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Board advances ordinance extending just-cause eviction protections to units after foreclosure
Summary
The board passed, on first reading as amended, an ordinance to extend San Francisco rentersprotections to tenants in some properties subject to foreclosure, clarifying the duration of protection and expanding the definition of foreclosure to cover nonjudicial transfers.
The Board of Supervisors on March 9 approved the first reading, as amended, of an ordinance amending the Administrative Code (Chapter 37, the Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance) to extend just-cause eviction provisions to rental units that become subject to foreclosure.
Supervisor Avalos, the measure's sponsor, said the ordinance would cover rental properties built after 1979 when a foreclosure occurs and would respond to a recent rise in foreclosures in San Francisco. He said the ordinance was amended to (1) require the title-holder after foreclosure to notify tenants within 15 days of tenants' rights to remain under just-cause protections, and (2) broaden the definition of foreclosure to capture transfers that bypass judicial proceedings.
The board also adopted a clarifying amendment specifying the duration of protection: tenants remain protected against eviction by the person or entity that took title through foreclosure for as long as that person holds title or for the term of the tenant's existing lease, whichever is longer. Deputy City Attorney Cheryl Adams confirmed the city's interpretation during a question from President Chiu.
Nut graf: The amendment aims to ensure tenants in foreclosed buildings retain rent-control protections during title transfers and that they receive timely notice of their rights. Sponsors said the change responds to properties that have transferred by nonjudicial mechanisms and to notices tenants have already received from the Assessor's Office in recent years.
Public comment on the amendments was opened and closed with no speakers on the amendments. Supervisor Avalos said he had consulted with the Mayor's Office of Housing in developing the latest language and that both offices concurred the text was acceptable.
On roll call, the item passed first reading as amended. The clerk recorded 10 ayes and no nos.
What happens next: The ordinance will return for a final reading after the required notice period. The city attorney and the Mayor's Office of Housing were identified as contacts for implementation and notice language.
Ending: Sponsors said the measure is designed to provide immediate protections for tenants in foreclosed properties while preserving lease terms through successive title transfers.
