Rent Board Rules and Regulations: Part I - Definitions

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Section 1.10 Alternates

(Amended February 16, 2021)

           "Alternate" means an alternate member of the Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board. An alternate who is present at a meeting of the Board shall act as member for all purposes whenever the member for whom the alternate serves as alternate is not present or has been excused from considering or voting on any matter, unless the alternate is also excused.

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Section 1.11 Anniversary Date

(Amended March 11, 1986; Subsection (a) renumbered and Subsection (b) added December 20, 1994; Subsection (b) repealed and adopted April 25, 1995; effective February 1, 1995)

           (a)        The anniversary date is the date on which the tenant's current rent became effective except in the case of certified capital improvements, rehabilitation, and/or energy conservation work which, when granted, do not affect or change the anniversary date. The next allowable rent increase shall take effect no less than one year from the anniversary date, but when imposed after one year, shall set a new anniversary date for the imposition of future rent increases.

           (b)        For Newly Covered Units, the first anniversary date shall be the date of the last lawful and effective rent increase imposed on or before May 1, 1994 or the date the tenancy commenced, whichever occurred later. The next allowable rent increase shall take effect no less than one year from the anniversary date, but, if it takes effect after more than one year, its effective date shall be the new anniversary date for purposes of future rent increases.

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Section 1.12 Annual Rent Increase

(Amended February 21, 1984; effective March 1, 1984; amended December 8, 1992; Subsection (b) amended August 20, 1996; amended June 10, 2008)

           (a)        Where a landlord is entitled to an annual rent increase to be effective from December 8, 1992 through February 28, 1993, the allowable amount of increase is 1.6%. Thereafter, the annual allowable increase determined by the Board shall become effective each March 1, and shall be no more than 60% of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose region as published by the U.S. Department of Labor for the 12 month period ending October 31. In determining the allowable percentage rent increase, numbers of .04 and below shall be rounded down to the nearest tenth decimal place, and numbers of .05 and above shall be rounded up to the nearest tenth decimal place. In no event, however, shall the allowable annual increase be greater than seven percent (7%). The Rent Board shall publish the annual allowable increase amount on or about January 1. The published increase shall be determined only once for each 12 month period and shall remain in effect until the next scheduled recalculation.

           (b)        Where a landlord was entitled to an annual rent increase between March 1, 1992 and December 7, 1992, the allowable amount of increase is 4%. If a landlord did not impose the 4% increase to which the landlord was entitled during the period March 1, 1992 to December 7, 1992, the landlord may impose the increase at any time, even if two years have not elapsed since the effective date of the last annual increase.

           (c)        Where a landlord is entitled to an annual rent increase to be effective from December 8, 1992 through February 28, 1993, the allowable amount of increase is 1.6%. Any notice of rent increase which imposes only a 4% or less annual increase effective during the above period is lawful in the amount of 1.6%, and only that portion of the increase above 1.6% is null and void, provided that the increase is given in good faith without knowledge of the effective date of Proposition H. Nothing in this Regulation shall affect any banking rights that the landlord may have.

           (d)        For rent increases effective during the period December 8, 1992 through February 28, 1993, where a tenant has received a notice of increase in excess of the allowable amount but has not yet paid the requested amount, the notice shall be null and void. Nothing in this Regulation shall affect any banking rights that the landlord may have.

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Section 1.13 Capital Improvements

(Amended February 28, 1989)

           "Capital Improvements" means those improvements which materially add to the value of the property, appreciably prolong its useful life, or adapt it to new uses, and which may be amortized over the useful life of the improvement of the building. Capital Improvements do not include normal routine maintenance and repair. (For example, the patching of a roof is not a capital improvement while the partial or complete replacement of the old roof is; repair of a foundation is considered a capital improvement and not a repair.) Repairs which are incidental to a capital improvement project, or replacement of an item normally considered a capital improvement, are also defined as capital improvements. Capital Improvements otherwise eligible are not eligible if the landlord charges a use fee such as where the tenant must deposit coins to use a landlord-owned washer and dryer.

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Section 1.14 Energy Conservation

Work performed pursuant to the requirements of Article 12 of the San Francisco Housing Code.

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Section 1.15 Newly Covered Unit

(Adopted April 25, 1995, effective February 1, 1995)
           "Newly Covered Unit" shall mean a Rental Unit that became subject to the Rent Ordinance on December 22, 1994 as a result of the passage of Proposition I in November 1994 because, as of that date, the unit was located in a building containing four Rental Units or less, and an owner (who held in good faith at least a fifty percent (50%) recorded fee interest) had occupied the building as a principal place of residence for at least six continuous months.

