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Rules Committee advances ordinance to extend just-cause eviction protections to newer units
Summary
The San Francisco Rules Committee voted unanimously to recommend an ordinance to the full Board that would extend just-cause eviction protections and Rent Board jurisdiction to many units built after June 13, 1979, closing gaps left by state law and adding relocation benefits for covered tenants.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on Dec. 2 recommended to the full Board an ordinance that would extend the city’s just-cause eviction protections and Rent Board jurisdiction to residential units currently excluded because they were built after June 13, 1979 or underwent substantial rehabilitation.
Supervisor Matt Haney, the ordinance’s lead author, told the committee the measure is intended to “close the gaps in the state law while building off of San Francisco’s rent ordinance” so tenants in newer buildings and single-family homes can be protected from arbitrary evictions. Haney cited local data and national trends, saying that in 2018 “over 1,500 eviction notices were filed” with the Rent Board and that 15 percent of renters reported being threatened with eviction in the prior five years.
Why it matters: The committee’s action would bring an estimated tens of thousands of units — advocates repeatedly used a ballpark figure of 35,000 — under the Rent Ordinance, giving residents the ability to invoke just-cause defenses in hearings and to access local enforcement resources that do not exist under state-only protections.
Public comment at the hearing was dominated by tenants’ advocates and service providers. Tenants-rights attorney Julian Sarkar urged the committee to advance the ordinance while noting that many tenants remain unaware of their legal rights. Speakers described personal harms from eviction and displacement, and groups including the Housing Rights Committee, San Francisco Tenants Union and the Coalition on Homelessness urged passage.
Rent Board director Robert Collins clarified the practical effect on relocation payments: under current local rules, relocation payments are tied to eviction events and are not available to tenants in many newer units; if the ordinance passes, those tenants “would also be subject to the right to have the relocation payments,” Collins said, noting they are “about $7,000 per tenant” and that the amount is roughly three times that “for the unit.” He emphasized that those payments would attach to eviction events rather than to rent-increase protections.
The lead author and several supervisors framed the ordinance as a necessary local step because the statewide Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (often referenced as AB 1482) and other state exemptions leave some San Francisco residents uncovered. Haney said the measure will be retroactive so that tenants currently facing evictions could assert the defense once the law takes effect.
Committee action: Supervisor Gordon Marr moved to recommend the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the motion passed without objection. The committee did not take a separate recorded roll-call tally; the chair announced the measure was advanced.
Next steps: The ordinance was recommended to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on the board agenda and will return with the committee’s positive recommendation for a full Board hearing.
