Title and Findings. | |
Definitions. | |
Rent Limitations. | |
Establishment; Appointment; Terms; Executive Director; Funding; Compensation. | |
Meetings of the Board. | |
Powers and Duties. | |
Certification of Rent Increases for Capital Improvements, Rehabilitation Work, Energy Conservation Improvements, and Renewable Energy Improvements. | |
Arbitration of Rental Increase Adjustments. | |
Expedited Hearing Procedures. | |
Expedited Hearing and Appeal Procedures for Capital Improvements Resulting from Seismic Work on Unreinforced Masonry Buildings Pursuant to Building Code Chapters 16B and 16C Where Landlords Performed the Work with a UMB Bond Loan. | |
Temporary Moratorium on Rent Board Processing or Approval of Landlord Petitions for Certification and Passthrough of Non-Seismic Capital Improvement, Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation Costs to Tenants, During Pendency of the Superior Court Preliminary Injunction Staying Implementation of November 2000 Proposition H. | |
Evictions. | |
Tenant Rights in Certain Displacements Under Section 37.9(a)(13). | |
Tenant Rights in Evictions Under Section 37.9(a)(8). | |
Tenants Rights to Relocation for No-Fault Evictions. | |
Foreclosure Evictions. | |
Tenant Buyout Agreements. | |
Misdemeanors, and Other Enforcement Provisions. | |
Tenant Harassment. | |
Civil Actions. | |
Transitional Provisions. | |
Keys. | |
Hearings and Remedies for Violation of Residential Hotel Visitor Policies. | |
Hearing, Residential Hotel Mail Receptacles. | |
Reporting Obligations; Licensing. | |
Severability. | |
Editor’s Note:
Proposition H, approved by the voters on November 7, 2000, amended a number of sections in this Chapter. On August 10, 2001, the San Francisco Superior Court permanently enjoined the enforcement of Proposition H, with the exception of Sections 37.3(a)(6) and 37.3(b)(2), which were not challenged. The full text of Proposition H may be found in Appendix 50 of this Code.
Proposition H, approved by the voters on November 7, 2000, amended a number of sections in this Chapter. On August 10, 2001, the San Francisco Superior Court permanently enjoined the enforcement of Proposition H, with the exception of Sections 37.3(a)(6) and 37.3(b)(2), which were not challenged. The full text of Proposition H may be found in Appendix 50 of this Code.
(a) The Chapter shall be known as the Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance.
(b) The Board of Supervisors hereby finds:
(1) There is a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing in the City and County of San Francisco resulting in a critically low vacancy factor.
(2) Tenants displaced as a result of their inability to pay increased rents must relocate but as a result of such housing shortage are unable to find decent, safe and sanitary housing at affordable rent levels. Aware of the difficulty in finding decent housing, some tenants attempt to pay requested rent increases, but as a consequence must expend less on other necessities of life.
This situation has had a detrimental effect on substantial numbers of renters in the City and County, especially creating hardships on senior citizens, persons on fixed incomes and low and moderate income households.
(3) The problem of rent increases reached crisis level in the Spring of 1979. At that time the Board of Supervisors conducted hearings and caused studies to be made on the feasibility and desirability of various measures designed to address the problems created by the housing shortage.
(4) In April, 1979, pending development and adoption of measures designed to alleviate the City and County's housing crisis, the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 181-79, prohibiting most rent increases on residential rental properties for 60 days. Ordinance No. 181-79 is scheduled to expire no later than June 30, 1979.
(5) The provisions of Ordinance No. 181-79 have successfully reduced the rate of rent increases in the City and County, along with the concomitant hardships and displacements. However, a housing shortage still exists within the City and County of San Francisco and total deregulation of rents at this time would immediately lead to widespread exorbitant rent increases and recurrence of the crisis, problems and hardships which existed prior to the adoption of the moratorium measures.
(6) This ordinance shall be in effect for 15 months. During this time, a Citizens' Housing Task Force shall be created to conduct a further study of and make recommendations for, the problems of housing in San Francisco. In the interim, some immediate measures are needed to alleviate San Francisco's housing problems. This ordinance, therefore, creates a Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board in order to safeguard tenants from excessive rent increases and, at the same time, to assure landlords fair and adequate rents consistent with Federal Anti-Inflation Guidelines.
(c) The people of San Francisco hereby find and declare:
(1) Present law provides that the annual allowable rent increase shall be 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index but in no event less than four percent of the tenant's base rent.
(2) Rent increases of 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index are sufficient to assure landlords fair and adequate rents consistent with Federal Anti-Inflation Guidelines.
(3) Since 1984, 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index has been less than four percent per year, so landlords have been able to impose yearly rent increases above the rate of inflation since 1984.
(4) Under the current four percent floor, landlords have received more than 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index with resulting hardship to tenants.
(5) Therefore, in order to alleviate this hardship to tenants and to ensure that landlords receive fair and adequate rents consistent with Federal Anti-Inflation Guidelines, we hereby amend this ordinance to delete the current four percent floor on annual rent increases.
(d) In accordance with California Civil Code Section 1946.2(g)(1)(B), the Board of Supervisors finds that this Chapter 37 further limits the permissible reasons for termination of a residential tenancy and provides additional tenant protections as compared to California Civil Code Section 1946.2, which the California Legislature adopted as part of the Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The Board of Supervisors therefore finds that this Chapter 37 is more protective of tenants than Section 1946.2, and intends that this Chapter 37 shall apply rather than Section 1946.2.
(Added by Ord. 276-79, App. 6/12/79; amended by Ord. 18-22, File No. 211265, App. 2/11/2022, Eff. 3/14/2022)
(a) Base Rent.
(1) That rent which is charged a tenant upon initial occupancy plus any rent increase allowable and imposed under this Chapter; provided, however, that;
(A) Base rent shall not include increases imposed pursuant to Section 37.7.
(C) Base rent for tenants of RAP rental units in areas designated on or after July 1, 1977, shall be that rent which was established pursuant to Section 32.73-1 of the San Francisco Administrative Code. Rent increases attributable to the City Administrator's amortization of an RAP loan in an area designated on or after July 1, 1977, shall not be included in the base rent.
(D) Good Samaritan Status. As of February 8, 2011 and after, Good Samaritan occupancy status occurs when a landlord and new tenant agree in writing for the tenant to commence temporary occupancy following an emergency such as fire, earthquake, landslide, or similar emergency situation, that required unexpected vacation of the tenant's previous unit, and the agreement includes a reduced rent rate for the replacement unit for a specified period of time up to twelve (12) months ("Original Good Samaritan Status Period"). "Reduced rent rate" means the base rent the tenant was paying for the previous unit at the time of the emergency or an amount up to ten (10) percent above that amount, except that if the owner of the previous unit is the same as the owner of the replacement unit then "reduced rent rate" means the rent the tenant was paying for the previous unit at the time of the emergency. For Good Samaritan Status to exist, the written agreement as referenced in this Subsection must include a statement that the agreement is temporary in nature, must refer to this Subsection, and must state that the tenant has been displaced from his or her previous unit as certified in Subsection (iii), below.
