Eviction Laws in San Francisco, California
San Francisco is the most regulated rental market in the country — and right now, also the fastest-rising: average apartment rent is about $3,792, up 10.4% year-over-year, the strongest growth of any major U.S. market as the tech and AI rebound runs into a city that built almost nothing during the downturn. About 62% of households rent — roughly 225,000 renter households — and 68% of rentals price above $3,000 a month, the highest share anywhere on this site. The defining fact for landlords is the age of the stock: most of San Francisco’s rental housing received its certificate of occupancy before June 13, 1979, which puts it under the city’s Rent Ordinance — the original 1979 rent control law, administered by the San Francisco Rent Board, with the lowest annual increase allowance and the most developed tenant bar in America. In this market the spread between regulated rents and market rents is the asset, the liability, and the entire business model, all at once.
California evictions run through the unlawful detainer process in Superior Court (CCP § 1161). For nonpayment, you serve a written 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit — three court days, excluding weekends and judicial holidays — and the notice can demand rent only: no late fees, no utilities, no other charges, or it’s defective. On Rent Ordinance property, every termination must also fit one of the 16 just causes, served with honest intent and the Rent Board’s required filings and disclosures. After the notice expires you e-file the UD complaint with the San Francisco Superior Court; the tenant has 10 court days to respond, and in this city they will — San Francisco has the deepest tenant-defense infrastructure in the country, jury demands are routine, and wrongful-eviction exposure includes Rent Board investigation, damages, and attorney fees. A clean default can still wrap in six weeks; a contested case realistically runs three to five months. Statewide rules ride along: deposits capped at one month’s rent (AB 12), 21-day return, AB 2801 photo documentation, and AB 1482 as the backstop for post-1979 buildings. Self-help is prohibited under Civil Code § 789.3 — and in San Francisco, treated as harassment with real teeth.
San Francisco — Local Rules That Affect Landlords
The Rent Ordinance — 1.6% is the whole increase. Units with a certificate of occupancy before June 13, 1979 are rent-controlled: one increase per 12 months at the Rent Board’s published rate — 1.6% from March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027 (up from 1.4% the prior year). The formula is 60% of CPI, the stingiest in California. Unused increases can be banked and imposed later, but the combined increase served at once tops out at 10% and triggers a 90-day notice. Above-formula increases require a Rent Board petition (capital improvements, operating-and-maintenance pass-throughs), and tenants can petition back over services and habitability.
16 just causes, honest intent required. Terminations on covered property must fit one of 16 enumerated just causes — at-fault grounds like nonpayment and lease breach, and no-fault grounds like owner move-in, Ellis Act withdrawal, demolition, and capital improvements (where the tenant has a right to re-occupy at the prior rent when work completes). No-fault evictions carry relocation payments indexed annually by the Rent Board — several thousand dollars per tenant, with premiums for seniors, disabled tenants, and households with minors — and seniors and disabled tenants have outright protection from several no-fault grounds. Required Rent Board filings accompany most notices; a missed filing is a defense.
Vacancy decontrol, with asterisks. Costa-Hawkins lets you reset to market on a lawful vacancy — which, at today’s spread, is the entire return profile of older SF buildings. But units vacated through certain no-fault evictions carry re-rental restrictions at the prior rent, and buyout agreements are regulated: pre-negotiation disclosures, Rent Board filing, and tenant rescission rights. Skipping the buyout process converts a settlement into evidence.
The Rent Board fee and the paperwork layer. Every covered unit owes the annual Rent Board fee (billed each year, due March 1, shareable with the tenant), and the city’s housing-inventory reporting requirements now tie directly into the right to impose increases — keep the unit’s registration current before serving any increase notice. The Rent Board (sf.gov/rentboard, 25 Van Ness Ave.) publishes the current rates, forms, and relocation amounts.
AB 1482 backstop. Post-June 1979 buildings escape the Rent Ordinance’s rent caps under the new-construction exemption but answer to AB 1482 once past the rolling 15-year window (5% + CPI, max 10% — recently around 6.3% for the SF metro), and most still carry just-cause protection — under the Rent Ordinance’s eviction provisions, which reach further than its rent provisions.
San Francisco Superior Court — Where San Francisco Landlords File
Unlawful detainer cases for San Francisco addresses are filed with the San Francisco Superior Court at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, with e-filing standard for civil cases. First-paper filing fees follow the statewide schedule: about $240 for limited UDs demanding under $10,000 — most nonpayment cases — and $385–$435 for larger or unlimited claims; UD complaints are confidential for the first 60 days under CCP § 1161.2. Expect a defended case: San Francisco tenants have same-day access to the Eviction Defense Collaborative, which answers UD complaints for tenants citywide, and the city funds full-scope eviction counsel under its tenant right-to-counsel program — assume every case gets an answer, discovery, and a settlement conversation. On Rent Ordinance property, bring your Rent Board paper trail: required filings, relocation payments, and notice disclosures are checked line by line, and a defect is an affirmative defense. If you prevail, the clerk issues a writ of possession to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office civil division, which posts a 5-day notice to vacate before completing the eviction — budget two to four weeks after the writ. The court’s self-help center at the Civic Center Courthouse and sf.courts.ca.gov publish the UD forms and local procedures, and the Rent Board’s counselors (415-252-4600) field compliance questions without an appointment.
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