Eviction in San Francisco:
San Francisco has some of the strictest landlord-tenant laws in the world, and other cities are starting to follow its lead. Generally, these laws tend to favor tenants. There is a saying that San Francisco takes its cue on landlord-tenant law from Berkeley, which has a large student population who rent apartments, leading to the city developing new laws to protect tenants.
Landlords in San Francisco must hire an experienced landlord attorney to initiate the eviction process. This is because the law is complicated and challenging to navigate, and even a minor mistake on the court paperwork can lead to automatic rejection, meaning landlords have to restart the eviction process. Even tenant lawyers sometimes make mistakes, and there are only a handful of landlord lawyers available in the city. Eviction costs range from $4,000 to $20,000 if the case goes to trial.
Landlords in San Francisco can only evict tenants for specific reasons such as non-payment of rent, being a nuisance, or engaging in illegal activities like selling drugs on the premises.
If the issue is non-payment of rent, landlords and tenants are encouraged to seek help from non-profit organizations that assist eligible tenants with their rent and utilities.
Landlords must come to court with clean hands, as any harassment, failure to make repairs or maintain the property, or wrongful eviction attempts can be used as a defense by tenants.
Landlords are responsible for paying their eviction lawyers, but tenants can access free services provided by non-profit organizations such as the Eviction Defense Collaborative. This organization can be reached at (415) 947-0797 and is staffed by experienced tenant lawyers. The best practice is for tenants to visit their office during business hours with the necessary paperwork.
Once the eviction paperwork has been filed in court, tenants have a few days (usually five days, excluding court holidays) to file a response. They must contact the Eviction Defense Collaborative immediately upon receipt of the court paperwork and visit their office with the documents in person. The Eviction Defense Collaborative only represents tenants up until the mandatory settlement conference, after which both landlords and tenants must settle their dispute. Tenant evictions can take anywhere from two months to two years, and historically over 90% of cases have been settled before going to trial.
It is best practice for landlords and tenants to communicate with each other and attempt to reach a verbal agreement before going to court. Going to court can be costly and timeconsuming for landlords, and having an eviction case on record against tenants can be a red flag for future landlords.
If you are a tenant at risk of eviction or a landlord seeking to evict a tenant, you can contact TheSFPropertyManagement at 415-712-0507 for free advice. While not lawyers, they can refer you to those who can provide the most useful assistance for your case.
TheSFPropertyManagement is a full property management company serving single-family homes and apartments with two to four units in San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, and South San Francisco.