(i) The landlord and tenant may agree, in writing, to extend the reduced rent rate for a period of time beyond the Original Good Samaritan Status Period, up to a total of twenty-four (24) months from the beginning to the end of all Good Samaritan Status ("Extended Good Samaritan Status Period").
(ii) By accepting occupancy in Good Samaritan Status, a tenant does not waive any right to compensation or any right to return to the tenant's previous unit that he or she otherwise may have under Chapter 37 or other source of law, based on the emergency vacation of the tenant's previous unit.
(iii) Good Samaritan Status may only be utilized upon certification in writing by one of the following officials, or his or her designee, that as a result of fire, earthquake, landslide, or similar emergency situation, the tenant's previous unit is in such condition that, as a matter of public health and safety and as a matter of habitability, the tenant cannot or should not reside there until the unit has been appropriately repaired:
Mayor;
Fire Chief;
Director of the Department of Building Inspection;
Director of the Department of Public Health; or
Other Official as authorized by law.
The Rent Board shall make a form available, that the Official may use for this purpose.
(iv) The tenant's rent increase anniversary date for a Good Samaritan occupancy shall be the date the tenancy commenced; the first annual allowable increase shall take effect no less than one year from the anniversary date, but when imposed after one year, shall set a new anniversary date for the imposition of future rent increases. The base rent used for calculation of the annual allowable increase pursuant to Section 37.3(a)(1) during a Good Samaritan occupancy, shall be the reduced rent rate in effect on the day the Good Samaritan occupancy commences.
(v) The landlord may serve a notice of termination of tenancy under Section 37.9(a)(16) within 60 days after expiration of the Original and any Extended Good Samaritan Status Period. Alternatively, within sixty (60) days after expiration of the Original and any Extended Good Samaritan Status Period, if the Good Samaritan rental agreement states the dollar amount of the tenant's initial base rent that can be imposed after expiration of the Original and any Extended Good Samaritan Status Period, the landlord may give legal notice of the rent increase to the tenant and then increase the tenant's rent from the temporary reduced rent rate to the previously agreed upon initial base rent for the unit.
(vi) The Rent Board shall make a form available that explains the temporary nature of tenant occupancy in Good Samaritan Status, and describes the other provisions of Section 37.2(a)(1)(D)(v).
The Good Samaritan landlord shall provide the tenant with this disclosure form prior to commencement of the Good Samaritan tenancy. However, failure by the landlord to provide the tenant with such disclosure form:
• Will not prevent the landlord from serving a notice of termination of tenancy under Section 37.9(a)(16) within sixty (60) days after expiration of the Original and any Extended Good Samaritan Status Period.
• Will not prevent the landlord from serving a notice of rent increase within sixty (60) days after expiration of the Original and any Extended Good Samaritan Status Period, to increase to the previously agreed upon initial base rent for the unit, as provided in Section 37.2(a)(1)(D)(v).
• Will not otherwise impact any rights that the landlord may have regarding the tenancy.
(2) From and after August 30, 1998, the base rent for tenants occupying rental units which have received certain tenant-based or project-based rental assistance shall be as follows:
(A) With respect to tenant-based rental assistance:
(i) For any tenant receiving tenant-based rental assistance as of August 30, 1998 under a program that does not establish the tenant's share of base rent as a fixed percentage of a tenant's income, such as in the Housing Choice Voucher Program or the Over-FMR Tenancy program, and continuing to receive such tenant-based rental assistance thereafter, the initial base rent for each unit occupied by such tenant shall be the rent payable for that unit under the Housing Assistance Payments contract, as amended, between the San Francisco Housing Authority or the Human Services Agency and the landlord (the "HAP contract") with respect to that unit immediately prior to August 30, 1998 (the "HAP contract rent").
(ii) For any tenant receiving tenant-based rental assistance under a program that does not establish the tenant's share of base rent as a fixed percentage of a tenant's income, such as in the Housing Choice Voucher Program or the Over-FMR Tenancy program, and commencing occupancy of a rental unit after August 30, 1998, the initial base rent for each unit occupied by such a tenant shall be the HAP contract rent in effect as of the date the tenant commences occupancy of such unit.
(iii) For any tenant receiving rental assistance under the HOPWA rental subsidy program as of May 17, 2016, and continuing to receive such assistance under the HOPWA rental subsidy program thereafter, the initial base rent for each unit occupied by such tenant shall be the HAP Contract Rent in effect as of May 17, 2016.
(iv) For any tenant receiving rental assistance under the HOPWA rental subsidy program who commenced occupancy of a rental unit after May 17, 2016, the initial base rent for each unit occupied by such tenant shall be the HAP Contract Rent in effect as of the date the tenant commences occupancy of such unit.
(v) For any tenant whose tenant-based rental assistance terminates or expires, for whatever reason, after August 30, 1998, the base rent for each such unit following expiration or termination shall be the HAP contract rent in effect for that unit immediately prior to the expiration or termination of the tenant-based rental assistance.
(B) For any tenant occupying a unit upon the expiration or termination, for whatever reason, of a project-based HAP contract under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 USC Section 1437f, as amended), the base rent for each such unit following expiration or termination shall be the "contract rent" in effect for that unit immediately prior to the expiration or termination of the project-based HAP contract.
(C) For any tenant occupying a unit upon the prepayment or expiration of any mortgage insured by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"), including but not limited to mortgages provided under Sections 221(d)(3), 221(d)(4) and 236 of the National Housing Act (12 USC Section 1715z-1), the base rent for each such unit shall be the "basic rental charge" (described in 12 USC 1715z-1(f), or successor legislation) in effect for that unit immediately prior to the prepayment of the mortgage, which charge excludes the "interest reduction payment" attributable to that unit prior to the mortgage prepayment or expiration.
(b) Board. The Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board.
(c) Capital Improvements. Those improvements which materially add to the value of the property, appreciably prolong its useful life, or adapt it to new uses, and which may be amortized over the useful life of the improvement of the building.
(d) CPI. Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan Area, U.S. Department of Labor.
(e) Energy Conservation Improvements. Work performed pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 12 of the San Francisco Housing Code.
(f) Administrative Law Judge. A person, designated by the Board, who arbitrates and mediates rental increase disputes, and performs other duties as required pursuant to this Chapter 37.
(g) Housing Services. Services provided by the landlord connected with the use or occupancy of a rental unit including, but not limited to: quiet enjoyment of the premises, without harassment by the landlord as provided in Section 10B; repairs; replacement; maintenance; painting; light; heat; water; elevator service; laundry facilities and privileges; janitor service; refuse removal; furnishings; telephone; parking; rights permitted the tenant by agreement, including the right to have a specific number of occupants, whether express or implied, and whether or not the agreement prohibits subletting and/or assignment; and any other benefits, privileges or facilities.
(h) Landlord. An owner, lessor, sublessor, who receives or is entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any residential rental unit or portion thereof in the City and County of San Francisco, and the agent, representative or successor of any of the foregoing.
(i) Member. A member of the Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board.
(j) Over FMR Tenancy Program. A regular certificate tenancy program whereby the base rent, together with a utility allowance in an amount determined by HUD, exceeds the fair market rent limitation for a particular unit size as determined by HUD.
