We are talking about a complicated topic today and trying to clarify what properties are exempt from San Francisco’s rent control ordinance. I spend a lot of time keeping up with these laws, and they can be hard to understand for owners and landlords who don’t know them as well as we do at Gordon Property Management.
Basically, when we are talking about the rent control ordinance and who is exempt, the magic date is June 14, 1979. This is the date used to determine whether rent controls are in place for tenants living in your property. If your building, whether it’s a single family home or an apartment building, received a certificate of occupancy after the June 14, 1979 date, that building is exempt from all of San Francisco’s rent control ordinances. If your property is a single family residence or a condominium and it was built before that date, you are exempt from most of San Francisco’s rent control ordinance, but not its eviction controls.
So, when we are talking about single family homes and condominiums, regardless of when they were built or first occupied, you are exempt from any limitations on raising your rent. This is good news for you, but you still have to follow the eviction regulations included in the ordinance. What those regulations mean is that for properties built before June 14, 1979, you cannot evict a tenant other than for just cause. Most just cause evictions include owner move in evictions, which is when you move a tenant out of your property so that you can move into it. The only exception to this part of the ordinance would be if your property is a single family residence or a condominium and you have a long term tenant living there, who has been in your home since before January of 1996. If that is the case, 
you and your tenant are subject to all the rules and regulations of the rent control ordinance.
Do you find this confusing? If so, you are not alone. I would be more than happy to explain the San Francisco rent control ordinance to you, and if you own a property in the area and you are not sure whether you are exempt, I can help you figure it out. Please do not hesitate to contact me at Gordon Property Management, and I can help you understand the law and how it pertains to your San Francisco rental property.
