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Rent Control
Coverage & Rent Increases
Annual Rent Increase Effective 3/1/08-2/28/09: 2.0%
Download Rent Control Law and Regulations
In San Francisco, most tenants are covered by rent control. This means rents can only be raised by certain amounts per year. Tenants who do not have rent control can have their rent increased by any amount at any time with proper 30 or 60 day notice.
Rent control is administered by the SF Rent Board, 25 Van Ness Ave. (at Market). The Rent Board web site has extensive information and you can download the rent control law and rules and regulations from the site.
Major Components of Rent Control
•Landlords can only raise a tenant's rent by a set amount each year (tied to inflation—see chart below). Landlords can also petition for other increases (notably capital improvements for a maximum increase of 10% or increased operating & maintenance costs for a maximum increase of 7%; these rent increases must be documented and justified and approved by the Rent Board before they can be imposed).
•Tenants can petition the Rent Board to decrease their rent if the landlord is failing to provide agreed upon or legally required services—e.g., the landlord takes away storage space, parking, washer/dryer, etc. or the landlord fails to maintain the premises as safe and habitable (e.g. the apartment has uncorrected housing code violations)
•Tenants can only be evicted for one of 14 "just causes." Most of these deal with allegations the tenant can dispute (e.g., tenant is violating the lease) but some are "no-fault" like owner move in or Ellis.
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 exceptions:1. You live in a building constructed after June of 1979. This "new construction exemption" is the biggest exemption in SF and can not be changed locally because it is mandated by state law. Click here for link to Assessor's database, where you can usually find out the date your building was constructed
2. You live in subsidized housing, such as HUD housing projects.
3. You live in a dormitory, monastery, nunnery, etc.
4. You live in a residential hotel and have less than 28 days of continuous tenancy.
Some Units Have Limited Rent Control Coverage
Single Family Homes/Condos—You do not have full rent control protection if you live in a single family home (note that a single family home with an illegal in-law unit counts as a 2 unit building) or a condominium and you (and your roommates) moved in on or after January 1, 1996. While 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.
Exception: If you moved into a single family home which was vacant because the previous tenant was evicted pursuant to a 30 day notice (e.g., owner move in or Ellis), then you have full rent control protection. (You can find out if there was a previous eviction by going to the Rent Board at 25 Van Ness Ave.).
Exception: If your building has housing code violations which have been uncorrected for 60 or more days, then you have full rent control. (You can find out the code violation status of your building by going to Department of Building Inspection at 1660 Mission).
Exception: If you live in a condo where the subdivider of the building still owns the condos, you have full rent control protection.
Some Units Have Full Protection But Many Tenants Don't Realize It
—Illegal Units are covered by rent control Illegal units. such as in-law apartments, are covered by rent control.
—Commercial Spaces/Live Work Units in which tenants reside in a nonresidential unit with the knowledge of the landlord are covered by rent control (even if the rental agreement says "commercial only," whether the landlord actually knows that people live there is what counts)
—2-4 unit, landlord occupied buildings used to be exempt from rent control. Pursuant to 1994's Proposition I, these buildings have had full rent control protection since May 1, 1994.
Annual Rent Increases
The annual rent increase can be imposed only on the tenant's "anniversary date." Annual increases can be "banked" by the landlord and imposed in later years. (For elaboration on this see your Tenants Rights Handbook or come in and talk to a counselor) Following are the annual rent increases for past years:
March 1, 2008-February 28, 2009—2%
March 1, 2007-February 28, 2008—1.6%
March 1, 2006-February 28, 2007—1.7%
March 1, 2005-February 28, 2006—1.2%
March 1, 2004-February 28, 2005—0.6%
March 1, 2003-February 29, 2004—0.8%
March 1, 2002-February 28, 2003—2.7%
March 1, 2001-February 28, 2002—2.8%
March 1, 2000-February 28, 2001— 2.9%
March 1, 1999-February 29, 2000—1.7%
March 1, 1998-February 28, 1999—2.2%
March 1, 1997-February 28, 1998—1.8%
March 1, 1996-February 28, 1997—1.0%
March 1, 1995-February 29, 1996—1.1%
March 1, 1994-February 28, 1995—1.3%
March 1, 1993-February 28, 1994—1.9%
Dec 8, 1992-February 28, 1993—1.6%
1992's Proposition H took effect on 12/8/92, eliminating the guaranteed 4% increase
March 1, 1992-Dec 7, 1992—4%
March 1, 1991-February 29, 1992—4%From March 1, 1984 to February 28, 1991 the annual increase was 4%
From April 1, 1982 to February 29, 1984, the annual increase was 7%
60 Day Notice Now Required For Rent Increases of 10%+
Effective 1/1/01, state law (Cal Civil Code 827) requires a 60 day notice for any rent increases which, alone or cumulatively, raise a tenant's rent by more than 10% within a 12 month period. This covers both rent controlled and non-rent controlled units.
Passthrough of Gas and Electricity Costs
With PG & E poised to get a huge rate hike thanks to deregulation of the utility industry, the issue of when landlords can pass on increases in utilities is a common question. Generally, rental agreements either require the tenant to pay these costs directly or utilities are included in the rent and the landlord actually pays the bill. If the rental agreement is silent on the matter, it means the utility costs are included in the rent. Under rent control, landlords who include utilities in the rent are able to directly pass on these increases to the tenant without having to petition the Rent Board (although the tenant may petition the Rent Board to protest the calculation of the amount).
HOWEVER, these passthroughs can only be imposed after the landlord has a full calendar year of documented increases. Section 4.11 of the Rent Control Rules and Regulations specify the method of calculation of utility increases. The landlord must present a comparison of the utility costs for the preceding two calendar years and can pass through the difference between year one and two. Tenants who pay utilities directly (increasingly common) will bear the full brunt of utility increases and tenants without rent control can have their rents raised with 30 days notice for any reason (60 days, if the increase is 10% or more).
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