In San Francisco, your building is rent controlled if it contains two or more residential units and received its first certificate of occupancy on or before June 13, 1979. That is the main test under Chapter 37 of the San Francisco Administrative Code, and it answers most people’s question on its own.1SF.gov. Sec. 37.3 – Rent Limitations A few property types are carved out even when they meet the date, and a few newer buildings get statewide protections instead, so it’s worth checking your situation against each piece.
The June 13, 1979 Cutoff
The Rent Ordinance applies to residential units in buildings first issued a certificate of occupancy on or before June 13, 1979. Buildings constructed or converted to residential use after that date generally fall outside the city’s rent increase caps.1SF.gov. Sec. 37.3 – Rent Limitations
The date is set by state law. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act prevents California cities from imposing rent control on housing built after the date their local ordinance took effect, and June 13, 1979 is San Francisco’s locked-in line.1SF.gov. Sec. 37.3 – Rent Limitations
One boundary to flag: a single-unit building is not covered by local rent control even if it predates 1979. The ordinance reaches multi-unit residential properties.
Exemptions That Override the Date
A pre-1979 build is the starting point, not the finish line. Several categories of housing sit outside the Rent Ordinance’s rent increase caps no matter when the building went up.
Single-Family Homes and Condominiums
Under California Civil Code Section 1954.52, owners of single-family homes and separately sold condominiums can set the initial rent and all subsequent rents without following local rent increase caps.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1954.52 A pre-1979 Victorian rented as a single-family home can be raised to market rent on schedule by the owner, outside the Rent Board’s percentage limit.
Costa-Hawkins also allows vacancy decontrol in covered buildings. When a tenant voluntarily moves out, the landlord can reset the rent on that unit to market rate for the next tenant, and the annual increase limits restart from the new base. Two neighbors in identical apartments can pay very different rents for this reason.
Losing the rent cap is not the same as losing eviction protection. Tenants in Costa-Hawkins-exempt single-family homes and condos may still be covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance’s eviction rules and by the statewide Tenant Protection Act, depending on circumstances.
Government-Subsidized and Institutional Housing
Units managed by the San Francisco Housing Authority or funded through federal programs like Section 8 operate under their own separate regulatory frameworks and are not covered by the ordinance. Student dormitories, hospitals, monasteries, and licensed care facilities are also exempt.
Residential Hotels and SROs
Guest rooms in residential hotels become subject to rent protections once an occupant has stayed for 30 consecutive days, at which point they are considered a permanent resident.3SF.gov. Residential Hotel (SRO) Owners – Ordinance 36-23 A shorter stay in the same room does not trigger coverage.
Substantially Rehabilitated Buildings
If a landlord proves to the Rent Board that a building was effectively rebuilt from a state of total disrepair, the units can be certified as substantially rehabilitated and exempted from rent increase limits. Since January 20, 2020, these units stay covered by the Rent Ordinance’s eviction protections even though the rent caps no longer apply.4SF.gov. Substantial Rehabilitation Petitions
The claim alone does nothing. If your landlord says the building was substantially rehabilitated, ask whether the Rent Board actually issued a certificate.
How to Verify Your Building’s Status
You can get an informal read quickly, and a definitive answer with a little paperwork.
For a first check, use the San Francisco Planning Department’s online Property Information Map. Enter the address or block-and-lot number, and the tool returns the building’s permit history and land use records.5SF Planning. San Francisco Property Information Map You can also pull the Assessor’s Parcel Number from that map, or from an annual property tax statement if you have access to one.6SF.gov. San Francisco Property Information
For a document a landlord cannot argue around, request a Report of Residential Building Record, known as a 3R Report, from the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection. The report details the building’s authorized use, the number of legal units, and its permit history, and you can request one online, by mail, or in person.7SF.gov. Request a Report of Residential Building Record (3R Report)
The filing fee is $286 per building, with an additional 2.50% surcharge for online credit card payments that brings the total to $293.15. Processing takes seven to ten business days. The 3R report covers building permit history only, not plumbing, electrical, or commercial permits.7SF.gov. Request a Report of Residential Building Record (3R Report)
If the 3R confirms the building was first occupied on or before June 13, 1979 and contains two or more units, and none of the property-type exemptions above fit, your unit is almost certainly subject to the Rent Ordinance.
What Coverage Actually Gets You
Being rent controlled means two different protections, and the second is usually the more valuable one.
First, a cap on annual rent increases. The Rent Board sets a maximum each year tied to inflation. For the period from March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, the allowable increase is 1.6%.8SF.gov. Annual Rent Increase Announced Your landlord cannot raise rent beyond that percentage without petitioning the Rent Board and getting approval. The figure is republished each spring.
Landlords of covered units also owe interest on security deposits. For the same March 2026 through February 2027 period, the rate is 4.2%, calculated based on the prior year’s average of the 90-day commercial paper interest rate published by the Federal Reserve.9SF.gov. New Interest Rate for Security Deposits Effective 3/1/26 If a landlord has never credited or paid you this interest, you may be owed a meaningful sum.
Second, just cause eviction protection. Section 37.9 of the Rent Ordinance prohibits ending a tenancy without a legally recognized reason, broken into at-fault grounds (nonpayment, habitual late payment, material lease breach, nuisance) and no-fault grounds (owner move-in by the landlord or a close relative, Ellis Act withdrawal from the rental market, demolition, and certain capital improvement or remediation work requiring temporary vacancy).10SF.gov. Sec. 37.9 – Evictions A landlord who simply wants a higher-paying tenant cannot evict a current one to get there. For long-term tenants, that rule tends to matter more than the annual percentage cap.
If Your Building Is Not Covered
A newer or exempt building does not leave you with nothing. The California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) sets a statewide rent cap and just cause requirement for most residential tenancies.
Under California Civil Code Section 1947.12, landlords cannot increase rent by more than 5% plus the local Consumer Price Index change, or 10%, whichever is lower, over any 12-month period.11California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1947.12
Civil Code Section 1946.2 prevents terminating a tenancy without a stated reason once a tenant has lived in the unit for at least 12 months. The recognized reasons track the at-fault and no-fault categories in the local ordinance, with their own specifics. For a no-fault eviction under state law, the landlord must pay relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent.12California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1946.2
AB 1482 has its own carve-outs. Housing built within the last 15 years, on a rolling basis, is excluded from both the rent cap and the just cause provisions.13State of California – Department of Justice. Landlord-Tenant Issues Single-family homes and condominiums are also exempt from AB 1482, but only when two conditions are met: the property is not owned by a corporation, a real estate investment trust, or an LLC with a corporate member, and the landlord gave the tenant written notice that the unit is exempt from the Tenant Protection Act. No written notice, no exemption. In that case, you keep the statewide protections even in a single-family home.
So the full picture is a short decision tree. Two or more units, first occupancy on or before June 13, 1979, no overriding exemption: local rent control applies. Everything else: check AB 1482, and check whether your landlord ever handed you the written exemption notice.