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Section 1.16 Proposition I Affected Units

(Adopted April 25, 1995, effective February 1, 1995)
           "Proposition I Affected Unit" shall mean a Newly Covered Unit, as well as a unit that would have been subject to the Rent Ordinance on December 22, 1994 regardless of the passage of Proposition I at the November 1994 election, but that would have become exempt within a reasonable period of time thereafter if Proposition I had not passed. If the unit is not a Newly Covered Unit, the landlord must have:
           (a)        resided in the building prior to November 9, 1994;
           (b)        initiated renovations on a unit in the same building prior to November 9, 1994 for the purpose of residing in that unit, and at the conclusion of the renovations the landlord must have resided in that unit;
           (c)        served an eviction notice pursuant to Section 37.9(a)(8) prior to November 9, 1994 and some time thereafter the landlord must have resided in the building;
           (d)        initiated renovations (with all necessary permits) prior to November 9, 1994, which renovations were ordered by a governmental agency in order to reduce the total number of units in the building to four or less; or
           (e)        did any of the above within three months of becoming owner of record of the unit if the landlord was not owner of record prior to November 9, 1994, but had entered into an agreement to purchase the unit which agreement became non-contingent on or after September 1, 1993 and prior to November 9, 1994.

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Section 1.17 Rental Units

(Subsection (e) amended February 21, 1989; Subsection (c) amended February 14, 1995; Subsection (e) deleted March 7, 1995; Renumbered effective February 1, 1995; Amended subsection (g) and added (h) March 11, 1997; Subsection (i) added May 18, 1999; prior subsections (e-g) deleted effective June 16, 2020))
           “Rental Unit” means a residential dwelling unit, regardless of zoning or legal status, in the City and County of San Francisco and all housing services, privileges, furnishings (including parking facilities supplied in connection with the use or occupancy of such unit), which is made available by agreement for residential occupancy by a tenant in consideration of the payment of rent.  The term does not include:
           (a)        Housing accommodations in hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes, rooming and boarding houses, provided that at such time as an accommodation has been occupied by a tenant for thirty-two (32) continuous days or more, such accommodation shall become a rental unit;
           (b)        dwelling units in a non-profit cooperative owned, occupied, and controlled by a majority of the residents;
           (c)        housing accommodations in any hospital, convent, monastery, extended care facility, asylum, residential care or adult day health care facility for the elderly which must be operated pursuant to a license issued by the California Department of Social Services, as required by California Health and Safety Chapters 3.2 and 3.3, or in dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education, a high school, or an elementary school;
           (d)        dwelling units whose rents are controlled or regulated by any government unit, agency, or authority excepting those unsubsidized and/or unassisted units which are insured by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development;
           (e)        commercial space where there is incidental and infrequent residential use;
           (f)         a residential unit, wherein at the inception of the tenancy there was residential use, there is no longer residential use and there is a commercial or other non-residential use.  The presumption shall be that the initial use was residential unless proved otherwise by the tenant.

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Section 1.18 New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation

(Amended August 29, 1989; September 5, 1989; September 26, 1989; June 18, 1991; renumbered effective February 1, 1995; amended February 4, 2003; amended April 14, 2015; retitled and amended June 16, 2020)
           For the purpose of determining whether or not a rental unit is exempt from rent regulations pursuant to Rent Ordinance Section 37.3(g), the following definitions shall apply:
     (a) “New Construction” refers to a newly constructed rental unit for which a Certificate of Occupancy was first issued after June 13, 1979, provided there was no residential use of the unit prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy; or a live/work unit in a building where all of the following conditions have been met:

(1) a lawful conversion to commercial/dwelling use occupancy has occurred;

(2) a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection after June 13, 1979; and

(3) there has been no residential tenancy in the building of any kind between June 13, 1979 and the date of issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy.      

