San Francisco demands landlords register units by March 1

A March 1 deadline looms for San Francisco landlords to file information on their units for the city’s rent board.

San Francisco is one of a wave of California cities which have passed aggressive rent control laws recently. But the city got a head start by demanding landlords tell all about the units they rent, as well as pay a fee to the city government website, which is called San Francisco Rent Board’s Housing Inventory and Fee Portal, located at the URL portal.sfrb.org.

The rental registry was introduced in 2021, according to media reports. Its chief architect, former San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, said that a registry will give the city’s rent control laws much needed strength.

“San Francisco adopted our rent ordinance back in 1979 to safeguard tenants from excessive rent increases,” Fewer told the community newspaper Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon. “Since then, the rent ordinance has allowed the city to regulate rents and has helped protect tenants from losing their homes because of real estate booms and gentrification. But one thing the city lacks is an accurate inventory of the city’s existing housing stock.”

A rent board registry will help the city government track housing stock and better administer the law, Fewer reasoned.

The registry is an example of government overreach, according to a blog posted by real estate firm The Bornstein Group. The blog noted that there are a number of existing laws on the books barring illegal rent increases. A registry crushes privacy, according to the blog. 

“Taking centralized control, the rent board wants to pry into every aspect of the owner’s rental business in order to nip problems in the bud and preempt any excessive increases or displacement of the tenant, “ the unsigned blog post stated.

So far, San Francisco Rent Board’s Housing Inventory and Fee Portal has not been popular. A statement released Feb. 1 by Christina Varner, the executive director of the rent board, said that less than 5 percent of the city’s rental units, or about 12,000 units, have been licensed by the city’s registry before the upcoming deadline.

The scope of the rental board is increasing. In 2022, landlords owning buildings with 10 or more units had to report their inventory. For 2023, property owners with fewer than 10 rental units, including single-family homes and condos, are also required to report their inventory, according to a rent board statement. 

If a landlord registers a rental unit that is occupied by a tenant, the landlord will receive a license so they will be able to legally raise rents within the city’s rent control rules. Those who do not register will not be fined, but they will not be issued a license that will give them the ability to legally raise rents.

According to a San Francisco city website, landlords must pay fees of $59 per apartment unit and $29.50 per residential hotel room. A landlord can collect 50 percent of the fees from tenants.

San Francisco is not the only city working with a rental registry. In December, Santa Ana, in Orange County, also unveiled plans to develop a city registry where property owners file information on their rental units.