(k) Payment Standard. An amount determined by the San Francisco Housing Authority that is used to determine the amount of assistance paid by the San Francisco Housing Authority on behalf of a tenant under the Housing Choice Voucher Program (24 CFR Part 982). The term "payment standard" shall also refer to the rent standard used to determine the amount of assistance paid by the Human Services Agency under the HOPWA rental subsidy program (24 C.F.R. Part 574).
(l) RAP. Residential Rehabilitation Loan Program (Chapter 32, San Francisco Administrative Code).
(m) RAP Rental Units. Residential dwelling units subject to RAP loans pursuant to Chapter 32, San Francisco Administrative Code.
(n) Real Estate Department. A city department in the City and County of San Francisco.
(o) Rehabilitation Work. Any rehabilitation or repair work done by the landlord with regard to a rental unit, or to the common areas of the structure containing the rental unit, which work was done in order to be in compliance with State or local law, or was done to repair damage resulting from fire, earthquake or other casualty or natural disaster.
(p) Rent. The consideration, including any bonus, benefits or gratuity, demanded or received by a landlord for or in connection with the use or occupancy of a rental unit, or the assignment of a lease for such a unit, including but not limited to monies demanded or paid for parking, furnishing, food service, housing services of any kind, or subletting.
(q) Rent Increases. Any additional monies demanded or paid for rent as defined in item (p) above, or any reduction in housing services without a corresponding reduction in the monies demanded or paid for rent; provided, however, that passthroughs of the following cost increases pursuant to this Chapter 37 do not constitute rent increases: (1) where the landlord has been paying the tenant’s utilities and the cost of those utilities increases; (2) where the landlord is passing through to the tenant the change in the landlord’s property tax attributable to a general obligation bond in accordance with Section 37.3(a)(6); and (3) where the landlord is passing through to the tenant water rate increases resulting from issuance of water revenue bonds authorized at the November 5, 2002 election in accordance with Section 37.3(a)(5)(B).
(r) Rental Units. All residential dwelling units in the City together with the land and appurtenant buildings thereto, and all housing services, privileges, furnishings, and facilities supplied in connection with the use or occupancy thereof, including garage and parking facilities.
Garage facilities, parking facilities, driveways, storage spaces, laundry rooms, decks, patios, or gardens on the same lot, or kitchen facilities or lobbies in single room occupancy (SRO) hotels, supplied in connection with the use or occupancy of a unit, may not be severed from the tenancy by the landlord without just cause as required by Section 37.9(a). Any severance, substantial reduction, or removal of a housing service, even if permitted under Section 37.9(a), shall be offset by a corresponding reduction in rent. Either a landlord or a tenant may file a petition with the Rent Board to determine the amount of the rent reduction. In addition, a tenant may petition the Rent Board for a determination on whether an Accessory Dwelling Unit proposed to be constructed under Planning Code Section 207.1 would sever, substantially reduce, or remove a housing service, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 207.1. The issuance of a permit for construction of an Accessory Dwelling Unit does not, in and of itself, constitute a just cause for the purpose of severing a housing service.
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, a landlord may temporarily sever one or more housing services listed in that paragraph in order to perform seismic work required by Building Code "Mandatory Earthquake Retrofit of Wood-Frame Buildings" ("mandatory seismic work") if: (1) the landlord has given the notice to temporarily sever as required by Administrative Code Section 65A.2; (2) the landlord has obtained all necessary permits on or before the date the notice to temporarily sever is given; (3) the housing service(s) will only be severed for the minimum time required to complete the mandatory seismic work and in no event for a longer period than provided by Building Code Section 106A.4.4, Table B; and (4) the temporarily severed housing service(s) will be fully restored immediately upon completion of the mandatory seismic work. For such temporary severance of one or more of the specified housing services due to mandatory seismic work required by Building Code , tenants will not be entitled to a reduction in rent, but tenants shall be entitled to either compensation or a substitute housing service as provided in Administrative Code Chapter 65A.
The term "rental units" shall not include:
(1) Housing accommodations in hotels, motels, inns, tourist houses, rooming and boarding houses, provided that at such time as an accommodation has been occupied by a tenant for 32 continuous days or more, such accommodation shall become a rental unit subject to the provisions of this Chapter; provided further, no landlord shall bring an action to recover possession of such unit in order to avoid having the unit come within the provisions of this Chapter. An eviction for a purpose not permitted under Section 37.9(a) shall be deemed to be an action to recover possession in order to avoid having a unit come within the provisions of this Chapter;
(2) Dwelling units in nonprofit cooperatives owned, occupied and controlled by a majority of the residents or dwelling units solely owned by a nonprofit public benefit corporation governed by a board of directors the majority of which are residents of the dwelling units and where it is required in the corporate by-laws that rent increases be approved by a majority of the residents;
(3) Housing accommodation in any hospital, convent, monastery, extended care facility, asylum, residential care or adult day health care facility for the elderly which must be operated pursuant to a license issued by the California Department of Social Services, as required by California Health and Safety Chapters 3.2 and 3.3; or in dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education, a high school, or an elementary school;
(4) Except as provided in subsections (A)-(D), dwelling units whose rents are controlled or regulated by any government unit, agency, or authority, excepting those unsubsidized and/or unassisted units which are insured by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; provided, however, that units in unreinforced masonry buildings which have undergone seismic strengthening in accordance with Building Code Chapters 16B and 16C shall remain subject to the Rent Ordinances to the extent that the ordinance is not in conflict with the seismic strengthening bond program or with the program's loan agreements or with any regulations promulgated thereunder;
(A) For purposes of Sections 37.2, 37.3(a)(10)(A), 37.4, 37.5, 37.6, 37.9, 37.9A, 37.10A, 37.11A and 37.13, and the arbitration provisions of Sections 37.8 and 37.8A applicable only to the provisions of Sections 37.3(a)(10)(A), the term "rental units" shall include units occupied by recipients of tenant-based rental assistance where the tenant-based rental assistance program does not establish the tenant's share of base rent as a fixed percentage of a tenant's income, such as in the Housing Choice Voucher Program and the Over-FMR Tenancy program, and shall also include units occupied by recipients of tenant-based rental assistance under the HOPWA rental subsidy program;
(B) For purposes of Sections 37.2, 37.3(a)(10)(B), 37.4, 37.5, 37.6, 37.9, 37.9A, 37.10A, 37.11A and 37.13, the term "rental units" shall include units occupied by recipients of tenant-based rental assistance where the rent payable by the tenant under the tenant-based rental assistance program is a fixed percentage of the tenant's income, such as in the Section 8 Certificate Program;
(C) The term “rental units” shall include units in a building for which either tax credits are reserved or obtained pursuant to the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. Section 42 (“LIHTC”), and/or tax-exempt multifamily revenue bonds are allocated or obtained pursuant to Section 142(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. Section 142(d) (“Bonds”), and that were already tenant-occupied and subject to this Chapter 37 at the time the applicable LIHTC regulatory agreement and/or Bond regulatory agreement was recorded, as follows:
(i) If a tenant’s occupancy of the unit began before the applicable LIHTC regulatory agreement and/or Bond regulatory agreement was recorded, then subsection (C) shall apply to that unit so long as any of the occupants who resided in the unit at the time of the recording still permanently reside there. If the applicable regulatory agreement(s) were recorded on or after January 1, 2018, then the base rent as of the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 230770 shall be equal to the rent that was in effect as of the date the recording plus any annual rent increases that may have been allowed under Sections 37.3(a)(1)-(2).
