless otherwise exempt for reasons such as above), implying you can just be kicked out for one of the just triggers unless the tenant shares the rental unit with their property owner.
Exception: If you moved into a single family home which was vacant due to the fact that the previous tenant was forced out after a 60 or 30 day eviction notification (a no-fault eviction), then you have full lease control defense. (You can learn if there was a previous eviction by going to the Rent Board website or looking for the property owner's name on the California Superior Court's website.)
Exception: If you moved into a single household home or condominium which had housing code offenses that were pointed out and uncorrected for at least 6 months before the job, then you have complete lease control. You can discover out the code offense status of your building at the Department of Building Inspection's website.
Exception: If you reside in a condominium where the subdivider of the structure still owns the apartments, you have full lease control defense, unless it is the last unsold unit and the subdivider resided in the unit for at least a year after neighborhood.
Commercial Units Used as Residential with the Landlord's Knowledge Are Not Exempt from Rent Control
Commercial spaces or live/work units in which renters continue to reside in a nonresidential system with the understanding of the landlord are covered by lease control unless exempt for other reasons. Whether the property owner really knows that people live there and permits the tenants to live there is what counts.
Rent Increases Under the Rent Ordinance
Tenants with rent control can only be given lease increases based on what the law allows. Each year, a landlord can give tenants an annual lease boost, which is based upon the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (i.e. inflation). Landlords can likewise hand down some costs to occupants immediately (without having to petition the Rent Board), including 50% of just recently embraced bond measures, increases in PG & E expenses (when paid by the proprietor), and a part of the yearly "Rent Board Fee" which funds the Rent Board. In addition, property owners can petition for "capital improvement" rent boosts and "operating and upkeep" lease increases. If renters think they have gotten a prohibited rent increase (now or in the past) you should come in to the SFTU drop-in clinic for advice on filing an Unlawful Rent Increase petition at the Rent Board to get your rent overpayments refunded and your lease set correctly.
Annual Rent Increases
The annual rent increase (file 571) can be enforced on or after the occupant's "anniversary date." The rent boost can not be provided quicker than 12 months from the last boost, the "anniversary date." It can be provided after, in which case that date ends up being the brand-new anniversary date. Annual increases can be "banked" by the landlord and enforced 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 notice for any lease increases which, alone or cumulatively, raise a renter's rent by more than 10% within a 12 month period. Rent increases for 10% or less require a 1 month notification. This covers both lease regulated and non-rent regulated systems.
Capital Improvement Rent Increases
One of the more unjust parts of rent control is the capital enhancement passthrough. Capital enhancements are improvements for the building, the property owner's financial investment, which renters primarily spend for through a passthrough. Not only can the property manager get the renters to spend for increasing the value of his/her investment, the landlord can then write the cost of the improvements off in their taxes. Capital enhancements are things fresh windows, a brand-new roofing system, painting of the exterior of the structure, and other comparable improvements to the residential or commercial property which add considerably to the life or value of the residential or commercial property rather than routine upkeep. Landlords should finish the work, petition the Rent Board and win approval of the rent increase before the cost can be passed on. Tenants can object to the at the hearing on particular premises, like that the work was never ever done, was not needed, or was done to gentrify the building, but it is challenging to stop such a passthrough in its entirety. However, the tenant may receive a difficulty exemption.
Once the capital improvement has actually been paid for, then the renter's lease goes back to what it was prior to the passthrough (plus any allowed boosts in the interim)