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SF supervisors approve minimum debt threshold for rent-related evictions
San Francisco landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants for unpaid rent below the fair-market cost of a month’s rent, under a measure approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors. The law could take effect as early as December, though landlord representatives have warned it may face a legal challenge.
San Francisco landlords will be barred from evicting tenants over rent debts smaller than the fair-market value of one month’s rent, after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new tenant-protection law on Oct. 20, 2026.
The measure, introduced by Supervisor Jackie Fielder and co-sponsored by seven supervisors, changes a city rule that previously allowed eviction for nonpayment regardless of how much rent was owed. The new threshold is based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fair-market rent figures: $2,485 for a studio, $2,977 for a one-bedroom and $3,604 for a two-bedroom apartment.
Fielder said a quarter of San Francisco eviction cases in 2025 involved debts below the one-month fair-market-rent benchmark. She described the change as a way to curb evictions amid rising housing costs. The law, supported by Mayor Daniel Lurie, could take effect as early as December.
The measure comes as rents and evictions have climbed in San Francisco. Lurie declared a rent emergency in September, citing pressures that include the city’s AI boom.
Los Angeles, Oakland and Berkeley have adopted similar protections. In San Francisco, the Apartment Association warned the Board of Supervisors that the measure could invite litigation, pointing to a lawsuit brought by the Apartment Association of Los Angeles against that city’s law. The San Francisco group said it believes the courts will uphold landlords’ position in the Los Angeles case.