(ii) The tenants in a unit described in subsection (C)(i) shall have a one-time option at any time to opt the unit out of subsection (C), and thereby subject the unit going forward to such rent controls and use restrictions as may apply under the applicable LIHTC and/or Bond regulatory agreement(s). All tenants residing in the unit at the time of the opt-out must consent to the opt-out in writing, on a form prepared by the Rent Board, that advises the tenants of the requirements under subsection (C) and that opt-outs may not be withdrawn. Once an opt-out has occurred in a unit, subsection (C) will not apply to that unit and the unit will be exempt from Chapter 37 for the remaining duration of the applicable regulatory agreement(s).
(iii) This exception for tenant-occupied units subject to LIHTC and/or Bond regulatory agreements is not intended to affect the application of Section 37.2(r)(4) to units where the rent is otherwise controlled or regulated by any use restrictions imposed by the City and County of San Francisco, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, the Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco, the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(D) The term “rental units” shall include (i) Accessory Dwelling Units constructed pursuant to Section 207.1 of the Planning Code and that have received a complete or partial waiver of the density limits and the parking, rear yard, exposure, or open space standards from the Zoning Administrator pursuant to Planning Code Section 307(l); (ii) New Unit(s) constructed and funded pursuant to Administrative Code Chapter 85; (iii) new dwelling units created pursuant to the density exception set forth in Section 207(c)(8) of the Planning Code; (iv) new dwelling units created pursuant to the HOME-SF Program set forth in Section 206.3(c)(1)(B) of the Planning Code; (v) new dwelling units created pursuant to the density exception set forth in Section 249.94(d)(1) of the Planning Code; and (vi) dwelling units that obtain the exemption from the conditional use authorization set forth in Section 317(c)(10) of the Planning Code.
(s) Substantial Rehabilitation. The renovation, alteration or remodeling of residential units of 50 or more years of age which have been condemned or which do not qualify for certificates of occupancy or which require substantial renovation in order to conform the building to contemporary standards for decent, safe and sanitary housing. Substantial rehabilitation may vary in degree from gutting and extensive reconstruction to extensive improvements that cure substantial deferred maintenance. Cosmetic improvements alone such as painting, decorating and minor repairs, or other work which can be performed safely without having the unit vacated do not qualify as substantial rehabilitation.
(t) Tenant. A person entitled by written or oral agreement, sub-tenancy approved by the landlord, or by sufferance, to occupy a residential dwelling unit to the exclusion of others.
(u) Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. Rental assistance provided directly to a tenant or directly to a landlord on behalf of a particular tenant, which includes but shall not be limited to certificates, vouchers, and subsidies issued pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f), or the HOPWA program (24 CFR Part 574).
(v) Utilities. The term "utilities" shall refer to gas and electricity exclusively.
(w) Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking.
(1) "Victim of domestic violence or sexual assault or stalking" means any person who has been, or is currently being, subjected to one or more of the following:
(A) "Domestic violence," as defined in Section 13700 of the Penal Code or Section 6211 of the Family Code;
(B) "Sexual assault'' as defined in Sections 261, 261.5, 262, 286, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code; or
(C) "Stalking," as defined in Section 646.9 of the Penal Code or Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code.
(2) "Protective order" means a temporary restraining order or emergency protective order issued pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 6240) or Part 4 (commencing with Section 6300) or Part 5 (commencing with Section 6400) of the Family Code, Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, Section 527.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 213.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, that protects the tenant or household member from further domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(3) "Qualified third party" means a peace officer or victim advocate, employed by a state or local law enforcement agency, or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), acting in his or her official capacity;
(4) "Written documentation from a qualified third party " means a document signed and dated within the preceding 60 days by a qualified third party stating all of the following:
(A) That the tenant notified the qualified third party that he or she was a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault or stalking;
(B) The time, date, and location of the act or acts that constitute the domestic violence or sexual assault or stalking; and
(C) That the tenant informed the qualified third party of the name of the alleged perpetrator of the act or acts of domestic violence or sexual assault or stalking, if known to the victim.
(Amended by Ord. 193-86, App. 5/30/86; Ord. 221-92, App. 7/14/92; Ord. 233-93, App. 7/22/93; Proposition I, 11/8/94; Ord. 446-94, App. 12/30/94; Ord. 179-98, App. 5/29/98; Ord. 250-98, App. 7/31/98; Ord. 237-99, File No. 990168, App. 8/30/99; Ord. 347-99, File No. 992197, App. 12/30/99; Ord. 116-00, File No. 991315, App. 6/2/2000; Ord. 2-03, File No. 020716, App, 1/21/2003; Ord. 107-03, File No. 030689, App. 5/23/2003; Ord. 178-06, File No. 052025, App.; Ord. 252-06, File No. 061183, App. 10/11/2006; Ord. 281-06, File No. 061376, App. 11/20/2006; Ord. 92-07, File No. 061217, App. 4/27/2007; Proposition M, 11/4/2008; Ord. 28-09, File No. 080822, App. 2/20/2009; Ord. 60-10, File No. 10039, App. 3/25/2010; Ord. 72-11, File No. 110153, App. 4/27/2011, Eff. 5/27/2011; Ord. 49-14
, File No. 131063, App. 4/17/2014, Eff. 5/17/2014; Ord. 173-14
, File No. 140679, App. 7/31/2014, Eff. 8/30/2014; Ord. 161-15
, File No. 150804, App. 9/18/2015, Eff. 10/18/2015; Ord. 162-15
, File No. 150805, App. 9/18/2015, Eff. 10/18/2015; Ord. 119-16, File No. 160554, App. 7/1/2016, Eff. 7/31/2016; Ord. 162-16, File No. 160657, App. 8/4/2016, Eff. 9/3/2016; Ord. 296-19, File No. 191105, App. 12/20/2019, Eff. 1/20/2020; Ord. 213-20, File No. 200518, App. 10/30/2020, Eff. 11/30/2020; Ord. 208-21, File No. 210699, App. 11/12/2021, Eff. 12/13/2021; Ord. 172-22, File No. 211232, App. 8/4/2022, Eff. 9/4/2022; Ord. 210-22, File No. 210866, App. 10/28/2022, Eff. 11/28/2022; Ord. 91-23, File No. 221021, App. 5/26/2023, Eff. 6/26/2023; Ord. 160-23, File No. 230770, App. 7/28/2023, Eff. 8/28/2023; Ord. 195-23, File No. 230026, App. 9/15/2023, Eff. 10/16/2023; Ord. 62-24, File No. 230310, App. 3/28/2024, Eff. 4/28/2024; Ord. 64-24, File No. 231185, App. 3/28/2024, Eff. 4/28/2024; Ord. 92-24, File No. 240174, App. 5/10/2024, Eff. 6/10/2024, Oper. 7/1/2024)
(1) Annual Rent Increase. On March 1 of each year, the Board shall publish the increase in the CPI for the preceding 12 months, as made available by the U.S. Department of Labor. A landlord who has reported the required information about their rental unit to the Rent Board as set forth in Section 37.15 shall have a license to impose annually a rent increase which does not exceed a tenant’s base rent by more than 60% of said published increase. In no event, however, shall the allowable annual increase be greater than 7%.
