What to know
These government actions are difficult to understand: if you need legal advice about a specific situation, you should contact an attorney or the Eviction Defense Collaborative at (415) 659-9184 or legal@evictiondefense.org. You can also contact the Rent Board, a mediator, or a tenant counselor for more information.
Please keep in mind, rent is still owed – it has not been forgiven or cancelled. You should respond to any nonpayment notice from a landlord within 15 days, and you should pay at least 25% of the rent due each month between September 1 and January 31. You can either pay 25% each month or make a lump-sum payment before January 31.
Mayor Breed’s Order was the first to establish local emergency tenant protections during COVID-19. Mayor Breed extended this Order on August 25. The rules and regulations for this Order are available here. A complete summary of local, state, and federal emergency tenant protections can be found here.
Read the rules and regulations in Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino.
Read the summary of tenant protects in Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino.
I could not pay rent between March 1 - August 31, 2020
AB-3088 prohibits evictions for nonpayment of rent for these months. The landlord cannot evict, but can take the tenant to small claims court starting March 1, 2021 for any rent that is still unpaid. AB-3088 requires the tenant to provide landlord a signed declaration in response to 15-day notice. There are special rules for high-income tenants.
Ordinance No. 93-20 also prohibits evictions for nonpayment of rent, but only applies to rent that fell due March 16 – September 30 (it does not apply to rent that fell due between March 1 – 15). Ordinance No. 93-20 does not have a 15-day notice or eligibility requirement, but the tenant must show documentation of hardship to the court, if sued.
I cannot pay rent between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021
Ordinance No. 93-20 prohibits evictions for nonpayment of rent that fell due during September 2020. It does not apply to unpaid rent from October 1 or later. Ordinance No. 93-20 only requires the tenant to show documentation of hardship to the court, if sued.
For rent due between September – January 2021, AB-3088 prohibits evictions for nonpayment of rent until February 1, 2021, and allows the landlord to take the tenant to small claims court starting March 1, 2021 for any rent that is still unpaid. AB-3088 requires the tenant to give the landlord signed declaration(s) in response to 15-day notice(s), AND by January 31, 2021 to pay at least 25% of the missed rent from September – January rents (can be lump-sum); special rules apply for high-income tenants.
There are currently no eviction protections after January 31, 2021.
I could not pay rent before March 1, 2020
Can I be evicted even if I am paying my rent in full?
Evictions for reasons other than nonpayment can proceed only if necessary due to violence, threat of violence, health/safety issues, or Ellis Act. However, this limit on evictions is set to expire on March 31, 2021 (Ordinance No. 216-20). Starting April 1, evictions not based on unpaid rent may proceed subject to the City’s Rent Ordinance.
The CDC Order prohibits nearly all evictions for covered tenants until February 1, 2021, and allows a declaration to be provided to the landlord at any time (more information is available here).
Your rent cannot be increased if you live in a City-regulated or a rent-controlled unit
If you live in a unit regulated by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development or the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, your rent cannot be increased until November 1, 2020.
If you live in a rent-controlled unit, your rent cannot be increased until October 21, 2020. Click here for more information about the temporary rent freeze emergency legislation.
Get help
Rental assistance
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Catholic Charities of San Francisco
Call or visit at (415) 972-1301 or www.catholiccharitiessf.org/get-help -
Compass Family Services (families with children only)
Call or email (415) 644-0504 or info@compass-sf.org
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Eviction Defense Collaborative
Call or email (415) 470-5211 or edcradco@evictiondefense.org -
Hamilton Families (families with children only)
Call or email (415) 321-2612 or contact-us@hamiltonfamilies.org
Tenant counseling
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Bill Sorro Housing Program (BiSHoP)
Call or email at (415) 513-5177 or info@bishopsf.org
Languages: English, French, Spanish, Tagalog
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Causa Justa::Just Cause
Call or email at (415) 487-9203 or info@cjjc.org
Languages: Spanish, English -
Chinatown Community Development Center
Call at (415) 984-2728
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, English -
Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
Call Mission Office at (415) 703-8644 or Richmond Office at (415) 947-9085
Languages: Mission Office: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish;
Richmond: Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Russian -
SF Tenants Union
Call or email (415) 282-6622 or info@sftu.org -
South of Market Community Action Network
Call or email at (760) 913-8913 or tenantcounseling@somcan.org
Languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog
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Tenderloin Housing Clinic
Call (415) 885-3286 or email allyn@thclinic.org
Languages: English, Spanish
Counseling for residential hotel (SRO) tenants
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Central City SRO Collaborative
Call (415) 775-7110 -
La Voz Latina
Call (415) 983-3970 -
Chinatown SRO Collaborative or SRO Families United Collaborative
Call (415) 984-2730
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Mission SRO Collaborative
Call (415) 282-6209 ext. 150
Legal help for tenants
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Eviction Defense Collaborative
Call or email (415) 659-9184 or legal@evictiondefense.org
Mediation (available to tenants and landlords)
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Bar Association of San Francisco Conflict Intervention Service
Call or email (415) 782-8940 or cis@sfbar.org
General information for tenants
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Visit the San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition’s website
Counseling at the San Francisco Rent Board (available to tenants and landlords)
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Call (415) 252-4631, Monday-Friday, 9 am – 12 pm and 1 pm – 4 pm
Resources for landlords
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Bar Association of San Francisco Conflict Intervention Service
Call or email (415) 782-8940 or cis@sfbar.org -
San Francisco Apartment Association
Call (415) 255-2288 or visit their contact page to reach out via email