Tenants and Evictions
Renter protections and landlord disputes.
1 upcoming event · 30 stories · 6 meeting summaries · Aug 30, 2026 – Oct 29, 2026
Upcoming events
Stories
Thursday, October 29, 20261 story →
Scammers posing as landlords and tenants take $18,000 and keep working in San Francisco
World Journal reports on a rental scam in which people impersonate landlords and renters, a scheme that has taken $18,000 and is still operating in San Francisco. One prospective renter, Lauren Rice, was shown a two-bedroom advertised at $6,000 a month.
Sunday, October 25, 20261 story →
Rent concessions nearly vanish from San Francisco's apartment market
Three years ago, Bay Area landlords offered weeks or even months of free rent to fill vacant apartments, World Journal reports. In San Francisco those concessions have largely disappeared.
Thursday, October 22, 20261 story →
Meet the District 8 candidates: Should S.F. expand rent control?
Mission Local asked the candidates for District 8 supervisor whether San Francisco should expand rent control. Their answers run as part of the outlet's series of candidate questionnaires.
Wednesday, October 21, 20263 stories →
San Francisco landlords must disclose ‘hidden’ fees to tenants upfront
A new San Francisco law requires landlords to disclose all recurring fees before a tenant signs a lease. Monthly charges beyond base rent have been pushing the total cost of renting higher.
San Francisco bars evictions for less than one month’s rent
Under new legislation, San Francisco tenants would have to owe more than a month of fair-market rent before a landlord could begin an eviction. The bill sets a dollar threshold for what counts as nonpayment.
Meet the District 6 candidates: As AI booms, how should S.F. confront rising rents?
Mission Local asked the District 6 supervisor candidates how they would handle rising rents, displacement and housing production as AI companies expand in the district. The candidates offered differing approaches.
Thursday, October 15, 20261 story →
Inner Sunset apartment complex sold 3 years after fire. Tenants are ‘totally in the dark.’
The Inner Sunset apartment building that burned three years ago has been sold, and tenants say nobody told them. Property owners are required by law to notify tenants before and after a building sale, Mission Local reports.
Friday, October 9, 20261 story →
San Francisco landlord offers tenant $35,000 to move out; she hesitates
A San Francisco tenant, Serabeth Mullaney, was offered a $35,000 check to leave her apartment, the New York Post reports. She has not agreed, weighing whether the money would cover a comparable place to live.
Wednesday, October 7, 20261 story →
S.F. supervisor looks to restrict when landlords can evict ‘nuisance’ tenants
Supervisor Myrna Melgar wants to pass legislation that spells out what counts as a nuisance in eviction cases. Melgar said landlords can currently abuse the rule, and the bill would tighten the definition.
Tuesday, October 6, 20262 stories →
S.F. supervisor looks to restrict when landlords can evict ‘nuisance’ tenants
Supervisor Melgar wants to pass legislation that spells out what counts as a nuisance when a landlord evicts a tenant. Melgar said the current standard is one landlords can abuse.
Tenants protest poor conditions in their San Francisco homes
Tenants of a San Francisco building protested again over conditions they call unsafe, after eight months of withholding rent. A Housing Rights Committee spokesperson said the company that manages the building, Mosser, has not responded, and Supervisor Jackie Fielder said one in four tenants citywide is evicted for not paying a full month's rent. Fielder has introduced a bill to bar those evictions.
Saturday, October 3, 20261 story →
Tenant group urges members to vote Nov. 3, backs Connie Chan and Jane Kim
The Community Tenants Association mailed more than 600 voter guides to members ahead of the Nov. 3 election, Sing Tao Daily reports. The group endorses Connie Chan for Congress and Jane Kim for state insurance commissioner, and recommends yes votes on Propositions C, H and I and a no vote on Proposition D.
Thursday, October 1, 20261 story →
This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach
Harlow Srain, a 28-year-old San Francisco renter, has contacted more than 200 landlords and property managers in nine months as she tries to stay in the city. She lives in Bernal Heights with an ex-partner and says rents have risen more than 25% over the past year. She is cold-calling landlords to ask for lower rent.
Wednesday, September 30, 20262 stories →
This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach
Harlow Srain, a 28-year-old renter in Bernal Heights, has contacted more than 200 landlords and property managers in nine months to find an apartment she can afford. She says rents have risen more than 25 percent over the past year, driven by the AI boom, and she is cold-calling landlords to ask for lower rents.
SoMa nonprofit Dev/Mission says landlord seeks 156% rent increase
Dev/Mission, a SoMa nonprofit that trains young people for technology jobs, says its landlord wants a 156 percent rent increase to renew its lease at 546 Bryant St., according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The group currently pays $7,426 a month for 4,000 square feet, and the landlord is seeking $19,000 a month.
Tuesday, September 29, 20261 story →
Burned out: Fires are raging in rent-controlled apartments, leaving tenants gasping
A gap in the law leaves tenants and landlords without clear answers about who pays after a fire in a rent-controlled apartment, the San Francisco Standard reports. The Standard's story follows residents and landlords dealing with the aftermath.
