Healthy Development Measurement Toolkit

Indicator HH.2.b Rate of no-fault evictions

Data Source

Data on evictions (1995-2008) from the San Francisco Rent Board.

Renter population data from Applied Geographic Solutions, Inc. Spring 2007 Update: Current Year Estimates. Methodology available at: http://www.appliedgeographic.com/library.html.

Maps and tables prepared by City and County of San Francisco, Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Section using Geolytics software.

Map data is presented at the level of the census tract. The map also includes planning neighborhood names, in the vicinity of their corresponding census tracts.

Table data is presented by planning neighborhood. Planning neighborhoods are larger geographic areas then census tracts. SF DPH used ArcGIS software and a 'centroids within' methodology to convert census tracts to geographic mean center points. We then assigned census tracts to planning neighborhoods based on the spatial location of those geographic mean center points and calculated the planning neighborhood totals for the table.

Detailed information regarding census data, geographic units of analysis, their definitions, and their boundaries can be found in the HDMT at the following links:

http://www.thehdmt.org/etc/Geographic_Units_of_Analysis.pdf

http://www.thehdmt.org/data_map_methods.php

Explanation and Limitations

Evictions are mandated by law to be reported to the San Francisco Rent Board when they involve rent-controlled units which are protected by local tenant's rights laws. Non-rent-controlled units continue to be protected by California Civil Code from unlawful evictions, yet laws are less stringent. The data presented here includes only those evictions filed with the San Francisco Rent Board and may not capture the universe of no-fault evictions which have occurred in San Francisco. There is no enforcement mechanism to compel filing with the Rent Board. Evicted tenants can file a complaint with the Rent Board for procedural irregularity if the landlord has not properly reported the eviction. This typically occurs when a tenant goes to file a complaint with the Rent Board for an alleged wrongful eviction and discovers that the eviction has not been filed.

Just cause evictions are those evictions where a landlord may legally evict a tenant under the law. Just cause evictions can be due to a number of reasons, all of which fall into two categories, at-fault evictions and no-fault evictions. At-fault evictions include those tenants evicted for such reasons as non-payment of rent, illegal use of the unit, and breaking the terms of the rental agreement. No-fault evictions classify an eviction due to no fault of the tenant. Permanent no-fault evictions are allowed by law for the following reasons:

1) Owner/relative move-in under Section 37.9(a)(8),
2) To sell a unit in accordance with a condominium conversion under Section 37.9 (a)(9),
3) Demolition or permanent removal from housing use under Section 37.9(a)(10),
4) Substantial rehabilitation under Section 37.9(a)(12), and
5) Ellis evictions under Section 37.9(a)(13)

As shown in Table 3 above, Owner Move-In and Ellis Act evictions are by far the most common forms of no-fault evictions in San Francisco. As also noted in the data, there was an upsurge in no-fault evictions in the late nineties and early 2000s.

Below is a brief description of the types of no-fault evictions:

Owner Move-In (OMI) Evictions result when an owner, or an owner's relative wishes to move into a unit previously rented. The owners or relatives must act in good faith and remain in the unit for a minimum of 36 months. If the current tenant is 60 years or older, has lived in the unit for more than 10 years and the building has more than 2 units, the tenant is protected from OMI eviction unless the owner or relative is over 60 years old (San Francisco Rent Board, http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=54862).

Condominium conversions are regulated under the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs), which establishes the rights and duties of condominium owners in a particular property. Condominium conversions are allowed if the following conditions are met: 1) the residential building is 2 to 6 units, 2) meets owner occupancy requirements, 3) wins a conversion lottery, and 4) satisfies "tenant rights" rules. The conversion lottery may be by-passed for 2-unit buildings with owners occupying both units. Tenant rights include the right to purchase their unit at the owner established price. Tenants who cannot buy or choose not to buy the unit are entitled to remain at their current rent for one year after the conversion is complete. Tenants over 62 are entitled to lifetime leases. Tenants who choose to move within the first 120 days after conversion are entitled to up to $1,000 in moving expenses. All tenants must be notified of these rights, and at least 40% of the property tenants must sign non-binding "Tenant Intent To Purchase" forms (San Francisco Department of Public Works, http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfdpw_page.asp?id=32430).

