Supervisors back $52 fee for 1-2 unit rental housing inspections to bolster underfunded DBI

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on first reading to amend the administrative code to authorize the Department of Building Inspection to charge a $52 per-unit fee to recover the cost of ongoing housing code enforcement services for one- and two-unit rental dwellings.

Supervisor David Campos, who presented the ordinance, said the fee responds to a staffing and funding shortfall at DBI: "The Department of Building Inspection is underfunded. And there was a study that recently pointed out that the department is underfunded by over $2,000,000." Campos described the $52 per-unit fee as a modest measure that recovers only a fraction of enforcement costs and said the fee was broadly vetted by department subcommittees and advisory bodies.

Vivian Day, identified in the hearing as DBI director, told supervisors the department currently recoups costs only after matters go to a director's hearing and that hundreds of code enforcement cases do not reach that stage, leaving the city without a mechanism to charge costs for earlier enforcement work. Day said the department might propose legislation to allow cost recovery at earlier enforcement stages and across DBI programs. "We do not collect any fees on any code enforcement cases until it goes to a director's hearing... We have hundreds and hundreds of cases that never go to a director's hearing that we recoup no costs on for code enforcement," Day said.

Controller Ben Rosenfield told the board the department had not provided detailed revenue projections but that if all rental units were charged and remitted the fee the maximum yield could be about $3,000,000; the department conservatively estimated about $1,000,000 in the first year due to an incomplete database of 1- and 2-family rental units.

Multiple supervisors expressed support citing the inspections' role in habitability and public safety. Supervisor Daly said housing inspections are "one of the last lines of defense for families who may otherwise be living in substandard and very difficult conditions." Opponents raised concerns about enforcement and equity: Supervisor Ellsberg said he would not support the item and called it "a little too big brother," expressing worries about enforcement overreach and potential impacts on constituents.

The Board took roll call and the clerk announced 8 ayes and 3 noes; the ordinance passed on first reading. DBI and the Controller were asked to refine outreach and revenue capture plans, including building a database of affected rental units, and to report back on implementation.

The ordinance authorizes DBI to assess the $52 fee for one- and two-unit rental dwellings, and DBI staff indicated follow-up legislation is likely to pursue broader cost-recovery mechanisms across the department.