San Francisco’s Rent Control Ordinance, Chapter 37 of the Administrative Code, does two main things for tenants in covered buildings: it caps how much a landlord can raise the rent each year, and it limits evictions to 16 specific legal reasons.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions The Board of Supervisors passed it in 1979. Whether you are protected depends on when your building was constructed, what kind of housing it is, and when your tenancy began.
Which Units Are Covered
Section 37.2(r) defines “rental units” broadly to include all residential dwelling units in the city, along with related housing services, parking, and facilities.2San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.2 – Definitions But several large carve-outs follow from state law and from the ordinance itself.
The biggest limitation is the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Under Costa-Hawkins, units with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995 are not subject to the ordinance’s rent-increase caps. Single-family homes and condominiums are also exempt from the caps if your tenancy began on or after January 1, 1996. If you moved in before that date, you remain fully covered even if the original occupant has since left and you stayed on as a roommate or subtenant.3San Francisco Government. Partial Exemption for Certain Single-Family Homes and Condominiums Under Costa-Hawkins
Newer buildings exempt from local rent caps may still be covered by the California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), a separate statewide law that applies rolling rent caps and just cause protections to buildings more than 15 years old.4California Department of Justice. The Tenant Protection Act Your Obligations as a Landlord or Property Manager
Other exemptions in the ordinance itself include hotels and rooming houses (unless you have stayed 32 or more continuous days), nonprofit cooperative housing controlled by its residents, school dormitories, and institutional housing such as hospitals, convents, monasteries, and licensed extended care facilities. Government-subsidized housing with rents regulated by a public agency is generally outside the ordinance, with exceptions for tenant-based rental assistance.2San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.2 – Definitions
Accessory dwelling units added to a building that is already rent-controlled are themselves placed under rent control through a regulatory agreement the city requires in exchange for Planning Code waivers.5SF Planning. Accessory Dwelling Units An ADU built in a building that was never covered falls instead under the statewide AB 1482 rules.
How Much Your Rent Can Go Up Each Year
For covered units, the Rent Board sets an annual allowable increase equal to 60% of the rise in the regional Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. The new figure takes effect every March 1 and runs through the last day of February.6San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 37 – Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance From March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2026, the allowable increase is 1.4%.7SF.gov. Annual Rent Increase for 3/1/25 – 2/28/26 Announced
Your landlord must give you written notice at least 30 days before any increase of 10% or less takes effect. Increases above 10% require at least 90 days’ notice under state law.6San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 37 – Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance
Banked Increases
A landlord who skips a year, or takes only part of the allowable amount, can “bank” the unused portion and apply it later. Banking has no cap on how many years can accumulate, reaching back as far as April 1, 1982. The single limit is that any one increase cannot exceed 10% at a time; anything above that carries over to future years.6San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 37 – Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance If you receive a banked increase and want to verify the math, you can check it with the Rent Board.
When a Tenant Moves Out
Costa-Hawkins lets a landlord reset the rent to any amount for the next tenant once the prior tenant voluntarily moves out. This is called vacancy decontrol. The new rent becomes the base, and annual increases then apply as normal going forward. It is why long-term neighbors in the same building can pay very different rents.
A related rule covers subtenants. If the last original tenant on the lease leaves and a subtenant who moved in on or after January 1, 1996 remains, the landlord can impose an unlimited rent increase on that subtenant. A co-tenant, meaning someone the landlord has accepted directly, through a lease or by taking rent from them, is not subject to that rule.8SF.gov. Rent Increases Under Section 6.14 and Costa-Hawkins
The 16 Reasons a Landlord Can Evict You
Section 37.9 of the Administrative Code lists 16 grounds for eviction from a covered unit. No other reason is allowed. The expiration of a lease, or the landlord’s wish for a higher-paying tenant, is not enough: your tenancy continues until one of the 16 grounds applies.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions
The grounds split into two groups.
At-Fault Grounds
At-fault grounds include nonpayment of rent, violating a material lease term, creating a nuisance that disturbs other residents, using the unit for an illegal purpose, refusing the landlord reasonable access after written notice, and refusing to sign a lease renewal on substantially similar terms. For grounds numbered (1) through (6), the landlord must give you a written warning and a reasonable chance to correct the problem before serving a formal notice to vacate.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions
No-Fault Grounds
No-fault grounds cover owner move-in evictions, demolition, capital improvement work that requires you to temporarily vacate, condominium conversion sales, and withdrawal of the building from the rental market under the Ellis Act. An owner move-in under subsection (a)(8) requires the landlord to have previously lived in the unit; under subsection (a)(9), the landlord can recover the unit without prior occupancy if they own at least 25% of the property. Either way, the landlord or qualifying relative must intend to use the unit as a primary residence for at least 36 continuous months.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions
The Ellis Act is a state law giving landlords an unconditional right to exit the rental business. The tradeoff is that the landlord has to withdraw every unit in the building, not just one. Re-renting any withdrawn unit within certain timeframes triggers strict price controls and potential penalties.