Demolition provides landlords the opportunity to permanently remove a rental unit through demolition from housing use. The landlord must act in good faith and relocation fees are required. Substantial rehabilitation evictions allow landlords to carry out large-scale rehabilitation to residential units (San Francisco Rent Board, http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=4160). Demolition and substantial rehabilitation differ from capital improvement evictions in that they are considered permanent evictions. No-fault evictions for capital improvement are considered temporary and evicted residents, by law, are given the right to move back into the improved property at rents prior to eviction.

Ellis Act Evictions refer to a state law which requires municipalities to allow property owners to leave the rental housing business. The displaced tenant has first right of refusal if the property is placed back on the rental market within ten years. The landlord may only charge the rent-controlled price if rented within the first five years, then market rate thereafter (San Francisco Rent Board, http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=54863).

Section 37.9C of the Rent Ordinance requires the landlord to pay relocation fees to tenants for no-fault evictions, including OMI, as well as capital improvement, demolition, removal of unit from housing use and substantial rehabilitation evictions. Relocation fees are increased every year on March 1st. Fees as of March 1, 2009 are $4,941 per tenant up to $14,825 per unit. Elderly or disabled tenants, as well as families with children under the age of 18 are entitled to an extra $3,295.  Relocation payments are also required in Ellis Act evictions. (San Francisco Rent Board, http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/rentboard/docs/documents/579.pdf).

The data presented here does not capture temporary no-fault evictions. These are allowed by law under the following reasons:

1) Temporary evictions to do capital improvement work under Section 37.9(a)(11),
2) Temporarily recover possession of the unit solely for the purpose of effecting lead remediation or abatement work under Section 37.9(a)(14).

Finally, foreclosures do not affect rent control rights.  There are currently many foreclosures happening throughout the country.  In San Francisco, foreclosures do not affect the rights of tenants under the Rent Ordinance. Thus, tenants in units subject to the Rent Ordinance have the right to stay in the unit after a foreclosure on the same terms and conditions of tenancy as before. The Court of Appeal held in Gross v. Superior Court (1985) 171 Cal.App. 3d 265 that foreclosure, like any other sale, is not a just cause for eviction under the Rent Ordinance and provides no basis to force the tenant to leave. Any tenant who receives an eviction notice based on foreclosure of the property can file a "Report of Alleged Wrongful Eviction" with the Rent Board, and may also want to obtain legal advice from an attorney. In addition, any tenant who suffers a substantial decrease in housing services, such as termination of utility service(s) either before or after foreclosure, can file a tenant petition with the Rent Board requesting a corresponding reduction in rent. Tenants should pay the rent to the new owner or put the rent money aside if the new owner is not known (San Francisco Rent Board, http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=87350)

Why is this a Community Health Indicator?

Gentrification can cause displacement. Involuntary displacement or relocation can be a stressful life event. The San Francisco Department of Public Health conducted focus groups with tenants facing eviction due to redevelopment in 2003. Discussing how she felt about an eviction notice at the, one resident stated: "We are fearful, feelings are hurt, and [we're having] difficulty speaking about displacement, stressed, sleeplessness, anxiety, and the issue has been constantly going on."

Households that are displaced often experience unhealthy situations due to the loss of social relationships within a community, the difficulties and stress associated with finding new housing that is affordable, as well as, the added time, energy and money needed to relocate. Frequent household moves have been linked with negative childhood events such as abuse, neglect, household dysfunction and increased likelihood of smoking and suicide in children.^a Frequent family relocation also leads to children repeating grades, school suspensions, and emotional and behavioral problems.^b Childhood residential instability has also been found to predict lifetime risk of depression.^c In contrast, residential stability in childhood has shown to have positive effects on health at midlife.^d Creating opportunities for affordable and safe housing forms a stable and healthy household environment which has long-term positive health implications, particularly for children.

For additional information on the connections between housing and health, visit: The Case for Housing Impacts Assessment by SFDPH, Program on Health Equity and Sustainability. Accessed online on October 19, 2006: http://www.thehdmt.org/etc/004_HIAR-May2004.pdf