     (b) “Substantial rehabilitation" means the renovation, alteration or remodeling of a containing essentially uninhabitable residential rental units of 50 or more years of age which require substantial renovation in order to conform to contemporary standards for decent, safe and sanitary housing in place of essentially uninhabitable buildings. Substantial rehabilitation may vary in degree from gutting and extensive reconstruction to extensive improvements that cure substantial deferred maintenance. Cosmetic improvements alone such as painting, decorating and minor repairs, or other work which can be performed safely without having the units vacated, do not qualify as substantial rehabilitation.
           Improvements will not be deemed substantial unless the cost of the work for which the landlord has not been compensated by insurance proceeds equals or exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of newly constructed residential buildings of the same number of units and type of construction, excluding land costs and architectural/engineering fees. The determination of the cost of newly constructed residential buildings shall be based upon the cost schedule of the Department of Building Inspection required by Section 107A.2 of the San Francisco Building Code (the "DBI Cost Schedule") for purposes of determining permit fees. The schedule in effect on the date of the Notice of Completion of the improvements shall apply. Where the landlord is seeking to recover possession of a rental unit under Section 37.9(a)(12) of the Rent Ordinance, improvements will not be deemed substantial unless the estimated cost of the proposed work for which the landlord will not be compensated by insurance proceeds equals or exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of newly constructed residential buildings of the same number of units and type of construction, excluding land costs and architectural/engineering fees, based upon the DBI Cost Schedule. For purposes of such evictions under 37.9(a)(12) of the Rent Ordinance, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the cost stated for the work in the applicable approved construction permits is the estimated cost of the proposed work. For purposes of determining whether improvements are substantial under Section 37.9(a)(12), the determination of the cost of newly constructed residential buildings shall be based upon the DBI Cost Schedule.  The schedule in effect on the date the notice to quit is served shall apply. Where the landlord is seeking to recover possession of several units in the same building under Section 37.9(a)(12) of the Rent Ordinance for one proposed substantial rehabilitation project, the schedule posted and in effect on the date of service of the first notice of termination shall apply. A landlord who recovers possession of a rental unit under Section 37.9(a)(12) must file a petition with the Rent Board for exemption based on substantial rehabilitation within the earlier of:  (i) two years following recovery of possession of the rental unit; or (ii) one year following completion of the work. A landlord who fails to file a petition within such time and thereafter obtain a determination that the property has undergone a substantial rehabilitation from the Board shall be rebuttably presumed to have wrongfully recovered possession of the tenant’s rental unit in violation of Section 37.9(f).

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Section 1.19 Tenant's Utilities

(Renumbered effective February 1, 1995; amended August 24, 2004; amended February 17, 2009)
           For the purpose of Ordinance Section 37.2(q) and Sections 4.11 and 6.16 of these Rules, "Tenant's Utilities" means charges for natural gas or electricity provided directly to the unit occupied by the tenant or to the building in which the unit is located and benefiting the tenant, whether paid by the tenant alone, by the landlord alone, or part by the tenant and part by the landlord.

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Section 1.20 Wrongful Eviction

(Renumbered effective February 1, 1995)
           "Wrongful Eviction" means the serving of a notice to quit a rental unit, the making of a demand for possession of a rental unit, or the prosecution of an Unlawful Detainer action in violation of the Ordinance. 

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Section 1.21. Tenant In Occupancy

(Effective June 5, 2001; amended for clarification December 3, 2002)
           A tenant in occupancy is an individual who otherwise meets the definition of tenant as set forth in Ordinance Section 37.2(t), and who actually resides in a rental unit or, with the knowledge and consent of the landlord, reasonably proximate rental units in the same building as his or her principal place of residence. Occupancy does not require that the individual be physically present in the unit or units at all times or continuously, but the unit or units must be the tenant’s usual place of return. When considering whether a tenant occupies one or more rental units in the same building as his or her “principal place of residence,” the Rent Board must consider the totality of the circumstances, including, but not limited to the following elements:
           (1)        the subject premises are listed as the individual’s place of residence on any motor vehicle registration, driver’s license, voter registration, or with any other public agency, including Federal, State and local taxing authorities;
           (2)        utilities are billed to and paid by the individual at the subject premises;
           (3)        all of the individual’s personal possessions have been moved into the subject premises;
           (4)        a homeowner’s tax exemption for the individual has not been filed for a different property;
           (5)        the subject premises are the place the individual normally returns to as his/her home, exclusive of military service, hospitalization, vacation, family emergency, travel necessitated by employment or education, or other reasonable temporary periods of absence; and/or
           (6)        Credible testimony from individuals with personal knowledge or other credible evidence that the tenant actually occupies the rental unit or units as his or her principal place of residence.
           A compilation of these elements lends greater credibility to the finding of “principal place of residence” whereas the presence of only one element may not support such a finding.

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