All owners of residential property are required to report.

If you own residential property, you are required to report into the Housing Inventory online through the Rent Board Portal. Property owners who have tenants will receive a rent increase license after the submission.

Please note that reporting into the Rent Board Housing Inventory does not request an exemption of the Rent Board Fee.

Reporting is free and can be done online 24/7.

“Buildings during daytime” by Daniel Abadia, CC BY

Overview

If you are a property owner, you are required to report into the Rent Board about your residential properties. Most owners are required to do this even if you are not a landlord.

 

Property owners who report that a unit is tenant-occupied will receive a rent increase license that allows them to impose annual allowable and banked rent increases.

 

If your unit is covered under rent control, you will need to comply with the Housing Inventory requirements before any annual or banked rent increase notice goes into effect.

 

This law became effective on January 18, 2021.

Deadline

March 1 of every year.

 

You can still make a Housing Inventory submission and receive a rent increase license after the deadline. However, your rent increase notice will not be enforceable without having a rent increase license on the effective date of the notice.

 

Property owners are required to provide the name and business contact information of the owner(s), or of the property manager, if any, designated by the owner(s) to address habitability issues.

 

Any changes of a property owner’s business contact information must be updated within 30 days.

 

The Rent Board does not assess monetary penalties for filing after the deadline.

What to report

If you are a property owner, you will need to report certain information to the Rent Board about your residential units. Different information will be needed depending on whether your unit is owner-occupied, non-owner occupied, or vacant. The information entered in the housing inventory submission is public.

 

This may include information such as:

  • name and business contact information
  • approximate square footage
  • number of bedrooms
  • number of bathrooms
  • history of vacancy or occupancy during the past 12 months

The Rent Board Housing Inventory

Report into the Housing Inventory

Report into the Housing Inventory

You can report into the Housing Inventory using the Rent Board Portal. You will need to create an account.

All information submitted is done under penalty of perjury. 

Owner-occupied units

Owner-occupied units

If you are a property owner, you must provide your name and confirm the unit is owner-occupied.

Non-owner occupied units

Non-owner occupied units

Non-owner occupied units are occupied by someone other than the owner. This may include tenants, lodgers, employees, family members, and guests.

If you are a property owner, you must provide your:

  • Name and business contact information, or contact information for your property manager/agent 
  • Business registration number for the unit, if any 
  • Approximate square footage of unit in 250 square foot increments (If you are unsure you may use your best approximate answer. You will not be penalized for an inaccurate answer as long as you have reported to the best of your knowledge. You can search your property on the San Francisco Property Information Map if you need to know the square footage of your building.)
  • Number of bedrooms 
  • Number of bathrooms 
  • The date current occupancy began (If you are unsure you may use your best approximate answer. You will not be penalized for an inaccurate answer as long as you have reported to the best of your knowledge.)
  • The amount of base rent paid by the occupant in $250.00 increments, and whether the base rent includes payments of any utilities by the landlord 

 

Vacant units

Vacant units

If you are a property owner, you must provide your:

  • Name and business contact information, or contact information for your property manager/agent 
  • Business registration number for the unit, if any 
  • Approximate square footage of unit in 250 square foot increments (If you are unsure you may use your best approximate answer. You will not be penalized for an inaccurate answer as long as you have reported to the best of your knowledge. You can search your property on the San Francisco Property Information Map if you need to know the square footage of your building.)
  • Number of bedrooms 
  • Number of bathrooms 
  • The date current vacancy began (If you are unsure you may use your best approximate answer. You will not be penalized for an inaccurate answer as long as you have reported to the best of your knowledge.)
  • The start and end dates of any other vacancies or occupancies that have occurred during the previous 12 months (If you are unsure you may use your best approximate answer. You will not be penalized for an inaccurate answer as long as you have reported to the best of your knowledge.)

 

Bulk uploads for 5 or more units

Bulk uploads for 5 or more units

For properties with five or more residential units, unit information may be reported in bulk using the Housing Inventory Excel template (more instruction is available from the Portal). 

Note that the Excel template is not recommended for users unfamiliar with Microsoft Excel or for properties containing a small number of units.

Instead, we recommend using the Portal’s “Individual Unit” submission form to report information about your units individually. Please refer to this User Guide for assistance with completing the Excel template.

The rent increase license

The rent increase license

If you are a property owner, once you have reported into the Housing Inventory, a rent increase license will be automatically generated for non-owner occupied units. A landlord must have a current rent increase license on file with the Rent Board before any annual or banked rent increase can go into effect. The rent increase license does not need to be included with your rent increase notice.

You will still need to comply with all other local and state rent increase laws. Learn about Rent Increases.

If you are a tenant, you can search the Rent Board Portal to see if your landlord is up to date with their rent increase license. 

The purpose of reporting is to help San Francisco maintain an accurate inventory of San Francisco's residential housing stock.

The Rent Board Portal

Accounts and PIN

Accounts and PIN

The Rent Board Portal is where you can pay your Rent Board Fee and report into the Housing Inventory. You will need to set up an account and use the PIN number on your Annual Notice to add property to your account. If you need to reset your pin number you can call 311 (415-701-2311 from outside San Francisco).

A user guide is available on the Rent Board Portal if you need help setting up your account.

Once your account is set up, you can edit the contact, update the primary mailing address (address where notices are delivered) and enter a phone number and/or email.

Limited information is available on the Rent Board Portal without an account. Both property owners and tenants can create an account to access more information.

Change of ownership

Change of ownership

To notify the Rent Board of a change in ownership, please email rentboard.inventory@sfgov.org with the subject heading: "Rent Board Fee: Change of Ownership."

Please include the property address, APN, and any documentation that demonstrates the change in ownership.

Other issues: unit count, incorrect addresses, and more

Other issues: unit count, incorrect addresses, and more

You may send an email to rentboard.inventory@sfgov.org with the property information for assistance.

Tenancy-In-Common (TICs)

Tenancy-In-Common (TICs)

All TIC co-owners are jointly held responsible for the annual Rent Board fee jointly assessed on the property, regardless of their ownership share. 

The primary contact for the TIC property should notify other TIC co-owners of the fee and inventory reporting requirement.

Each TIC owner can create a separate account and submit exemption or inventory information online in the Portal.

Paper filings

Paper filings

If you cannot access the Rent Board Portal, you may be able to submit paper filings. Please note that processing of a paper application may be slower than an application filed through the Rent Board Portal. Paper filings can be emailed to rentboard.inventory@sfgov.org or dropped off at the Rent Board office between 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Housing Inventory Information for Tenants

Housing Inventory Information for Tenants

Tenants can look up whether or not a unit has a Rent Increase License. Tenants can also create an account in the Rent Board Portal and submit Housing Inventory information.

The Rent Board Portal is where you can pay your Rent Board Fee and report into the Housing Inventory. The Portal is best accessed using the most updated versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers.

Contact us

Call 311 (415-701-2311 from outside San Francisco) if you have questions about the Rent Board Housing Inventory.

Pay your Rent Board Fee

If you own residential property in San Francisco, you may need to pay a Rent Board fee.

“San Francisco” by Hardik Pandya, CC BY