Mayor Lee pledges added housing funds, urges state fixes for Ellis Act buyouts

Mayor Edwin M. Lee told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14 that his administration will increase local spending for affordable housing and press the state to address landlord-driven displacement, including Ellis Act evictions and tenant buyouts.

Lee said the city’s Housing Trust Fund represents a long-term revenue stream, describing it as a “$1,500,000,000 stream of funding over the next 30 years” that will support new and preserved affordable housing. He told supervisors his proposed two-year budget includes an $8.4 million increase in the Housing Trust Fund and more than $9 million in additional general-fund support for the city’s affordable housing pipeline and the Hope SF public-housing revitalization effort. He also said the city has released $700,000 for eviction-prevention services.

The mayor framed those steps as part of a broader effort to preserve and expand housing for low- and moderate-income San Franciscans while the city absorbs and rehabilitates public housing units. “We’re pushing our administration to the legal limits of our power to produce and preserve housing in San Francisco,” he said, describing an executive directive that asks departments “to prioritize in their administrative work plans the construction and development of all net new housing, including permanently affordable housing.”

Why it matters: Supervisors raised displacement, rising evictions and buyouts as an urgent local problem. Supervisor Mar opened the 2 p.m. policy session by calling the city’s current wave of displacement the worst since the late 1990s tech boom and asked how the mayor’s priorities would translate into new funding. Supervisor Campos asked specifically whether the mayor would work with him on legislation to regulate so‑called buyouts — cash offers landlords give tenants to move voluntarily.

On buyouts, Lee said the underlying authority to regulate is controlled by state law and cautioned that prior local attempts to regulate buyouts were struck down by courts. “All roads lead back to Sacramento on this issue,” he said, adding that he is working with tenant and senior advocates as well as the city’s state delegation to form a coalition to seek changes to the state’s Ellis Act. “I’m putting together a coalition so we can amend the state’s Ellis Act and protect these vulnerable tenants,” Lee said.

Supervisors emphasized multiple, overlapping needs: more production of permanently affordable units; preservation and rehabilitation of public housing as the city absorbs authority for that stock; and enforcement or new rules to limit eviction-driven loss of rent‑controlled homes. Lee said the administration will pursue private, state and federal leverage, including tenant-protection vouchers and Choice Neighborhoods grants, to supplement local resources.

City finances and next steps: Lee described a general fund shortfall of about $118 million over two years but said the proposed budget will still increase housing spending. He said the Housing Trust Fund set-aside would provide more than $68 million for affordable housing over three years, and that City Hall will work with the Board of Supervisors during the upcoming budget process to resolve tradeoffs.

The mayor repeated his advice to tenants he said he used as a tenant-rights attorney: be cautious about buyouts, because one-time payments can be exhausted quickly. But he added that state law currently gives landlords negotiating advantages in eviction and buyout situations and that Sacramento action will be required to change those incentives.

Supervisors asked for follow-up details on financing and implementation timelines; Lee directed department heads to identify permitting and policy changes and report back as part of the budget process.

Ending: The exchange closed with an agreement to continue work through the budget and legislative processes. Several supervisors said they expected further, itemized proposals during the mayor’s formal budget presentation and additional companion legislation from the Board to address buyouts and production incentives.