How to Evict a Tenant in San Francisco: Notice, Lawsuit, Lockout

To evict a tenant in San Francisco, you need a just-cause reason recognized by the city’s Rent Ordinance, a legally correct written notice (filed with the Rent Board for most grounds), payment of mandatory relocation money if the eviction is no-fault, a court judgment from an unlawful detainer lawsuit, and a sheriff lockout at the end. There are no shortcuts: changing the locks, cutting utilities, or removing a tenant’s belongings is a crime, even after you win in court.

San Francisco’s rules go well beyond California state law. A single procedural slip, like forgetting to file a copy of your notice with the Rent Board within 10 days, can sink the entire case.

You Need a Just-Cause Reason

Section 37.9 of the San Francisco Administrative Code limits evictions in rent-controlled units to 16 specific grounds.¹ A lease ending, a tenant you no longer want, or a desire to raise the rent to market rate are not among them. The grounds split into at-fault (something the tenant did) and no-fault (business or personal reasons unrelated to tenant conduct). That split drives everything else: the notice length, the paperwork, and whether you owe the tenant thousands of dollars to move.

At-Fault Grounds

The common at-fault grounds landlords rely on:

Nonpayment of rent that is lawfully owed.
Habitual late payment, even when the tenant eventually pays in full.
Nuisance — substantial damage to the unit or serious interference with other tenants or the landlord.
Substantial breach of a lawful lease term that the tenant fails to fix after written notice.¹
Using the unit for illegal purposes.
Refusing the landlord lawful access after proper notice.
Subletting without written permission when the lease requires it.

At-fault evictions do not require relocation payments. You still have to prove the ground, and the tenant can contest it.

No-Fault Grounds

No-fault evictions carry longer notice periods, mandatory relocation money, and tighter restrictions. The main ones:

Owner or qualifying-relative move-in. The landlord (or a close relative, when the landlord also lives in the building) must be a natural person — not an LLC, corporation, or partnership — and must occupy the unit within three months and intend to stay at least three years. Only one unit in any given building can ever be used for an owner move-in, and that unit effectively becomes the owner’s unit afterward. Tenants 60 or older, disabled tenants, and terminally ill tenants who have lived in the unit long enough (10 years, or 5 for the terminally ill) are generally protected unless every other unit is occupied by similarly protected tenants. Households with children under 18 and San Francisco school workers are protected during the school year when the tenancy has lasted at least 12 months.¹

Ellis Act withdrawal. The Ellis Act lets an owner pull every rental unit in a building off the market. It is not a tool for removing one tenant; every unit goes. The owner files a Notice of Intent to Withdraw Residential Units with the Rent Board, and tenants get at least 120 days from that filing date. Elderly and disabled tenants with at least one year of tenancy can extend that to a full year. If any unit returns to the rental market within 10 years, displaced tenants have the right of first refusal, and during the first five years the rent is capped at the former rent-controlled rate.²

Capital improvements, demolition, substantial rehabilitation, lead remediation. These allow a no-fault eviction when work makes the unit uninhabitable or the building is coming down. For temporary capital improvement work, the tenant generally has a right to return once the work finishes.

Writing and Serving the Notice

Notice problems are probably the most common reason San Francisco landlords lose eviction cases. The notice type, timeframe, and content all have to match the ground.

Notice Length

For nonpayment of rent, serve a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. California law requires the notice to state the exact amount owed, the name and contact details of the person who can accept payment, and how the tenant can pay — in person, by deposit to a named bank account, or by electronic transfer.³ The three-day period excludes weekends and court holidays. For other at-fault grounds like a curable lease violation, a similar 3-day notice to cure or quit applies.

No-fault evictions use a 30-day notice when the tenant has lived in the unit less than one year, and a 60-day notice when the tenancy has lasted at least one year.⁴ Ellis Act evictions run on their own 120-day clock.

How to Deliver It

Service follows a strict order. Personal service — handing the notice to the tenant — comes first. If the tenant cannot be found after reasonable attempts, substituted service is next: leave the notice with a competent adult at the home or workplace, then mail a copy. A court can authorize post-and-mail service as a last resort, taping the notice to the door and mailing a copy.

File a Copy with the Rent Board

For every eviction type except nonpayment of rent, you must file a copy of the notice with the San Francisco Rent Board within 10 days of serving it, accompanied by Rent Board Form 1007. Miss this step and the eviction can collapse.⁵

Relocation Payments for No-Fault Evictions

Every no-fault eviction triggers a mandatory relocation payment, and the Rent Board updates the amounts each March. For notices served between March 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026:⁶

Owner move-in, demolition, capital improvement, and substantial rehabilitation evictions:

$8,062 per tenant
Maximum $24,184 per unit
Additional $5,375 per elderly (60+) tenant, disabled tenant, or household with minor children

Ellis Act evictions:

$10,863.45 per tenant
Maximum $32,590.33 per unit
Additional $7,278.67 per elderly (62+) or disabled tenant

For Ellis Act evictions, half of the payment is due when the notice is served and the other half when the tenant vacates.² A tenant can raise failure to pay relocation as a defense that blocks the eviction.

Filing the Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit

When the notice period runs out and the tenant has not paid, cured, or moved, the next step is an unlawful detainer lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court. You cannot remove a tenant without a court judgment.

The Forms

Form UD-100, Complaint — Unlawful Detainer. The main pleading describing your just cause, the property, and what happened with the notice.⁷
Form SUM-130, Summons — Unlawful Detainer-Eviction. The document that officially notifies the tenant of the suit.⁸
Form UD-101, Plaintiff’s Mandatory Cover Sheet and Supplemental Allegations.
Form CM-010, Civil Case Cover Sheet.⁹

The Complaint has to match the notice you served. Discrepancies between the two are an easy way for a tenant’s attorney to get the case tossed.