(2) Banking. A landlord who refrains from imposing an annual rent increase or any portion thereof may accumulate said increase and, subject to Section 37.15, impose that amount on the tenant’s subsequent rent increase anniversary dates. A landlord who, between April 1, 1982, and February 29, 1984, has banked an annual 7% rent increase (or rent increases) or any portion thereof may impose the accumulated increase on the tenant’s subsequent rent increase anniversary dates.
(3) Capital Improvements, Rehabilitation, and Energy Conservation Improvements, and Renewable Energy Improvements. A landlord may impose rent increases based upon the cost of capital improvements, rehabilitation, energy conservation improvements, or renewable energy improvements, provided that such costs are certified pursuant to Sections 37.7 and 37.8B below; provided further that where a landlord has performed seismic strengthening in accordance with Building Code Chapters 16B and 16C, no increase for capital improvements (including but not limited to seismic strengthening) shall exceed, in any 12 month period, 10 percent of the tenant's base rent, subject to rules adopted by the Board to prevent landlord hardship and to permit landlords to continue to maintain their buildings in a decent, safe and sanitary condition. A landlord may accumulate any certified increase which exceeds this amount and impose the increase in subsequent years, subject to the 10 percent limitation. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to supersede any Board rules or regulations with respect to limitations on increases based upon capital improvements whether performed separately or in conjunction with seismic strengthening improvements pursuant to Building Code Chapters 16B and 16C.
(4) Utilities. A landlord may impose increases based upon the cost of utilities as provided in Section 37.2(q) above.
(5) Water: Charges Related to Excess Water Use, and 50% Passthrough of Water Bill Charges Attributable to Water Rate Increases Resulting From Issuance of Water System Improvement Revenue Bonds Authorized at the November 2002 Election.
(A) Charges Related to Excess Water Use. A landlord may impose increases not to exceed 50 percent of the excess use charges (penalties) levied by the San Francisco Water Department on a building for use of water in excess of Water Department allocations under the following conditions:
(i) The landlord provides tenants with written certification that the following have been installed in all units: (1) permanently installed retrofit devices designed to reduce the amount of water used per flush or low-flow toilets (1.6 gallons per flush); (2) low-flow showerheads which allow a flow of no more than 2.5 gallons per minute; and (3) faucet aerators (where installation on current faucets is physically feasible); and
(ii) The landlord provides the tenants with written certification that no known plumbing leaks currently exist in the building and that any leaks reported by tenants in the future will be promptly repaired; and
(iii) The landlord provides the tenants with a copy of the water bill for the period in which the penalty was charged. Only penalties billed for a service period which begins after the effective date of the ordinance [April 20, 1991] may be passed through to tenants. Where penalties result from an allocation which does not reflect documented changes in occupancy which occurred after March 1, 1991, a landlord must, if requested in writing by a tenant, make a good-faith effort to appeal the allotment. Increases based upon penalties shall be prorated on a per-room basis provided that the tenancy existed during the time the penalty charges accrued. Such charges shall not become part of a tenant's base rent. Where a penalty in any given billing period reflects a 25 percent or more increase in consumption over the prior billing period, and where that increase does not appear to result from increased occupancy or any other known use, a landlord may not impose any increase based upon such penalty unless inspection by a licensed plumber or Water Department inspector fails to reveal a plumbing or other leak. If the inspection does reveal a leak, no increase based upon penalties may be imposed at any time for the period of the unrepaired leak.
(B) Fifty Percent (50%) Passthrough of Water Bill Charges Attributable to Water Increases Resulting From Issuance of Water System Improvement Revenue Bonds Authorized at the November 2002 Election. A landlord may pass through fifty percent (50%) of the water bill charges attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of Water System Improvement Revenue Bonds authorized at the November 2002 election (Proposition A), to any unit that is in compliance with any applicable laws requiring water conservation devices. The landlord is not required to file a petition with the Board for approval of such a cost passthrough. Such cost passthroughs are subject to the following:
(i) Affected tenants shall be given notice of any such passthrough as provided by applicable notice of rent increase provisions of this Chapter 37, including but not limited to Section 37.3(b)(3).
(ii) A tenant may file a hardship application with the Board, and be granted relief from all or part of such a cost passthrough.
(iii) If a tenant's hardship application is granted, the tenant's landlord may utilize any available Public Utilities Commission low-income rate discount program or similar program for water bill reduction, based on that tenant's hardship status.
(iv) A landlord shall not impose a passthrough pursuant to Section 37.3(a)(5)(B) if the landlord has filed for or received Board approval for a rent increase under Section 37.8(e)(4) for increased operating and maintenance expenses in which the same increase in water bill charges attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of any water revenue bonds authorized at the November 5, 2002 election was included in the comparison year cost totals.
(v) Where a tenant alleges that a landlord has imposed a water revenue bond passthrough that is not in compliance with Section 37.3(a)(5)(B), the tenant may petition for a hearing under the procedures provided by Section 37.8. In such a hearing the landlord shall have the burden of proving the accuracy of the calculation that is the basis for the increase. Any tenant petition challenging such a passthrough must be filed within one year of the effective date of the passthrough.
(vi) A tenant who has received a notice of passthrough or a passthrough under this Section 37.3(a)(5)(B) shall be entitled to receive a copy of the applicable water bill from the landlord upon request.
(vii) The amount of permissible passthrough per unit under this Section 37.3(a)(5)(B) shall be determined as follows:
(1) The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will determine the charge per unit of water, if any, that is attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of water system improvement revenue bonds authorized at the November 5, 2002 election.
(2) The charge identified in Section 37.3(a)(5)(B)(vii)(1) shall be multiplied by the total units of water used by each customer, for each water bill. The result is the total dollar amount of the water bill that is attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of water system improvement revenue bonds authorized at the November 5, 2002 election. That charge shall be a separate line item on each customer's water bill.
(3) The dollar amount calculated under Section 37.3(a)(5)(B)(vii)(2) shall be divided by two (since a 50% passthrough is permitted), and then divided by the total number of units covered by the water bill, including commercial units. The resulting dollar figure shall be divided by the number of months covered by the water bill cycle (most are two-month bill cycles), to determine the amount of that water bill that may be passed through to each residential unit for each month covered by that bill.
(4) These passthroughs may be imposed on a monthly basis. These passthroughs shall not become part of a tenant's base rent. The amount of each passthrough may vary from month to month, depending on the amount calculated under Sections 37.3(a)(5)(B)(vii)(1) through (3).
(viii) The Board may amend its rules and regulations as necessary to implement this Section 37.3(a)(5)(B).
(6) Property Tax.
