Board passes OMI eviction reforms, including private right of action; tenant buyout amendment fails

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 27 passed an amended ordinance tightening rules around owner move-in (OMI) evictions and adding new reporting and enforcement requirements, including a private right of action for qualified nonprofit tenant-protection organizations.

The vote followed an extended floor debate over enforcement tools, tenant buyout agreements and the proper balance between tenant protections and contractual freedom.

Supervisor Farrell, the bill's chief sponsor, said the city faces a surge in OMI claims and that stronger safeguards are necessary: "An owner or their family should be able to move into a home they own'but if they evict someone as part of an owner move-in, they or their family member should absolutely be living in that unit and following the letter of the law," Farrell said on the floor.

What passed and what failed

The board approved the ordinance as amended on first reading. Key provisions adopted include: - New reporting and transparency measures under which landlords must file specified documentation with the Rent Board about OMI claims; the Rent Board will transmit a random sampling of those filings to the district attorney for review. - A requirement that landlords sign declarations, under penalty of perjury, regarding intent and occupancy related to the OMI. - An extension of statutory time limits tied to enforcement and wrongful-eviction claims in certain circumstances, and enhanced notice obligations. - A private right of action (PRA) narrowly tailored to alleged violations of the OMI provisions in the rent ordinance; the PRA gives specified nonprofit consumer-protection or tenant-rights organizations a pathway to sue where the tenant and city do not act within the specified period.

A separate amendment that would have rendered any tenant waiver of civil actions (a provision in many buyout agreements) unenforceable if the buyout was not registered with the Rent Board failed in multiple roll-call votes. Several supervisors argued that the PRA will create more enforcement capacity and that two-party buyout contracts are a separate subject requiring further study; other supervisors said buyout reporting is necessary for enforcement and urged the measure's adoption.

Numbers cited on the record

Sponsor Farrell said OMIs have increased sharply: "Over the past 4 years, more than 8,000 people have been evicted" in contexts tied to these mechanisms and that OMI filings rose over 200 percent in five years with roughly 1,500 OMI filings since 2013 (figures cited by counsel and sponsors during debate). The board did not adopt a separate buyout-waiver invalidation provision and instead passed the PRA language and the other reporting and enforcement measures as amended.

Why it matters

Supporters said the PRA and mandatory reporting will deter fraudulent OMI claims and provide tenants, nonprofits and prosecutors with evidence to pursue unlawful evictions. Opponents of the buyout-waiver change said the proposal risked invalidating private contractual settlements between landlords and tenants absent further refinement.

Next steps

The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading as amended on June 27; sponsors and staff indicated unresolved technical items will be returned for further drafting and that enforcement and implementation will require Rent Board procedures and city attorney review. Nonprofit tenant advocates said the PRA will give them a tool to bring cases when tenants and the city do not act in time.