Monday, September 28, 20261 story →
Meet the 17-year-old mapping SF’s rent-controlled housing
Neil Rao, a 17-year-old high school junior in San Mateo, is building a map of San Francisco's rent-controlled housing. He says he hopes to create a comprehensive inventory that city government does not have, according to The Standard.
Saturday, September 26, 20261 story →
Stories of Persistence: From Negotiating Rent to Swimming the CA Coast
KQED housing reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi follows San Francisco resident Harlow Srain, who has spent nine months cold-calling landlords and property managers to ask for lower rent. The California Report Magazine episode also includes a joint dance performance at San Quentin and a swimmer's attempt to cover the California coast.
Saturday, September 19, 20261 story →
Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home
Rents in San Francisco have risen this year faster than anywhere else in the country, driven in part by the AI boom, and rental scams have followed, KQED reports. The story follows 26-year-old survey researcher Beyond Deng, who has days to find a new home after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment he shared with two roommates.
Friday, September 18, 20261 story →
Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home
Rents in San Francisco have risen faster this year than anywhere else in the country, driven in part by the AI boom, and renters are weighing what to give up to stay. A policy researcher with a few days left to find a home, after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment he shares with two friends, describes the search.
Thursday, September 17, 20262 stories →
Too Damn High: Lurie’s ‘Rent Emergency’ And SF’s Struggle to Make Life Affordable
Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a rent emergency last week after the median market-rate rent rose 25 percent over the past year to nearly $4,500 a month. His plan includes a proposal from Supervisor Jackie Fielder to block eviction when a tenant falls one month behind, $3 million more for the city fund that provides free legal help to tenants facing eviction, and an extra $3,000 on the $11,110 payment landlords must give tenants displaced by an owner move-in. The declaration followed last December's Family Zoning Plan, which supporters and opponents are both trying to amend this fall.
Desperate Tenants in SF Face Scams, Substandard Rentals
San Francisco's AI boom has made the rental market more competitive, and KQED reports that tenants under pressure to stand out are running into substandard units and outright scams. The episode follows Mayor Daniel Lurie's rent emergency declaration and an earlier KQED report on a renter who lost $18,000 to a scam.
Wednesday, September 16, 20261 story →
SF landlords beat the vacancy tax in court. Next up? The so-called rental emergency
San Francisco landlords challenging the city's vacancy tax won in court and are now contesting Mayor Daniel Lurie's declaration of a rental emergency. Landlords call the rent emergency 'a bit cringey' and say the city is to blame for rising rents.
Saturday, September 12, 20264 stories →
Mayor Unveils Tenant Protection Package as Rents Surge to Record Highs
Mayor Daniel Lurie announced six proposed ordinances and $31 million in new spending on Thursday to address what his office calls a rent emergency. The mayor's office cited Apartment List data showing San Francisco's median rent rose 25.6 percent over the past year, faster than any other major U.S. city in 2026. More than 1,000 eviction notices have been filed this year, about a quarter of them for nonpayment of rent, putting the city on pace for its highest total in nearly a decade.
Fake pay stubs, real evictions: How AI is fueling rental fraud in San Francisco
Landlords in San Francisco most often discover rental fraud only after a tenant has moved in, according to a new survey reported by the Standard. The survey looks at how AI-generated fake pay stubs and other documents are used to win leases.
Lurie declared a rent emergency. Could he freeze rents like Mamdani?
The Standard examines whether Mayor Daniel Lurie could follow New York City in freezing rents after he declared a rent emergency. Tenant advocates told the paper that a rent freeze would not address the causes of displacement. The piece follows Lurie's package of six ordinances and $31 million in spending announced Thursday.
Chinese Association Center says new rent measures are only a first step
The Chinese Association Center called Mayor Daniel Lurie's tenant protection package a first step and said the city still needs to address what drives speculative evictions. Executive director Malcolm Yeung would not comment on individual proposals, and senior counsel Gen Fujioka said a 10 percent annual cap on banked rent increases and capital improvement costs may still be too high for low-income tenants and does not cover other increases, such as a 280 percent rise an elder near Chinatown is facing. A veteran Chinese real estate agent told the paper that tighter limits on owners could push more units off the rental market.
Friday, September 11, 20261 story →
San Francisco Mayor Lurie Infuses $30 Million in Reforms to Tackle ‘Rent Emergency’
Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a $30 million package of tenant protections Thursday and called rising rents a 'rent emergency' in San Francisco. He gave the speech at Alamo Square Park. Rents in the city rose 25.6 percent over the past year, the fastest growth of any US market, according to the rental listing company Apartment List.
Wednesday, September 2, 20261 story →
S.F. supervisor seeks to bar evictions for less than a month’s unpaid rent
Supervisor Jackie Fielder has introduced legislation that would bar evictions when tenants owe less than a month’s rent. Five supervisors are co-sponsoring the bill, and the mayor supports it.
Sunday, August 30, 20261 story →
A 72-year-old became homeless. Then her family rose up to save her
A 72-year-old woman became homeless in San Francisco, and her family is working to get her off the streets as evictions rise across the city. The story follows their effort.