Habitability / Repair Issues
California Civil Code (CCC) Sections 1941 and 1942 define a landlord’s obligation to provide a habitable living space for tenants and to make necessary repairs. According to the code, a landlord must provide the following:
• Effective waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and outside walls; unbroken doors and windows.
• Plumbing, electricity and gas facilities in good working order.
• A reasonable amount of hot and cold running water, and a sewage disposal system.
• Adequate and safe heating facilities.
• Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment which conforms with the applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.
• Floors, stairways and railings were maintained in good repair.
• An adequate number of containers for garbage and rubbish.
• Buildings and grounds which are free of rubbish, garbage, rodents and other pests.
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Warranty of Habitability
Under a 1974 California Supreme Court decision, Green v. Superior Court, all leases and rental agreements are deemed to include an implied warranty of habitability. This means that regardless of any conflicting lease agreement, the landlord is required to keep your unit in a habitable condition at all times.
“Habitable” means that the apartment conforms to the standards set forth in California Civil Code Section 1941.1, as listed above. Even if you knew that a unit was below code when you moved in, you still have the right to demand that it be brought up to habitable standards.
SF Housing Code & the Department of Building Inspection
General Requirements
In San Francisco, we also have our own local code that governs how residential buildings should be maintained. This is the San Francisco Housing Code. The agency that is charged with enforcing this code is the SF Department of Building Inspection (DBI). DBI is an important tool for tenants who have unmet repair needs or face health and safety issues in their building or unit. If your landlord is not providing what the code requires, you can report the issue to DBI, they will send an inspector to verify and then they will notify your landlord, requiring them to fix it, imposing escalating fines, fees and penalties.
Here are the basic requirements of the SF Housing Code. The following problems (and more) make a building considered substandard:
Lack of, or improper water closet, lavatory, and bath tub or shower in a dwelling unit;
Lack of, or improper water closets, lavatories, and bath tubs or showers per number of guests in a hotel;
Lack of, or improper kitchen sink in a dwelling unit;
Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in a hotel or lodging house;
Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in a dwelling unit;
Lack of adequate heating facilities or improper operation thereof;
Lack of, or improper operation of required ventilating equipment;
Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation required by this Code;
Room and space dimensions less than required by this Code;
Lack of required electrical illumination;
Dampness of habitable rooms.
Infestation of insects, vermin or rodents;
General dilapidation or improper maintenance.
Lack of connection to required sewage disposal system;
Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities;
Areas covered include mold, electrical outlets, sanitation, elevators, ventilation, weatherstripping.
Heat Issues
Under the SF Housing Code(Sec.701), all residential units, except for hotel rooms, must have a source of heating that can maintain a minimum room temperature of 70, as measured three feet off the ground in all habitable rooms except bathrooms and hallways. If the landlord provides that heat, it must be provided 24 hours a day.
In a residential hotel room, a landlord has to provide a heat source that can heat the room to 70 degrees from 5am to 11am and 3-10pm.
If the landlord does not provide the required heat during the required hours, you can:
Write to your landlord about the heat problem and keep a copy of your letter. Be sure to explain in the letter how long the problem has been going on and if you previously asked the manager/landlord to do something about it. This letter, along with a log of when your heat is working and when it isn’t, can serve as useful documentation should you have to go to the Rent Board (with a decrease in services) or Small Claims Court.
You can file a “Decrease in Services petition” at the San Francisco Rent Board). You can only file this petition if you are covered under the San Francisco Rent Ordinance.
You can notify the Department of Building Inspection about the heat problem, unless you suspect you live in an illegal unit (such as an in-law or a basement or garage apartment), in which case you should call us directly. If the inspector finds a heat violation, they will give your landlord a notice of violation to fix the problem.
Utility Shut Offs
Lack of hot and cold running water, heating facilities and electrical illumination are all violations of the Housing Code and make the unit/ building Substandard. If your utilities are shut off by your landlord, they are therefore violating the code. If you have no water available, report to the Health Dept here. See here for more on what to do if your utilities are shut off.
Fire Damage and Displacement
You have the right to return to your place when repairs are done. Send a letter to your landlord indicating that you plan to return. It’s best to send via certified mail with return receipt requested, or priority mail that you can use to track a USPS tracking. Take a screenshot of the delivery info as proof they received it.
Your landlord must notify you when your apartment is ready. You must give your landlord your address and contact info so that they can let you know when the place is ready for you to return to.
Once the place is repaired and the landlord offers it back in writing, the tenant must let the landlord know within 30 days whether they will return.