(A) Effective July 1, 2024, a landlord may impose increases based upon a 100% passthrough of the change in the landlord’s property tax resulting from the repayment of general obligation bonds of the City and County of San Francisco approved by the voters between November 1, 1996, and November 30, 1998; a 50% passthrough of the change in the landlord’s property tax resulting from the repayment of general obligation bonds of the City and County of San Francisco approved by the voters after November 14, 2002; and a 50% passthrough of the change in the landlord’s property tax resulting from the repayment of San Francisco Unified School District or San Francisco Community College District general obligation bonds approved by the voters after November 1, 2006, as provided in Section 37.2(q). General obligation bonds that meet the criteria set forth in the previous sentence are referred to herein as “Eligible Bonds;” provided, however, that a general obligation bond approved after December 20, 2000 may qualify as an Eligible Bond only if the passthrough was disclosed and approved by the voters. The City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District, and San Francisco Community College District are referred to collectively as “the Issuing Entities.”
To pass through the change in property tax resulting from the repayment of Eligible Bonds, the landlord shall calculate said change relative to the amount that the property tax rate increased due to the repayment of Eligible Bonds since each tenancy commenced, or 2005, whichever is later (“the Base Year”), as set forth in subsection (a)(6)(B).
(B) The Controller will first determine the percentage of the property tax rate, if any, attributable to general obligation bonds of any of the Issuing Entities (“the General Obligation Bond Factor”) for each tax year. The passthrough rate for an individual tenant (the “Tenant Passthrough Rate”) shall be based on the amount that the General Obligation Bond Factor for the current year has increased since the tenant’s Base Year; and the degree to which said increase, if any, is attributable to Eligible Bonds, as measured by the ratio of debt service for the Eligible Bonds compared to the total debt service attributable to general obligation bonds of the Issuing Entities. The resulting figure shall then be discounted to reflect the specific percentage passthroughs for each of the Eligible Bonds as specified in subsection (A). The Controller shall prepare and annually update a form to help landlords and tenants calculate the Tenant Passthrough Rates. The Controller’s authority to interpret and administer this calculation shall be liberally construed to further the purposes of this subsection (a)(6).
(C) To calculate the amount of increased property tax that the landlord can pass through to a tenant in any given year, the landlord shall divide the total amount of the net taxable value as of November 1 of the applicable tax year by the total number of all units in the property, including commercial units; and shall multiply the resulting figure by the applicable Tenant Passthrough Rate. The result is the dollar amount of increased property taxes for that tax year for a particular property attributable to the repayment of Eligible Bonds that the landlord may pass through to the tenant.
(D) The dollar amount calculated under subsection (a)(6)(C) shall then be divided by the total number of months that the passthrough may apply pursuant to subsection (a)(6)(E)(i), to determine the monthly per unit costs for that tax year of the repayment of general obligation bonds.
(E) Landlords may pass through to each unit in a particular property the dollar amount calculated under subsections (a)(6)(A)–(D), as provided in this subsection (a)(6)(E).
(i) All passthroughs shall apply for the same number of months covered by the property tax bills used in the passthrough calculation, and the calculation may not be based on tax bills issued more than three years prior to the year in which the passthrough was imposed.
(ii) The landlord shall give affected tenants notice of the passthrough as provided by applicable notice of rent increase provisions of this Chapter 37, including but not limited to Section 37.3(b)(3). The passthroughs may be imposed at any time in the calendar year, provided that the landlord serves notice of such passthrough to be effective on the anniversary date of each tenant’s occupancy of the property. The passthroughs shall not become a part of a tenant’s base rent. The amount of each passthrough imposed pursuant to this subsection (a)(6) may vary from year-to-year, depending on the amount calculated by the Controller. A landlord may impose the passthroughs described in this subsection (a)(6) for a particular tax year only with respect to those tenants who were residents of a particular property on November 1 of the applicable tax year. A landlord shall not impose a passthrough pursuant to this subsection (a)(6) if the landlord has filed for or received Board approval for a rent increase under Section 37.8(e)(4) for increased operating and maintenance expenses in which the same increase in property taxes due to the repayment of general obligation bonds was included in the comparison year cost totals.
(F) A tenant who has received a passthrough under this subsection (a)(6) may file a financial hardship application with the Board, and the Board may grant the tenant complete or partial relief from the passthrough. The standards and procedures for the financial hardship application shall be as set forth in Sections 37.7(h)-(i).
(G) The Board will have available a form which explains how to calculate the passthrough. Landlords must provide to tenants, on or before the date that notice is served on the tenant of a passthrough permitted under this subsection (a)(6), a copy of the completed form. Landlords shall provide their tenants the completed forms in addition to the Notice of Rent Increase required under Section 37.3(b). Where a tenant alleges that a landlord has imposed a charge which exceeds the limitations set forth in this subsection (a)(6), the tenant may petition for a hearing under the procedures provided by Section 37.8. In such a hearing, the landlord shall have the burden of proving the accuracy of the calculation that is the basis for the increase. Any tenant petitions challenging such a passthrough must be filed within one year of the effective date of the passthrough.
(H) The Board and the Controller may amend their rules and regulations as necessary to implement this subsection (a)(6).
(7) RAP Loans. A landlord may impose rent increases attributable to the City Administrator's amortization of the RAP loan in an area designated on or after July 1, 1977, pursuant to Chapter 32 of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
(8) Additional Increases. A landlord who seeks to impose any rent increase which exceeds those permitted above shall petition for a rental arbitration hearing pursuant to Section 37.8 of this Chapter.
(9) A landlord may impose a rent increase to recover costs incurred for the remediation of lead hazards, as defined in San Francisco Health Code Article 11 or 26. Such increases may be based on changes in operating and maintenance expenses or for capital improvement expenditures as long as the costs which are the basis of the rent increase are a substantial portion of the work which abates or remediates a lead hazard, as defined in San Francisco Health Code Article 11 or 26, and provided further that such costs are approved for operating and maintenance expense increases pursuant to Section 37.8(e)(4)(A) and certified as capital improvements pursuant to Section 37.7 below.
When rent increases are authorized by this Subsection 37.3(a)(9), the total rent increase for both operating and maintenance expenses and capital improvements shall not exceed 10 percent in any 12 month period. If allowable rent increases due to the costs of lead remediation and abatement work exceed 10 percent in any 12 month period, an Administrative Law Judge shall apply a portion of such excess to approved operating and maintenance expenses for lead remediation work, and the balance, if any, to certified capital improvements, provided, however, that such increase shall not exceed 10 percent. A landlord may accumulate any approved or certified increase which exceeds this amount, subject to the 10 percent limit.
(10) With respect to units occupied by recipients of tenant-based rental assistance:
(A) If the tenant's share of the base rent is not calculated as a fixed percentage of the tenant's income, such as in the Housing Choice Voucher Program and the Over-FMR Tenancy Program, or if the tenant is receiving assistance under the HOPWA rental subsidy program, then:
(ii) If the base rent is less than the payment standard, the rent increase limitations of this Chapter shall not apply; provided, however, that any rent increase which would result in the base rent being equal to or greater than the payment standard shall not result in a new base rent that exceeds the payment standard plus the increase allowable under Section 37.3(a)(1).
