Anong gagawin
A refuse lien is a legal hold on a property due to late payment on a garbage bill.
The refuse lien includes:
- Unpaid service amount
- Recording fee
- Administrative fee
- 1.5% monthly interest (if not paid within 30 days of lien recording date)
Pay the lien
We do not accept payments by phone. We do not accept partial payments.
Pay by mail
You can also pay with a check or money order to "SF Health Department":
Department of Public Health
Solid Waste ProgramAttn: Refuse Lien Program
49 South Van Ness Ave., Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94103
Include the bottom of your notice or the block/lot number and invoice number.
Next steps
If you pay the lien
Liens are released once a month.
If you don’t pay the lien
If you do not pay your lien, 1.5% interest will be added monthly. If you have not paid the lien by the due date in the final lien notice, it will transfer to your property tax bill as a special assessment. Once the lien is on your property tax bill, it must be paid with your property tax bill to the Tax Collector.
Espesyal na mga kaso
If you need information about a past lien
If you need information about a past lien
You can research refuse liens more than 5 years old at the Assessor-Recorder office at:
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 190
You can request for refuse liens that are less than 5 years old through NextRequest.
If you need to request a demand for a lien payoff
If you need to request a demand for a lien payoff
If you are a Title Company, Escrow Company, or financial institution you can ask what liens are on a property. You will need to include:
- Property address
- Parcel (block/lot) information
- Title or escrow company name and address
- Escrow number
- Escrow officer's name, phone number, email, and fax number
Make sure to select "Public Health: Demand for Refuse lien/Payoff" in the "Select a Department" dropdown.
It can take up to 10 days to process the request. If the due date is a Saturday or Sunday, we will process the demand the following Monday. If the due date is on a federal holiday, we will process the demand the next business day. We do NOT accept rush or verbal requests. Demands are processed in the order that they are received.
If you need to update your mailing address
If you need to update your mailing address
If you need to change your mailing address, contact the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder. If you need to update the mailing address for only your garbage bills, call Recology at 415-330-1300.
If you need other help with garbage
If you need other help with garbage
Contact Recology at 415-330-1300 if:
- You need to pay your garbage bill
- You did not get your garbage bill
- You have questions about your regular garbage bill
- They missed garbage pick-up
- You have missing or damaged garbage bins
- You have bulky items that you need picked up from your residential property
Contact San Francisco Environment at 415-355-3700 if:
- There are no blue and green garbage bins at a business or residential building
- There is garbage contamination in the blue or green garbage bin
- You're not sure what to put in the blue and/or green garbage bins
Last updated April 18, 2024