S.F. Apartment Assn. v. City & County of S.F.

Background In January 2019, the city adopted an ordinance adding section 37.10(A)(i) to the city’s rent ordinance, making it “unlawful for a landlord to endeavor to recover possession of a rental unit that is exempt from rent increase limitations under Section 37.3(d) or Section 37.3(g) by means of a rent increase that is imposed in bad faith with an intent to defraud, intimidate, or coerce the tenant into vacating the unit in circumvention of Section 37.9(a), 37.9A, 37.9B, or 37.9C.” Under the new provision, “[e]vidence of bad faith may include but is not limited to the following: (1) the rent increase was substantially in excess of market rates for comparable units; (2) the rent increase was within six months after an attempt to recover possession of the unit; and (3) such other factors as a court or the Rent Board may deem relevant.” (§ 37.10(A)(i).) A landlord’s violation of section 37.10(A)(i) may be asserted by either the rent board or the tenant. At the same time, the city adopted an ordinance amending section 37.10B, subdivision (a)(5), to add the same prohibited conduct to the definition of

3 tenant harassment, which permits the district attorney to bring misdemeanor…