What the Notice Has to Contain
Every notice to vacate has to state the specific ground in writing on or before the day it is served. The landlord must attach a Rent Board information form in your primary language (available in English, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Russian) and file a copy with the Rent Board within 10 days. For owner move-in, demolition, and several other no-fault grounds, the notice must also state the lawful rent at the time it is issued.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions
Relocation Money for No-Fault Evictions
If you are being evicted for a no-fault reason, your landlord owes you a relocation payment set by the Rent Board. The amounts adjust every year and differ by eviction type.
For owner move-in, demolition, capital improvement work, and substantial rehabilitation evictions, the rates in effect from March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 are $8,245 per eligible tenant, capped at $24,733 per unit, plus an additional $5,497 for each tenant who is 60 or older, disabled, or in a household with minor children.
Ellis Act evictions pay more over the same period: $11,110.05 per eligible tenant, capped at $33,330.13 per unit, plus an additional $7,443.90 for each tenant who is 62 or older or disabled.
Half of the payment is due when the notice to vacate is served, and the other half when you move out.9SF.gov. Archive of Relocation Rates This money is separate from your security deposit and does not waive any other legal rights you have.10San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9C – Tenants Rights to Relocation for No-Fault Evictions
If Your Landlord Breaks the Rules
A landlord who evicts you without a valid ground, or who invokes a ground like owner move-in and never actually moves in, is liable for at least three times your actual damages, including emotional distress damages. If the court finds the landlord acted in knowing violation of the ordinance or with reckless disregard for it, the emotional distress damages are also tripled. You can recover attorney’s fees and costs on top, and the court may award punitive damages in egregious cases.1San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9 – Evictions
Wrongful eviction is also a misdemeanor, so a landlord can face criminal prosecution in addition to a civil lawsuit. Section 37.10B extends similar treble-damage liability to harassment, including threats, interference with quiet enjoyment, and deliberate reduction of services designed to pressure you to leave.11San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.10B – Tenant Harassment
Buyout Offers
Landlords sometimes offer cash in exchange for you giving up your tenancy. Section 37.9E regulates these buyout agreements. Before negotiations even start, the landlord has to hand you a written disclosure on a Rent Board-approved form. The disclosure must tell you:
- You have no obligation to negotiate or accept any offer.
- You can consult with an attorney before signing anything.
- You can cancel the agreement for up to 45 days after it is fully signed.
- You can request information about other buyout agreements in the neighborhood from the Rent Board.
The agreement itself cannot be signed sooner than 30 days after negotiations begin, and every agreement must include a conspicuous notice in at least 14-point bold type reminding you of the 45-day cancellation right.12San Francisco Municipal Codes. San Francisco Administrative Code SEC 37.9E – Tenant Buyout Agreements If you sign and then change your mind within those 45 days, you can rescind.
Taking a Dispute to the Rent Board
The Rent Board hears petitions from both tenants and landlords under Section 37.8. The three situations tenants most often use it for are decreased housing services, challenging a landlord’s petition to raise rent beyond the annual cap, and hardship relief.
If your landlord has substantially reduced a service you had when you moved in, you can petition for a rent reduction. Section 37.2(g) defines housing services broadly: repairs and maintenance, parking, laundry facilities, heat, water, elevator service, refuse removal, and other benefits you reasonably expected at the start of the tenancy.13SF.gov. 516A – Decrease in Housing Services You have the burden of proving the service existed, that your landlord cut it back, and that the reduction was substantial. An Administrative Law Judge decides the case and can order a reduction in your base rent, up to the amount you requested in your petition.
Landlords can petition for increases above the annual cap based on capital improvement passthroughs or operating and maintenance cost increases. If your landlord does that and you cannot afford the resulting increase, you can file a free hardship application. Hardship relief is only available for landlord-petition increases (capital improvement, utility, or operating expense passthroughs), not for the annual allowable increase or banked increases. You qualify if all adults in your household receive means-tested public assistance, if your rent exceeds 33% of gross household income and your assets and income fall below set thresholds, or if you face exceptional circumstances such as excessive medical bills.14SF.gov. Tenant Financial Hardship Applications While your application is pending, you do not have to pay the disputed increase. If it is denied or withdrawn, you owe the increase retroactively.