Where Tenants in San Francisco Can Get Help with Landlord/Tenant Problems

The laws in San Francisco are very favorable to tenants, more so than in most places. That's good news for San Francisco renters who are having problems with their landlords. But knowing what to do can seem overwhelming. You may be wondering where do you even start.

I've learned a lot about this while dealing with my crappy landlord over the years, and I'd like to pass it on. I have many things to say about rental problems, enough to fill several articles. In this one, I'm going to talk about how to get started.

The first thing to do is find out if your unit is rent-controlled. Most buildings built before 1979 are. If your unit is rent-controlled, you can find a lot of helpful information on the San Francisco Rent Board website at http://www.sfgov.org/site/rentboard_index.asp. (If your unit is not rent-controlled, skip to the section on the Tenant's Union and Housing Rights Committee, below.)

The Rent Board website

I think the organization of the Rent Board's site is confusing, but they do have a lot of information, and if you're patient and poke around, you will find it. Some good places to start looking are in "Info to Go" and "Fact Sheets." The links for those appear under the "Documents and Resources" heading. Or look at the options in the pull down box next to where it says "Looking for an Answer?" Sometimes, putting a search term in the search box on the right is the most helpful.

When you find an article that deals with your particular problem(s), I suggest printing out a copy for your files.

The website for the Tenant's Union -- http://www.sftu.org -- and for the Housing Rights Committee -- http://www.hrcsf.org/ -- also have a lot of good information.

At this point, once you have done some reading and become a bit familiar with the law, you could call the Rent Board with any specific questions. They have counselors you can speak to on the phone at 252-4602 from 9-noon and 1-4 Monday to Friday. But this is only for specific questions. They tend to be very busy, and may limit calls to five minutes each.

So if you have general questions about what to do, or if you are feeling overwhelmed, and/or if you would like to be able to talk to someone at greater length, I suggest you go to either the Tenant's Union or the Housing Rights Committee.

The Tenant's Union and the Housing Rights Committee

These are both non-profit organizations that provide counseling to tenants. I'll start with the Tenant's Union, because that's the one I'm more familiar with.

The Tenant's Union counsels tenants and works to get legislation favorable to tenants enacted. Their counselors are volunteers. The first time you go for counseling, you need to go in person during their drop-in hours. They are located at 558 Capp Street, which is a block east of Mission. Cross streets are 20th and 21st.

To find out their drop-in hours, which change every week, you need to look on their website, http://sftu.org/ or call 415-282-6622. I would also suggest calling or checking the website right before you go because they do sometimes have last-minute changes.

Bring all your documents. They get crowded, so be prepared to wait. It's first come, first served, so if you can get there right when they open, you may be able to get in quickly. (Waiting can actually be interesting, though, as you get to hear other tenants talk about their problems.) Who your counselor is will be the luck of the draw, but in my experience, they have all been very knowledgeable.

You can either pay for the session ($10 - $20 sliding scale) or become a member for a year ($25 - $40). If you become a member, you will get unlimited counseling for a year. You can also get counseling over the phone, which is available only for members. I think it's definitely worth it to join if you expect to have any ongoing problems, especially since they will also give you a copy of their book, "Tenants Rights Handbook." The Handbook is very helpful, and I've referred to it often.

The other organization I mentioned, The Housing Rights Committee, has free telephone and drop-in counseling, Monday to Thursday, 1-5. They're at 427 South Van Ness, cross street 15th. Their phone number is 415-703-8644, and their website http://www.hrcsf.org/. I talked to someone on the phone there once, and she was very helpful and concerned and nice.

I think the information above should be more than enough to get started in dealing with a San Francisco rental problem. But for people who want to look at more information online, or for anyone who may have stumbled on this article who doesn't live in San Francisco (but does live in California), the California Court system has a self-help website which has a list of many links: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/additionalinfo/links.htm#landten

In closing, I wish you good luck with your rental problem, and remember that there is a lot of help available.