Filing Fees

Most evictions seeking possession plus back rent under $10,000 cost $240 to file. If you are claiming unpaid rent between $10,000 and $35,000, the fee is $385.¹⁰

Serving the Lawsuit

Once you have a case number, the Summons and Complaint must be formally delivered to the tenant. You cannot serve the papers yourself. Service has to come from a registered process server, the Sheriff’s Department, or any other adult who is not a party to the case. Personal service is preferred; substituted service is available after multiple failed attempts. The person serving the papers then completes a Proof of Service of Summons (Form POS-010), which gets filed with the court.¹¹

The Tenant’s Response

After being served personally, the tenant has 10 court days to file an Answer. If served by substituted service, the window is 20 calendar days from mailing.¹² Court days exclude weekends and judicial holidays.

If no Answer arrives in time, file a Request for Entry of Default (Form CIV-100) and ask the court to rule in your favor without a trial.¹³ This is the fastest path to a judgment.

If the tenant does file an Answer, the case goes to trial on a priority schedule — the trial must be set no later than 20 days after either side requests it. Both sides present evidence to a judge. Common tenant defenses in San Francisco include defective notice, failure to pay relocation money, habitability problems, and retaliation. A judgment for possession lets you move to the lockout stage.¹⁴

The Writ of Possession and Sheriff Lockout

Winning the judgment does not let you change the locks. Only the Sheriff can physically remove a tenant. Request a Writ of Execution (Form EJ-130) from the court clerk, checking the box for possession of real property.¹⁵ Deliver the Writ, a letter of instruction, and the required fee to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Civil Unit. The Sheriff requires prepayment.¹⁶

A deputy then posts a five-day Notice to Vacate on the tenant’s door. If the tenant has not left, the deputy returns to perform the lockout and hand possession back to you.¹⁷

What You Cannot Do

Self-help eviction is a crime in California. At no point in the process, even after a judgment, can you change the locks, cut off utilities, remove the tenant’s belongings, or physically force the tenant out. Illegal lockouts are a misdemeanor, and a tenant who is locked out illegally can sue for damages.

Fair Housing and Disability Accommodations

Federal and state fair housing laws apply to every eviction. You cannot choose whom to evict based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, or religion. San Francisco adds protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and source of income.

Disability accommodations come up often in San Francisco eviction cases. A tenant with a disability can request a reasonable accommodation at any point before the court enters a judgment for possession, and the request does not have to use any particular legal language. If you know about the disability and there is a connection between it and the lease violation, you have an obligation to engage with possible accommodations. Pause the eviction while you evaluate the request — unreasonable delay can be treated as a denial, which creates liability.¹⁸ The one exception is a tenant who poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others, or risks substantial physical damage to the property, that no reasonable accommodation can bring down to an acceptable level.

Timeline and Costs

From filing the lawsuit to the sheriff lockout, the California Courts estimate 30 to 45 days or more, and that clock only starts after your notice period has expired.¹⁹ Add the notice period itself (3 days for nonpayment, 60 days for most no-fault evictions, 120 days or longer for Ellis Act) and the time to prepare and serve papers. A straightforward uncontested eviction rarely finishes in under two months. Contested cases can stretch considerably longer.

Costs stack up. Court filing fees run $240 to $435 depending on the amount claimed.¹⁰ Process server fees usually run $40 to $150 per attempt. The Sheriff charges a separate fee for the lockout. For no-fault evictions, relocation payments start at $8,062 per tenant and can exceed $32,000 per unit under the Ellis Act.⁶ Attorney fees are not required but are common, because San Francisco’s eviction rules are complex enough that representing yourself carries real risk of a dismissal on a technicality.

What You Owe After the Eviction

Your obligations do not end at the lockout. If you used owner move-in, you or your qualifying relative have to actually occupy the unit within three months and stay for at least three years. If you used the Ellis Act, the units face restrictions on returning to the rental market for up to 10 years, and former tenants hold a right of first refusal.² Breaking those post-eviction promises can expose you to actual and punitive damages. On the tenant side, an eviction court case can appear on a tenant’s screening record for up to seven years under federal law.²⁰

1
American Legal Publishing Code Library. San Francisco Administrative Code Section 37.9 – Evictions
2
SF.gov. Evictions Pursuant to the Ellis Act
3
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 1161
4
California Courts. Types of Eviction Notices – Section: 30-Day or 60-Day Notice to Quit
5
San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. Rent Board Annual Eviction Report 2024-2025
6
San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. 577 All Rates
7
Judicial Council of California. Form UD-100 – Complaint – Unlawful Detainer
8
California Courts. Summons – Unlawful Detainer – Eviction Form SUM-130
9
Judicial Council of California. Civil Case Cover Sheet – CM-010
10
Judicial Council of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
11
California Courts. Proof of Service of Summons
12
California Courts. Fill Out an Answer Form in an Eviction Case
13
California Courts. Request for Entry of Default (Application to Enter Default) CIV-100
14
California Courts. What Happens if Your Tenant Files a Response
15
Judicial Council of California. Writ of Execution EJ-130
16
San Francisco Sheriff’s Department. Civil Process Fee Schedule
17
California Courts. After the Eviction Trial Decision – Section: The Sheriff Gives Your Tenant 5 Days to Move
18
California Courts. After the Eviction Trial Decision
19
California Courts. The Eviction Process for Landlords
20
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can Information Like Eviction Actions and Lawsuits Stay on My Tenant Screening Record