(B) If the tenant's share of the base rent is calculated as a fixed percentage of the tenant's income, such as in the Section 8 Certificate Program, the rent increase limitations in Section 37.3(a)(1) and (2) shall not apply. In such circumstances, adjustments in rent shall be made solely according to the requirements of the tenant-based rental assistance program.
(11) Additional Occupants.
(A) Except as provided in Section 37.3(a)(11)(B), a landlord may not impose increases solely because a tenant has added an additional occupant to an existing tenancy, including, but not limited to, a newborn child or family member as defined in Section 401 of the Housing Code. The prohibition on increases mandated by this Subsection (A) shall apply notwithstanding a rental agreement or lease that specifically permits a rent increase for additional occupants.
(C) Rent increases otherwise permitted by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, California Civil Code Section 1950 et seq. (as it may be amended from time to time) are not prohibited or limited by this Section 37.3(a)(11).
(b) Notice of Rent Increase for Tenants in Occupancy. On or before the date upon which a landlord gives a tenant legal notice of a rent increase, the landlord shall inform the tenant, in writing, of the following:
(1) Which portion of the rent increase reflects the annual increase, and/or a banked amount, if any;
(2) Which portion of the rent increase reflects costs for increased operating and maintenance expenses, rents for comparable units, and/or capital improvements, rehabilitation, energy conservation measures improvements, or renewable energy improvements certified pursuant to Section 37.7. Any rent increase certified due to increases in operating and maintenance costs shall not exceed seven percent;
(3) Which portion of the rent increase reflects the passthrough of charges for: gas and electricity; or the passthrough of increased water bill charges attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of water revenue bonds authorized at the November 2002 election as provided by Section 37.3(a)(5)(B), which charges and calculations of charges shall be explained in writing on a form provided by the Board; or the passthrough of general obligation bond measure costs as provided by Section 37.3(a)(6), which charges shall be explained in writing on a form provided by the Board as described in Section 37.3(a)(6)(E);
(4) Which portion of the rent increase reflects the amortization of the RAP loan, as described in Section 37.3(a)(7) above.
(5) Nonconforming Rent Increases. Any rent increase which does not conform with the provisions of this Section shall be null and void.
(6) With respect to rental units occupied by recipients of tenant-based rental assistance, the notice requirements of this Subsection (b) shall be required in addition to any notice required as part of the tenant-based rental assistance program.
(c) Initial Rent Limitation for Subtenants. A tenant who subleases his or her rental unit may charge no more rent upon initial occupancy of the subtenant or subtenants than that rent which the tenant is currently paying to the landlord.
(d) Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code Sections 1954.50. et seq.). Consistent with the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code Sections 1954.50. et seq.) and regardless of whether otherwise provided under Chapter 37:
(1) Property Owner Rights to Establish Initial and All Subsequent Rental Rates for Separately Alienable Parcels.
(A) An owner of residential real property may establish the initial and all subsequent rental rates for a dwelling or a unit which is alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit or is a subdivided interest in a subdivision as specified in subdivision (b), (d), or (f) of Section 11004.5 of the California Business and Professions Code. The owner’s right to establish subsequent rental rates under this subsection (d)(1)(A) shall not apply to a dwelling or unit where either of the following apply:
(i) The unit is a condominium dwelling or unit that has not been sold separately by the subdivider to a bona fide purchaser for value; but subsection (d)(1)(A) shall apply to a single unsold condominium dwelling or unit, if all the other condominium dwellings or units have been sold separately by the subdivider to bona fide purchasers for value, and the subdivider has occupied the remaining unsold condominium dwelling or unit as their principal residence for at least one year after the subdivision occurred.
(ii) The preceding tenancy has been terminated by the owner by notice pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1946 or has been terminated upon a change in the terms of the tenancy noticed pursuant to California Civil Code Section 827; in such instances, the rent increase limitation provisions of Chapter 37 shall continue to apply for the duration of the new tenancy in that dwelling or unit.
(C) An owner's right to establish subsequent rental rates under Subsection 37.3(d)(1) shall not apply to a dwelling or unit which contains serious health, safety, fire or building code violations, excluding those caused by disasters, for which a citation has been issued by the appropriate governmental agency and which has remained unabated for six months or longer preceding the vacancy.
(D) An owner’s right to establish subsequent rental rates under subsection 37.3(d)(1) shall not apply to a dwelling or unit that is a new dwelling unit created pursuant to the Code provisions specified in subsection 37.2(r)(4)(D), or a dwelling unit that utilizes the Code provisions specified in subsection 37.2(r)(4)(D).
(2) Conditions for Establishing the Initial Rental Rate Upon Sublet or Assignment. Except as identified in this Subsection 37.3
(d)(2), nothing in this Subsection or any other provision of law of the City and County of San Francisco shall be construed to preclude express establishment in a lease or rental agreement of the rental rates to be applicable in the event the rental unit subject thereto is sublet, and nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to impair the obligations of contracts entered into prior to January 1, 1996, subject to the following:
(A) Where the original occupant or occupants who took possession of the dwelling or unit pursuant to the rental agreement with the owner no longer permanently reside there, an owner may increase the rent by any amount allowed by this Subsection to a lawful sublessee or assignee who did not reside at the dwelling or unit prior to January 1, 1996. However, such a rent increase shall not be permitted while:
(i) The dwelling or unit has been cited in an inspection report by the appropriate governmental agency as containing serious health, safety, fire, or building code violations, as defined by Section 17920.3 of the California Health and Safety Code, excluding any violation caused by a disaster; and,
(ii) The citation was issued at least 60 days prior to the date of the vacancy: and,
(iii) The cited violation had not been abated when the prior tenant vacated and had remained unabated for 60 days or for a longer period of time. However, the 60-day time period may be extended by the appropriate governmental agency that issued the citation.
(B) This Subsection 37.3(d)(2) shall not apply to partial changes in occupancy of a dwelling or unit where one or more of the occupants of the premises, pursuant to the agreement with the owner provided for above (37.3(d)(2)), remains an occupant in lawful possession of the dwellings or unit, or where a lawful sublessee or assignee who resided at the dwelling or unit prior to January 1, 1996, remains in possession of the dwelling or unit. Nothing contained in this Subsection 37.3(d)(2) shall be construed to enlarge or diminish an owner's right to withhold consent to a sublease or assignment.
(C) Acceptance of rent by the owner shall not operate as a waiver or otherwise prevent enforcement of a covenant prohibiting sublease or assignment or as a waiver of an owner's rights to establish the initial rental rate unless the owner has received written notice from the tenant that is party to the agreement and thereafter accepted rent.
(3) Termination or Nonrenewal of a Contract or Recorded Agreement with a Government Agency Limiting Rent. An owner who terminates or fails to renew a contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency that provides for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant, shall be subject to the following:
(A) The tenant(s) who were beneficiaries of the contract or recorded agreement shall be given at least 90 days' written notice of the effective date of the termination and shall not be obligated to pay more than the tenant's portion of the rent, as calculated under that contract or recorded agreement, for 90 days following receipt of the notice of termination or nonrenewal.
