San Francisco, CA Rental Property Rules: Tenant Anti-Harassment (2026)
Key Facts
- Code section
- Admin Code 37.10B
- Treble damage multiplier
- 3x one month's rent
- Statutory penalty
- $1,000 per violation
- Prohibited conduct categories
- 16 itemized acts
Summary
Section 37.10B of the Rent Ordinance prohibits 16 categories of landlord harassment including utility shutoffs, threats, false eviction notices, and abusing buyout offers. Tenants may sue for treble damages and statutory penalties up to $1,000 per offense.
1940.2. (a) It is unlawful for a landlord to do any of the following for the purpose of influencing a tenant to vacate a dwelling: (1) Engage in conduct that violates subdivision (a) of Section 484 of the Penal Code. (2) Engage in conduct that violates Section 518 of the Penal Code. (3) Use, or threaten to use, force, willful threats, or menacing conduct constituting a course of conduct that interferes with the tenant's quiet enjoyment of the premises... (4) Commit a significant and intentional violation of Section 1954. (5) Threaten to disclose information regarding or relating to the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant. (b) A tenant who prevails in a civil action... is entitled to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation.
Full Breakdown
Enacted in 2008 and broadened in 2015 and 2018, Administrative Code Section 37.10B itemizes prohibited landlord conduct: interrupting essential services, refusing rent payments to manufacture default, threatening eviction without basis, abusing access rights, removing personal property, harassing tenants who have made habitability complaints, retaliating for organizing, and aggressive buyout solicitation. Tenants may sue in Superior Court for actual damages, statutory damages of three times one month's rent, attorney's fees, and injunctive relief. The Rent Board investigates complaints, posts violators in its public registry, and refers serious cases to the District Attorney for misdemeanor prosecution.
Violations & Fines
Violations carry treble actual damages, statutory penalties of $1,000 per offense, attorney's fees, and possible misdemeanor prosecution under Section 37.10B(c).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as landlord harassment in San Francisco?
Can I sue my landlord for harassment in SF?
Sources & Official References
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