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San Francisco committee advances ordinance to require life‑safety upgrades for negligent landlords
Summary
The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted to refer Supervisor Ronen’s fire life‑safety ordinance to rules after a lengthy public comment period in which tenants and advocates urged stronger enforcement against landlords with repeated fire-code violations and opposed passing upgrade costs to tenants.
Supervisor Hillary Ronen told the committee on Oct. 1 that the ordinance she sponsored would give city agencies stronger tools to protect tenants after multiple destructive fires displaced families in San Francisco. The measure would allow the Department of Building Inspection, in consultation with the Fire Department, to issue a Fire Life Safety Notice & Order when a building owner has been issued two or more notices of violation for fire-safety issues and a hazard persists or recurs. The order could require the owner to install a new sprinkler system, install a new fire-alarm system or upgrade an existing system to current code requirements.
The ordinance also amends the administrative code to prohibit landlords from increasing tenants’ rent to cover the costs of compliance with an order issued under the ordinance. "Negligent landlords need to understand that if they do not take the life safety of their tenants seriously, then there are clear and serious consequences," Ronen said during her presentation.
Tenant advocates, housing-rights counselors and survivors of major San Francisco fires urged the committee to move the legislation forward. "These temporary displacements turned into permanent displacements," said Julio Garcia of Casa Justa, describing clients who were unable to return to homes after fires. Speakers cited the 20 Second Street Mission fire and multiple other incidents in which tenants lost possessions, suffered trauma or were displaced for years.
Advocates described repeated code violations, long repair timelines and landlords who pay fines without curing hazards. Several said that mandating upgrades for buildings with a pattern of neglect — rather than a citywide retrofit requirement — is an appropriate, targeted approach. "It is a no-brainer," said Tommy Avicolomecha of the Housing Rights Committee, urging the committee to send the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
Committee members sought detail on implementation. Staff said the enforcement sequence begins with complaint-driven inspections and notices of violation. If an owner receives two separate NOVs for distinct issues and the hazard persists, DBI or a fire inspector would post a Fire Life Safety Notice & Order, notify the owner by certified mail, and allow for an appeal; if an owner does not comply, the case may be referred to the City Attorney and recorded as a lien. The sponsor and staff said the measure is designed to target owners who repeatedly fail to abate fire hazards, not to impose blanket citywide retrofit costs on all small landlords.
After extensive public comment, the committee agreed to refer the ordinance to the Rules Committee for further consideration of procedural steps and implementation details.
