Yesterday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled a package of ordinances and $30 million in funding to address the city’s rent crisis, including eviction defense, rent spike limits, and a public education campaign.
The city’s median rent rose 25.6% over the past year, more than any other major city in the country. And with more than 1,000 eviction notices filed in 2026, the city is on pace to reach its highest annual eviction total in nearly a decade. The mayor’s announcement of the reforms frames the situation plainly as a “rent emergency.”
Eviction Protections
The package features numerous interventions to protect tenants from unfair eviction, including the following:
- Expands the city’s Tenant Right to Counsel program by $3 million, extending full-scope legal representation to 400 households that previously received only partial help.
- Increases by 25% the required payments made to tenants displaced under the Ellis Act, adding nearly $3,000 per person to reflect rising relocation costs.
- Bars evictions for nonpayment unless a tenant owes at least one month of federal fair market rent, in an effort to stop evictions of renters who have fallen narrowly behind on rent.
- Provides funding for 650 low-income households whose federal Emergency Housing Vouchers are set to lapse by the end of 2026, four years earlier than expected.
Rent Spike Limits
The package also includes two reforms designed to protect renters from sudden rent spikes:
- For rent-controlled tenants, District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter proposes a 10% cap on annual rent increases from banked rent and capital improvement charges, addressing the problem of landlords who accumulate years of allowable increases and pass them on all at once.
- District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s legislation calls for a guaranteed, annual written reminder of tenants’ rent-increase limits, just-cause eviction rules, and information about how to tell if their building has entered state rent regulations.
Know Your Rights Campaign and additional funding
The package includes a $1 million “Know Your Rights” campaign targeting renters vulnerable to eviction, while also informing property owners of their legal responsibilities.
Tenant education efforts include a plan to drive renters to the City Attorney’s Office complaint portal, in order to expand the city’s handling of illegal systemic practices and behavior.
In combination with existing city commitments, San Francisco has already dedicated more than $54 million this fiscal year to help renters. Lurie increased this budget by another 15%, committing more than $4 million for additional emergency rental subsidies and $23 million for legal defense for renters.
The ordinances still require approval from the Board of Supervisors before taking effect. You can learn more about the city’s proposed solutions to the rent emergency at SF.gov.