About San Francisco Bay Area Landlord Lawyers -

Meet the law firm built for rental property owners

For the better part of three decades, Bornstein Law has managed landlord-tenant relationships and handled complex real estate litigation throughout the Bay Area with a strong preference to resolve disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible, taking into account time, risk, and attorneys fees.

When it comes to landlord-tenant law, not all attorneys are created equal.

If you are vetting attorneys, a perfectly reasonable question to ask is: do you handle landlord-tenant relationships on a daily basis? If the answer is no, you should ask the attorney to kindly refer you to someone whose core practice is specializing in this complex and ever-changing area of law.

Landlording rules are very balkanized. We have state law, a patchwork of local ordinances, and an overlay of residual tenant protections from COVID. Now is not the time to rely on legal advice from a cousin who practices personal injury law.

Get acquainted with the advocates dedicated to helping you power through your real estate challenges

Daniel Bornstein, Esq.

As the founding attorney of Bornstein Law, Daniel is a well-respected authority in landlord-tenant disputes and property management issues. With over 23 years of experience in handling real estate and civil litigation throughout the Bay Area, he also manages rental properties, is instrumental in completing real estate transactions and is renowned for his educational seminars.

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Kathryn Quetel, Esq.

A seasoned real estate attorney that has forged enduring relationships among Bay Area rental housing providers, Kathryn is well versed in rent control, landlord-tenant issues and tenant buyouts, but has been instrumental in solving more complex real estate litigation that has faced some of the region’s largest residential and commercial property management companies.

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Daniel Cheung, Esq.

An experienced attorney specializing in unlawful detainer actions in Bay Area rent-controlled jurisdictions, Daniel is a native speaker of Cantonese and has deep roots in the community of Asian property owners. Practicing law since 2009, he looks forward to assisting you in all of your real estate goals.

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Liana Ayrapetyan, Esq.

With a wealth of experience in landlord-tenant law, Liana Ayrapetyan provides sound advice for property owners and has been instrumental in protecting the rights of landlords. She has brokered many diplomatic, speedy resolutions for all parties involved in a wide range of complex landlord-tenant disputes and property management issues.

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Dylan Tong, Esq.

After interning with us since 2016, he earned his law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he graduated cum laude. Dylan Tong is intimately familiar with all aspects of landlord-tenant law, and owners have no greater ally.

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Nicole Blake, Esq.

For the better part of a decade, Nicole has had an imprint in all manner of landlord-tenant matters we handle but her personal story provides a unique perspective. She has a wealth of experience in mending acrimonious rental relationships.

Daniela Cromenbold, Esq.

Well-adept at performing transactional work, and drafting license agreements and notices, Daniela is also our "go-to" person for legal research. With eclectic experience in defending the rights of property owners, we welcome her as a recent addition to our team.

We think smartly and strategically about your real estate investments.

Bornstein Law approaches cases from the perspective of a business decision. As investors ourselves, your bottom line is always top of mind and the advice we impart is what we would do ourselves – we put ourselves in your shoes.

Frank, candid advice removed from the emotional fray.

We allow clients the opportunity to emote and then we get laser-focused on accomplishing the goal at hand. Being forthright and blunt, we found, is the best way to approach difficult rental relationships. When there is no easy solution, we will tell you. You’ll find our direct and sensible communication to be valuable in our dialogue with tenants or their counsel, and this sometimes requires “thick skin” in informing residents that it is time to make a chapter change in their housing.

We know what we know, and we know what we don't know.

Law has become very niche-specific and our firm refuses to spread ourselves too thinly. Managing landlord-tenant relationships is what we do on a daily basis and when a matter migrates into another area of law, we will refer you to an expert in their respective field.

Our goal is never to enlarge a dispute but resolve it as quickly and inexpensively as possible, taking into account time, risk, and attorneys' fees.

Although we are not doctors, we take the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. When a dispute is enlarged, it costs our clients more money and we don’t like that. It’s analogous to a game of chess. We like to play five-minute chess, not a four-hour game of chess. Unlike some attorneys who feed their families by being mired in long, protracted disputes and dragging the matter on, our firm abhors a lengthy conflict.

Lowering the temperature of disputes and avoiding court if at all possible.

Litigation is not like a Warriors or an A’s game when one side wins and one side loses. It can be a costly and harrowing endeavor. Our strong preference is to resolve a matter out of court by having a leveraged discussion with the tenant or their counsel.

Zealous advocacy in a difficult set of circumstances.

We are human and sometimes, it’s hard not to be empathetic to the other party, but as professionals, we remain steadfast in accomplishing the goal you hired us to do.

We are deeply committed to educating our community about a complicated regulatory regime.

Landlording is fraught with risks and small property owners are especially vulnerable to making costly mistakes that are not compliant with a minefield of new rules.

View our knowledge base with recently updated resources →

Read our library of articles →

View a handful of many webinars →

In the news: How our events empower rental property owners to understand regulations and make smart business decisions →

NEWSROOM
We raise the voice of rental housing providers

Although the political rhetoric nowadays falls squarely on the side of tenants, Bornstein Law offers a fresh perspective through the lens of underrepresented property owners. Numerous media outlets have called upon us to articulate your case.

IN THE MEDIA

Case studies

Our team of experienced lawyers shares a breadth of knowledge and expertise that make us well-suited for every kind of landlord-tenant matter. We mention but a few here,

Examples of success »

Our clients say it best.

Very helpful and on top of all pertinent laws and ordinances. My company and my clients have benefited greatly from Daniel and his team.

Paul Barbagelata

Daniel is a fantastic lawyer with a team of experts. Don’t try to handle tenant issues on your own, hire a pro. He has successfully fought on my behalf on multiple occasions. I would highly recommend him for most real estate issues

Bill Bagnell

We have been using Daniel Bornstein for a number of years, we’ve always been very satisfied. Daniel is very responsive and has always given us great advice. We own and manage over a 120 units is San Francisco, Bornstein Law is our go too Firm. Bill M

Basil Mufarreh

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. This honor is not a given, even for highly competent attorneys. Super Lawyers recognizes the top 5 percent of the lawyers in the state. Independent research and peer evaluations single out the cream of the crop in more than 70 practice areas.