Topics that matter. Insights with impact.

New laws that 2026 will usher in for rental housing providers

October 13 was the deadline for Governor Newsom to approve or veto hundreds of bills that came across his desk. With the passing of that date, we have a clearer picture of new rules for housing providers.

San Francisco Sheriff’s Office has issued new guidance on how it will carry out court-ordered evictions

When the owner does not have keys that work, law enforcement will forcibly enter the unit, but only if the landlord holds them harmless for property damage.

Looking in the rear-view mirror and anticipating challenges for landlords in 2026

Never letting the grass grow from underneath our feet, we look ahead to what hurdles housing providers will need to power through.

Tragic San Francisco fire underscores the importance of addressing hoarding conditions in rental units

The foremost responsibility of housing providers is to protect tenants and neighboring residents from injury. Whenever hoarding conditions are detected, it is essential to address the problem promptly so that it does not escalate and create additional safety concerns. If there is a foreseeable threat and the landlord or property manager chooses to take no action, significant liability can result.

From trespass to eviction: What owners need to know about squatting

Let's talk about squatter-proofing your property and solutions to remove occupants who are illegally camping out.

When serving notices, don’t go it alone. A process server can save enormous time, expense, and aggravation while avoiding costly delays in the already prolonged eviction process

Even if landlords or property managers draft a flawless 3-day notice – a big if – it needs to be served correctly. An improper notice or incorrect service will tank an eviction action, especially when the tenant retains legal counsel with a keen eye for errors. Although there is an added expense, we advise clients not to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Does an illegal rent increase amount to receiving stolen property? An appellate court rules that a jury can weigh the evidence

Illegal rent increases are already frowned upon and can carry significant penalties when tenants are overcharged. Yet a recent case law has likely ratcheted up the consequences when housing providers improperly raise rents.

Rest assured, tenants and their legal counsel will test the opinions of courts by arguing that the illegal rent increase should trigger a Penal Code provision that allows for treble damages.

Effective January 1, 2026, landlords must allow tenants to opt out of landlord-mandated internet, cellular, or bulk billing plans

Tenants cannot be forced to pay for a service or speed they don’t need, or pay a provider that they don’t choose.

Habitability claims are the new type of personal injury lawsuit

Suing housing providers has proven to be a lucrative law practice for opportunistic attorneys intent on “shaking down” deep-pocketed landlords for baseless claims of inhabitable living conditions, and don’t expect insurance companies to bail out the landlord.

With evictions reportedly at a 10-year high in San Francisco, the sky is not falling

There are a multiplicity of factors in explaining the rise in eviction actions. To make sense of this trajectory, it’s instructive to go back in time and fast forward to today.

Build, baby, build. But will new projects be put on ‘ice’?

Already plagued by labor shortages, the construction industry is expected to lose undocumented workers because of targeted immigration enforcement. This stands to exacerbate workforce-related project delays.

Legal issues concerning pods and other hybrid living configurations

While bunk-style pods and other inventive living arrangements can provide sorely needed housing stock, landlords should consider this carefully, given the potential liability.

The challenges faced by the San Francisco Housing Authority serve as an example for other housing providers

The embattled agency has had no shortage of problems over the course of decades. Its latest struggle is evicting a group of occupants who refuse to leave substandard buildings to make way for newer, denser residential complexes. 

San Francisco’s Concrete Building Screening Program brings the city a step closer to finding out how many buildings are structurally unsound

Building upon its existing soft-story retrofit program, the city is taking inventory of concrete buildings. Meanwhile, housing providers may be eligible for seismic retrofit grants through the Brace + Bolt Retrofit program.

Too little, too late as San Francisco attempts to clean up the mess caused by corruption perpetrated by a disgraced engineer and permit expediter?

The city announced an amnesty program that will waive fees and fines for unsuspecting property owners who were victims of substandard work. Let's go over this token act and what defrauded owners can expect.

Effective July 1, 2025, the enforcement powers of homeowner associations are scaled back

HOAs have long used fines to correct or discourage actions that violate the association’s Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. Barring any threats to public health and safety, a new law has capped fines at $100 and has effectively ended the practice of “fine stacking,” where small fines snowball into huge debts over time.

Landlords may have the legal right to do something, but does that make it smart, prudent, or ethical?

When a property owner held an open house and told prospective applicants need not apply unless they are supporters of Trump and Israel, a tenant attorney says that the Zillow advertisement is legally permissible because political orientation is not a protected class under fair housing laws. Maybe so, but let’s consider the optics.

A reminder for real estate practitioners in Oakland that owners will be limited in their “banking” of rent increases

Effective January 1, 2026, the banking of rent increases will be limited to five years rather than the current ten-year expiration term. Potential buyers should be aware of this limitation of rental income before they take the plunge and buy a tenant-occupied property.

After revisions, a proposed bill would ensure that landlords do not get lost in translation

One of the axioms of contract law is that parties need to understand what they are agreeing to. With such a diverse population in California, housing providers have increasingly been tasked with communicating important documentation to tenants in their native language.

While these requirements are expanding, we are encouraged that the burden of translating eviction summons will likely be shifted to the judiciary.

San Francisco rents are on the uptick, but we have to think smartly about right-sizing rents

Ever since the gold rush, San Francisco has been boom or bust. A thriving technosphere, return-to-office policies, improved quality of life, and a renewed appetite for urban living mean that rents are shooting up. 

San Francisco rents may be on the rise, but so are the insurance costs attendant to operating a rental business 

SF landlords can petition the Rent Board to increase the base rent, but they should recognize that this is a long and tedious process.

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