Please Note that this law has been stayed (put on hold) until the Court resolves an appeal by the San Francisco Apartment Association and the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute.
The San Francisco Rent Ordinance protects nearly every San Francisco tenant by requiring just cause for evictions throughout the City. To file an eviction action in court, landlords must assert a valid just cause reason for the eviction. Under the San Francisco Rent Ordinance, there are sixteen just cause reasons for eviction. These include no-fault evictions, where the San Francisco tenant receives a termination of tenancy notice through no fault of their own, such as when the San Francisco landlord desires to move into the unit or remove the entire building from the rental market through invoking the Ellis Act. Other just causes occur where the tenant is at fault. Here, landlords were free to file eviction lawsuits against San Francisco tenants after providing a written notice to cure alleged violations.
Now, San Francisco tenants are now entitled to a ten-day cure period for any eviction based on the following just cause reasons for eviction:
- The San Francisco tenant’s failure to pay rent;
- The San Francisco tenant violating a material term of the tenancy;
- The San Francisco tenant committing or allowing a nuisance that is severe, continuing, or recurring;
- The San Francisco tenant using or permitting the unit to be used for any illegal purpose;
- The San Francisco tenant refusing to execute a written extension or renewal of the lease under the same terms as existed previously; and,
- The San Francisco tenant refuses to allow the landlord access to the unit as required by state or local law. San Francisco Administrative Code § 37.9(a)(1)-(6).
Before 2022, the San Francisco Rent Ordinance did not specify how much time the landlord had to provide the San Francisco tenant to cure the violations.
To comply with this new law, the landlord must send the tenant a written warning notice that describes the allegation violation and informs the San Francisco tenant that their failure to correct the alleged violation within ten (10) days may result in the initiation of an eviction lawsuit. Where the San Francisco tenant fails to address the alleged violation within ten (10) days, the landlord has grounds to commence an eviction action.
Please note that this change does not apply to situations where the San Francisco tenant allegedly creates a serious and imminent risk of injury or property damage or the nonpayment of COVID-19 rental debt.