Supervisor Campos introduces substitute legislation to regulate tenant buyouts; requires written agreements and filing fee

Supervisor David Campos introduced substitute legislation aimed at regulating tenant buyouts in San Francisco, describing buyouts as a common practice landlords use outside formal eviction proceedings.

Campos said the substitute ordinance would require all buyout agreements to be in writing, give tenants a statutory right to cancel an agreement, and require landlords to disclose displacement rights at the time an agreement is reduced to writing. The substitute also requires landlords to pay a fee when filing buyout agreements to cover Rent Board processing costs.

To reduce enforcement burdens on the Rent Board, Campos— substitute removes administrative enforcement in favor of civil enforcement: tenants, qualifying nonprofits (501(c)(3) or (c)(4) organizations with a primary mission of protecting tenants), or tenant advocacy groups would be able to bring enforcement actions in San Francisco Superior Court.

Campos said the proposal arose from a Budget and Legislative Analyst report estimating buyouts could outnumber Ellis Act evictions by a large factor and noted that assistance requests to tenant counseling services have risen in recent years. He said the substitute will be discussed in the Budget and Finance Committee tentatively on Oct. 8.

Ending: Campos thanked cosponsors Supervisors Kim, Mar and Avalos and said he looked forward to the committee hearing. No formal board vote on the ordinance occurred at the meeting; the item was introduced for future committee consideration.