City protections
San Francisco renter rules
Strong rent control with an active Rent Board that tenants can actually petition.
Educational information, not legal advice - figures are general and laws change. How we keep this accurate & where to verify → · Spot an error? Tell us →
Rent control
Buildings built before June 1979 are rent-controlled: annual increases are limited to a fraction of inflation (historically around 1-3%), far below market drift.
Just cause eviction
Covered tenants can only be evicted for one of the ordinance's enumerated reasons, and no-fault evictions carry relocation payments.
The Rent Board
Tenants can petition the Rent Board over illegal increases, decreased services, or wrongful eviction - a real administrative remedy that doesn't require hiring a lawyer.
The state layer underneath
City rules sit on top of California state law - deposits, entry notice, and eviction process still come from the state.