2012 Reduced Relocation Payments in San Francisco

Under current San Francisco Rent Control laws, when a landlord needs to temporarily displace a tenant to make needed repairs to a unit, the landlord must pay the tenants in the unit up to $15,460 plus additional payments of $3,436 to disabled or elderly tenants or households with minor children. These relocation payments are required even if the repairs will only take a few days. Sound unfair? California legislators thought so. On September 7, 2012, Governor Brown approved Assembly Bill No. 1925, which will limit the amount of relocation payments a San Francisco landlord may be required to pay when temporarily displacing a tenant. Effective January 1, 2013, the relocation amount will be $275 per day for the household plus actual moving expenses if it is necessary to move household possessions. A landlord may also elect to provide the tenant with a comparable unit, and in doing so, would avoid paying $275 per day. Landlords will now be able to make needed repairs that prior to passage of this law, would have been too cost prohibitive. For more information about this new law, click here.

© 2012 by Fried & Williams LLP. All Rights Reserved. The information contained in this article is general in nature. For advice on any particular matter, please consult with our attorneys because the facts of your situation may be unique and the law changes from time to time.