(B) The owner shall not be eligible to set an initial rent for three years following the date of the termination or nonrenewal of the contract or agreement.
(C) The rental rate for any new tenancy established during the three-year period in that vacated dwelling or unit shall be at the same rate as the rent under the terminated or nonrenewed contract or recorded agreement, plus any increases authorized under this Chapter 37 after the date of termination/non renewal.
(D) The provisions of Subsections 37.3(d)(3)(B) and (C) shall not apply to any new tenancy of 12 months or more duration established after January 1, 2000, pursuant to the owner's contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency that provides for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant unless the prior vacancy in that dwelling or unit was pursuant to a nonrenewed or canceled contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency that provides for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant.
(4) Subsection 37.3(d) does not affect the authority of the City and County of San Francisco to regulate or monitor the basis or grounds for eviction.
(5) This Subsection 37.3(d) is intended to be and shall be construed to be consistent with the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civil Code Sections 1954.50 et seq.).
(e) Effect of Deferred Maintenance on Passthroughs for Lead Remediation Techniques.
(1) When lead hazards are remediated or abated pursuant to San Francisco Health Code Articles 11 or 26, are violations of State or local housing health and safety laws, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the lead hazards are caused or created by deferred maintenance as defined herein of the current or previous landlord. If the landlord fails to rebut the presumption, the costs of such work shall not be passed through to tenants as either a capital improvement or an operating and maintenance expense. If the landlord rebuts the presumption, he or she shall be entitled to a rent increase if otherwise justified by the standards set forth in this Chapter.
(2) For purposes of the evaluation of petitions for rent increases for lead remediation work, maintenance is deferred if a reasonable landlord under the circumstances would have performed, on a regular basis, the maintenance work required to keep the premises from being in violation of housing safety and habitability standards set forth in California Civil Code Section 1941 and the San Francisco Municipal Code. In order to prevail on a deferred maintenance defense, a tenant must show that the level of repair or remediation currently required would have been lessened had maintenance been performed in a more timely manner.
(f) Costa-Hawkins Vacancy Control. Where a landlord has terminated the previous tenancy as stated in either subsection (1), (2) or (3) below, for the next five years from the termination, the initial base rent for the subsequent tenancy shall be a rent not greater than the lawful rent in effect at the time the previous tenancy was terminated, plus any annual rent increases available under this Chapter 37. This Section 37.3(f) is intended to be consistent with California Civil Code Section 1954.53(a)(1)(A)-(B).
(1) Where the previous tenancy was terminated by a notice of termination of tenancy issued under California Civil Code Section 1946.1 stating the ground for recovery of possession under Sections 37.9(a)(8), (9), (10), (11), or (14) of this Code. For purposes of the termination of tenancy under Section 37.9(a)(9), the initial rent for the unit may be set by a subsequent bona fide purchaser for value of the condominium.
(2) Where the previous tenancy was terminated upon a change in terms of tenancy noticed under California Civil Code Section 827, except a change in rent permitted by law. Within 10 days after serving the notice of termination based upon a change in terms of tenancy under Civil Code Section 827, the landlord shall notify the Board in writing of the monthly rent the tenant was paying when the landlord gave the notice to the tenant, and provide a copy of the notice to the Board to the tenant.
(3) Where the landlord terminated or did not renew a contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency that provided for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant. When a landlord terminates a tenant-based rental assistance program, the landlord shall, within 10 days after giving the notice of termination of the program to the tenant, notify the Board in writing of the monthly rent the tenant was paying and the monthly rent paid by the program to the landlord on behalf of the tenant when the landlord gave notice to the tenant, and provide a copy of the notice to the Board to the tenant.
(g) New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation.
(1) An owner of a residential dwelling or unit which is newly constructed and first received a certificate of occupancy after the effective date of Ordinance No. 276-79 (June 13, 1979), or which the Rent Board has certified has undergone a substantial rehabilitation, may establish the initial and all subsequent rental rates for that dwelling or unit, except where any of the following apply:
(B) Where the dwelling or unit is a replacement unit under Section 37.9A(b).
(C) As provided for certain categories of units under Section 37.2(r)(4)(D).
(D) As provided in a development agreement entered into by the City under Administrative Code Chapter 56.
(E) The Board of Supervisors acknowledges that at least through November 5, 2024, California Civil Code Sections 1954.52(a)(1)-(2) preclude the City from updating the June 13, 1979 new construction date specified in this subsection (g)(1). In the event State law is amended or repealed in this regard, said new construction date shall immediately cease to apply, and shall by operation of law pursuant to this subsection (g)(1)(E) be updated to reflect the latest date that State law may allow, up to and including June 13, 1994. The applicability of an updated new construction date under this subsection (g)(1)(E) shall not affect whether a unit is exempt under some other legal basis set forth in this Chapter 37. If no other exemption applies and a unit becomes covered by Chapter 37’s rent increase limitations by operation of this subsection (g)(1)(E), the initial base rent shall be the lawful rent that applied as of the date of coverage. If no rent was in effect as of the date of coverage, then the initial base rent shall be the first lawful rent in effect after that date.
(Added by Ord. 20-84, App. 1/19/84; amended by Ord. 338-87, App. 8/14/87; Ord. 102-91, App. 3/21/91; Ord. 127-91, App. 4/2/91; Ord. 221-92, App. 7/14/92; Proposition H, 11/3/92; Ord. 405-96, App. 10/21/96; Ord. 179-98, App. 5/29/98; Ord. 250-98, App. 7/31/98; Ord. 347-99, File No. 992197, App. 12/30/99; Ord. 116-00, File No. 991315, App. 6/2/2000; Proposition H, 12/2/2000; Ord. 2-03, File No. 020716, App, 1/21/2003; Ord. 107-03, File No. 030689, App. 5/23/2003; Ord. 99-04, File No. 031992, App. 6/4/2004; Ord. 252-06, File No. 061183, App. 10/11/2006; Ord. 171-15
, File No. 150646, Eff. 11/8/2015; Ord. 17-16
, File No. 151229, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016; Ord. 119-16, File No. 160554, App. 7/1/2016, Eff. 7/31/2016; Ord. 250-19, File No. 190843, App. 11/6/2019, Eff. 12/7/2019; Ord. 296-19, File No. 191105, App. 12/20/2019, Eff. 1/20/2020; Ord. 265-20, File No. 201262, App. 12/18/2020, Eff. 1/18/2021, Oper. 7/1/2022; Ord. 172-22, File No. 211232, App. 8/4/2022, Eff. 9/4/2022; Ord. 210-22, File No. 210866, App. 10/28/2022, Eff. 11/28/2022; Ord. 91-23, File No. 221021, App. 5/26/2023, Eff. 6/26/2023; Ord. 195-23, File No. 230026, App. 9/15/2023, Eff. 10/16/2023; Ord. 64-24, File No. 231185, App. 3/28/2024, Eff. 4/28/2024; Ord. 92-24, File No. 240174, App. 5/10/2024, Eff. 6/10/2024, Oper. 7/1/2024; Ord. 248-24, File No. 240880, App. 10/24/2024, Eff. 11/24/2024)
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