With COVID Emergency Protections Set to Expire, Sup. Preston Introduces Eviction Ban Extension

SAN FRANCISCO — As the city contemplates an end date to the local COVID-19 State of Emergency – a move that would terminate existing bans of eviction for COVID-related hardship – Supervisor Dean Preston introduced today a 60-day extension to allow for a wind-down period to ensure San Franciscans don’t lose their homes.

“If we let protections expire overnight and without warning, we’re heading straight off an eviction cliff,” said Preston, a 20-year tenant attorney prior to being elected Supervisor. “Extending these protections is crucial to making sure we can get remaining funds for rent relief to tenants in need.”

While federal rent relief funds have been instrumental in keeping renters throughout California from losing their homes, San Francisco has done more than any other city in the state to generate local funding for eviction prevention. In total, San Francisco has allocated more than $71 million dollars for rent relief, which to date has helped more than 6,000 households avoid displacement and crushing rent debt. There remains approximately $24 million in unspent funds, according to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, funds that are expected to prevent displacement and debt for another 3,000 households.

“We can’t let our eviction protections expire while we work to get funds out the door to help keep people in their homes,” Preston said.

Other Bay Area cities are considering extending their eviction protections. On February 27, the City of Berkeley voted to create a “transition period,” with most evictions banned until August 31. Tenant advocates in Hayward and San Leandro are also reportedly considering similar efforts.

“This legislation is essential to provide a buffer of protection for San Francisco's low income tenant community. This is especially true as waves of coronavirus infection continue to impact us, both medically and economically,” said Ora Prochovnick, Director of Litigation & Policy at the Eviction Defense Collaborative. “Extending these protections for 60 days beyond the declaration of emergency is a win win, causing no real detriment to anyone as the unpaid rent remains collectable even if not evictable, while on the other hand, summarily lifting the protections without a time to adapt would exacerbate the City's underlying homelessness and affordable housing problems.”

The 60-day extension is the 14th bill introduced by Supervisor Preston to ban or limit evictions due to the pandemic, including some of the first policies in the nation to permanently take eviction off the table for COVID hardship. In addition, more than half of the local funding for rent relief was generated by Preston’s November 2020 Prop I ballot measure, which doubled the transfer tax on the highest valued real estate transactions in the city. The measure has generated more than $250 million since taking effect in 2021, more than $42m has been allocated to the local rent relief program.

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