San Francisco Bans "No Fault" Evictions Through June 2021San Francisco Bans "No Fault" Evictions Through June 2021

“No Fault” evictions like Owner Move In and Capital Improvement evictions will be off the table through June 2021 for San Francisco tenants, following legislation unanimously approved at the Board of Supervisors today.

“San Francisco stepped up early in the pandemic to say no to evictions,” said Supervisor Dean Preston, a former tenant attorney who authored the ordinance. “Nearly a year in, we are continuing to do everything in our power to prevent displacement, and we will continue, now and into the coming months, to ensure that as San Franciscans get back on their feet, they don’t have to worry about keeping a roof over their heads.”

The California legislature recently enacted SB91, extending statewide eviction protections for nonpayment of rent due to COVID hardship through June 30, 2021, and preempting new nonpayment protections locally.  State law leaves open local laws to regulate other types of evictions.

This past October, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance to prohibit other types of evictions, particularly so called “no fault” evictions, through the end of March 2021. The ordinance passed today principally extends the no-fault eviction ban to align with the effective period of statewide nonpayment protections, through June of this year.

“Since the beginning of this fiscal year, the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco has served over 600 tenants impacted by COVID or who have been facing eviction,” said Cynthia Fong, Lead Organizer with the HRCSF. “In many of these cases, while rent debt and harassment may still be a problem, these neighbors still have a place to call home. That has been the impact of proactively limiting evictions, especially because evictions have proven to escalate COVID risk/spread.”

In a separate but related effort, Supervisor Preston’s ordinance to allocate Prop I revenue to fund rent relief and permanently affordable social housing will be heard tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Board of Suervisor’s Budget and Finance Committee.