In San Francisco, the majority of property occupants are covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance which provides rent control and just trigger for eviction. This indicates leas can just be raised by specific quantities each year and the renter can just be kicked out for "just triggers." In addition, some rentals have limitations on how much the proprietor can charge the brand-new renter 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 simply trigger required for expulsion for lots of domestic systems not covered under the Rent Ordinance. If the system does not fall under an exemption, then it is covered. For the units covered just under California rent control, annual lease increases are topped at 5 percent plus the expense of living boost or 10 percent, whichever is lower, for renters who have actually occupied the system for 12 months or more.
The Rent Board website has extensive details about the Rent Ordinance and you can download the San Francisco Rent Ordinance and Rent Board Rules and Regulations or come to our therapy center for more information 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 an appropriate composed notice.
Major Components of the Rent Control Under the Rent Ordinance
- Landlords can just raise a tenant's lease by a set quantity each year (tied to inflation). Landlords can likewise petition for other increases. Notably, capital improvements can be gone through to the tenant for an optimal increase of 10% or increased operating and maintenance expenses for a maximum increase of 7%, however these lease boosts should 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 decrease their lease if the property owner has failed to offer agreed upon or lawfully required services-e.g., the proprietor eliminates storage space, parking, washer/dryer, and so on or the property manager fails to maintain the premises as safe and habitable (e.g. the apartment has uncorrected housing code offenses).
- Tenants can just be evicted for one of 16 "simply triggers" unless the tenant shares the rental with their proprietor. The majority of these evictions deal with allegations the occupant can challenge (e.g., occupant is breaking the lease) however some are "no-fault" like owner relocation in or an Ellis Act eviction.
Rent Control Coverage Under the Rent Ordinance
If you live in San Francisco, you are typically covered by lease control. The significant exceptions are:
- You live in a rental system with a certificate of tenancy after June 13, 1979, with a couple of exceptions. This "brand-new building and construction exemption" is the most significant exemption in San Francisco. The Assessor's database, is where you can normally discover out the date your building was built which will provide the approximate date for the certificate of tenancy. Illegal systems do not have a certificate of occupancy, so are covered under the Rent Ordinance unless exempt for other reasons. Some "accessory systems" 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 systems that existed before June 13, 1979 and were brought up to code after that date are also still covered under rent control. However, efficient 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 projects. 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 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 live in a dormitory, healthcare facility, monastery, 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 lease control protection if you live in a single household home (a single family home with an illegal in-law unit 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 normally have limitations on rent boosts, they do have "just cause" expulsion defense (unless otherwise exempt for reasons such as above), meaning you can just be kicked out for one of the just causes unless the occupant shares the rental with their landlord.
Exception: If you moved into a single family home which was uninhabited since the previous tenant was forced out after a 60 or 1 month expulsion notification (a no-fault eviction), then you have full lease control defense. (You can discover out if there was a previous eviction by going to the Rent Board site or browsing for the property manager's name on the California Superior Court's website.)
Exception: If you moved into a single family home or apartment which had housing code violations that were mentioned and uncorrected for a minimum of 6 months before the job, then you have complete rent control. You can find out the code violation status of your building at the Department of site.
Exception: If you live in a condominium where the subdivider of the structure still owns the condos, 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 areas or live/work units in which renters continue to reside in a nonresidential unit with the knowledge of the proprietor are covered by lease control unless exempt for other factors. Whether the proprietor in fact understands that people live there and permits the occupants to live there is what counts.
Rent Increases Under the Rent Ordinance
Tenants with rent control can just be offered rent increases based upon what the law permits. Each year, a property owner can provide renters an annual rent boost, which is based upon the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (i.e. inflation). Landlords can also pass on some costs to tenants instantly (without having to petition the Rent Board), consisting of 50% of just recently embraced bond procedures, increases in PG & E expenses (when paid by the landlord), and a part of the annual "Rent Board Fee" which funds the Rent Board. In addition, property owners can petition for "capital enhancement" rent boosts and "running and maintenance" rent increases. If renters believe they have gotten an unlawful rent boost (now or in the past) you should come in to the SFTU drop-in center for guidance on filing an Illegal Rent Increase petition at the Rent Board to get your lease overpayments reimbursed and your lease set properly.
Annual Rent Increases
The annual rent boost (file 571) can be enforced on or after the occupant's "anniversary date." The rent increase can not be offered sooner than 12 months from the last boost, the "anniversary date." It can be provided after, in which case that date becomes the brand-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) requires a 90 day written notice for any lease boosts which, alone or cumulatively, raise a renter's rent by more than 10% within a 12 month period. Rent increases for 10% or less need an one month notification. This covers both lease controlled and non-rent regulated systems.
Capital Improvement Rent Increases
One of the more unjust parts of rent control is the capital enhancement passthrough. Capital improvements are improvements for the structure, the property manager's financial investment, which tenants mainly spend for through a passthrough. Not only can the property manager get the tenants to pay for increasing the worth of his/her financial investment, the property owner can then write the cost of the enhancements off in their taxes. Capital improvements are things like new windows, a new roofing, painting of the exterior of the structure, and other comparable enhancements to the residential or commercial property which include significantly to the life or worth of the residential or commercial property as opposed to regular maintenance. Landlords need to complete the work, petition the Rent Board and win approval of the lease increase before the cost can be passed on. Tenants can object to the boosts at the hearing on particular grounds, like that the work was never ever done, was not necessary, or was done to gentrify the building, but it is challenging to stop such a passthrough in its entirety. However, the occupant might certify for a difficulty exemption.
Once the capital enhancement has been spent for, then the occupant's rent goes back to what it was prior to the passthrough (plus any allowed increases in the interim)