How to get help from a Rent Board counselor

The Rent Board provides counseling information on subjects that are covered by the Rent Ordinance.

The Rent Board staff cannot give legal advice and they are instructed to let you know when your question is one that should properly be answered by a lawyer.

Due to high demand and a limited number of staff, there can sometimes be delays in speaking with a counselor. It is helpful if you have your questions written down before you speak with a counselor.

You can speak with a counselor by calling (415) 252-4600 during weekday counseling hours (9:00 a.m. – Noon and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.). Calls are generally limited to 5 minutes.

For information related to the Rent Board Fee or San Francisco's Housing Inventory reporting requirements, please dial 311 or 415-701-2311 from outside San Francisco.

A counselor is also available at the Rent Board’s office from Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, excluding holidays (Please check here for updates regarding our temporary office hours due to COVID-19). Counseling visits at the office are generally limited to 10 minutes. Due to limited staffing, we do not have the capacity to respond to inquiries by email.

The Rent Board has a multilingual staff. In addition to English, counseling is usually available in the following languages: Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin. If you want to speak to someone in one of these languages, call our phone counseling line or visit our office. We also have a telephonic language line interpretation service available in 20 languages for limited English speakers. American sign language interpreters are also available upon 72 hours request.

Document Filing

To file documents that only contain a few pages (including eviction notices, buyout agreements and declarations, tenant petitions, tenant hardship applications, and duplication requests), we ask that you scan and attach your documents in PDF format and send them to the following email address: rentboard@sfgov.org. Please indicate your name, phone number, the property address and case number, if any, in the email. Results of duplication requests will be mailed back to the requestor. Documents received by email after 5pm or on weekends/holidays will be stamped as received the next business day.  The Rent Board is currently unable to return file-endorsed copies of email submissions via email or postal mail. If a file-endorsed copy of a submission is needed, please do not submit the filing by email. Instead, file your document in-person, or mail us the original plus a copy of the document together with a pre-addressed stamped envelope with an explanation that you are requesting a file-endorsed copy.

For filing of larger documents such as large capital improvement petitions, please file your document in-person or mail it to the Rent Board at 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 320, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Please understand that it may take longer than usual to process new document filings or to fulfill duplication requests at this time.

If you received a Rent Board Housing Inventory Informational Notice but no longer own the property, please email rentboard.inventory@sfgov.org with the subject heading: "Rent Board Housing Inventory: Change of Ownership," and include the property address and the APN (Assessor's Parcel Number) with all information you have that documents the change of ownership. If possible, please include a copy of the Rent Board Housing Inventory Informational Notice in the email.