San Francisco Landlords: Important Advoce You Need To Provide To Tenants When Serving Eviction Notices
Posted by: Kenny Tan
July 20, 2011
Topic: Rent Control
If you own a residential rental property in San Francisco, chances are your property is subject to the San Francisco rent control laws.
Evicting a tenant in a rent-controlled building in San Francisco can be tricky and could expose you to civil liability if you're not familiar with the rent control ordinance in San Francisco.
You can evict your tenant if you have "just cause". Nonpayment of rent is one of them.
Section 37.9c of the San Francisco Rent Stabilization Ordinance requires the landlord to provide written advice to the tenant that he or she may consult the Rent Control Board regarding their rights as a rent-controlled tenant prior to endeavoring to evict a tenant with or without just cause.
Typically, on a 3-Day Notice To Pay Rent or Quit, Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161 requires certain information to be included on the notice. However, it is intended to provide a uniform statutory notice to give the tenant an opportunity to cure the default. There is nothing in this code that requires the landlord to put the written advice required by the San Francisco rent control ordinance within the 3-day notice.
Although it's more efficient to include the written advice on the notice itself, failure to do so does not necessarily make the 3-day notice defective provided the advice be given in writing albeit in a separate document.
I think the intent of the legislature is accomplished as long as the tenant's rights are protected. If a landlord had in fact provided a written advice to the tenant on a separate document, his lawsuit should not be dismissed just because it does not also appear on the 3-day notice.
In the San Francisco area, there are several nonprofit organizations that defend rent-controlled tenants in unlawful detainer actions to keep them in their rental units even if they don't pay rent. Indigent tenants may go to them to seek legal representation.
You should get yourself up to speed on the rent control laws before you evict a tenant in San Francisco.