If the fire was caused by neglect on the part of the landlord (in not repairing the wiring, for example), then you may have a claim against him in court. You should file a claim with the landlord’s insurance company, although a landlord has no obligation to cover a tenant’s losses unless it can be proven that the landlord was negligent. You should also obtain all police and fire department reports as evidence.
If you cannot live in your place after the fire (this will be in the fire department report, you can request one), then you do NOT have to pay rent until it is repaired. Once repaired, the rent remains the same unless the landlord petitions the Rent Board for a capital-improvement passthrough. If they do, the Rent Board will hold a hearing and determine if the landlord is entitled to an increase.
If the landlord does not offer the place back to the displaced tenant and instead rents to someone else, the displaced person can file for a wrongful eviction.
Under the rent ordinance, a “Good Samaritan” landlord can rent to a tenant displaced by fire or public health/safety issue at the same rent the tenant was paying in the apartment from which they were forced to move, but only for an agreed upon period, not to exceed a year. A one-year extension can be granted to that agreement. After that period, the landlord can raise the rent up to market and evict, if the tenant doesn’t leave and the landlord wants them to. A city official (such as a fire or DBI inspector) must verify that the tenant was displaced.
Landlords have to issue reports to the city and to persons who are displaced by fires, indicating, among other things, the progress of the reconstruction of the building and when they can re-occupy the unit. Link is here.
SF Health Code & the Health Department
The Health Department is also responsible for enforcing violations of the SF Health Code and can be useful in getting your landlord to address repairs. The areas that they cover include: Mold and mildew, bedbugs, asbestos, lead, rats and roaches and even noise issues. These are health code violations that your Landlord is responsible for protecting you from. The Healthy Housing program is the team that helps tenants with these issues.
You can report any health code violation here.
Mold
Mold is a public health issue covered by the Health Code. You can report problems with mold and mildew to the Health Dept for inspection and enforcement.
Bedbugs
SF has special regulations about how Landlords should address bed bug infestation. DPH will also inspect and cite Landlords if they can show that they have allowed the problem to continue unabated. More info here.
Rodents and Roaches
Report here.
Lead
If your building is under rent control, then it was built before 1979. Lead was used in buildings in San Francisco until 1978. So, if you live in a rent-controlled building, chances are that there is lead-based paint in your apartment. To contact a City lead inspector see here.
Asbestos
Report a complaint here.
Noise Issues
SF has a noise regulation that allow for “human and animal noises during the day”, except when they become “unreasonable” or are between the hours of 10PM-7AM. This is enforced by the SF Health Department.
Additionally, according to the Warranty of Quiet Possession, California Civil Code Section 1927, tenants have an implied right to quiet enjoyment in their rental agreement. Section 2915 of the San Francisco Police Code establishes guidelines for noise regulations: It is unlawful for any person to make, continue, cause or permit any unnecessary, excessive or offensive noise. This includes vocal or instrumental music and related sounds, live or produced mechanically, which disturbs the peace or causes the annoyance or discomfort of any reasonable person.
Article 1, Section 49 of the San Francisco Police Code states that devices such as stereos and TVs must be “inaudible within a distance of 50 feet” from the property line between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. These complaints can be referred to the San Francisco Police Department.
To determine whether or not the noise is in violation of the Warranty of Quiet Possession you should consider the following questions:
How loud is the noise?
How intensive is the noise?
Is the noise repetitive?
What time of day does the noise usually occur and does it reflect normal activity?
Does the noise last over a long period of time? Is the noise constant or intermittent?
Speak with the offenders, explaining that the noise must be controlled. Make sure to also complain to the offenders in writing, referencing specific dates and times of the incidents. Request that these incidents stop. Offer to go to mediation with the neighbor.
If you are getting no relief from talking to the offenders and the Landlord, you can:
Report certain complaints to the Police (non emergency number)
Pursue mediation
Report a noise complaint with DPH here.
File Decrease in Services petition at the Rent Board.
Take Action to Get Repairs Done
If your landlord does not repair and maintain the premises per the requirements of the law, you have several options:
ALWAYS START WITH writing a letter (or submitting a repair request form) documenting the problems you want fixed. State that you want a response within a reasonable time period (5 to 10 days) indicating when the repairs will be made. Make sure they agree to do the repairs within 30 days (for non emergency or health and safety related repairs).
Always keep a copy of all correspondence and documentation. If you need to call the landlord or manager about repairs, follow up your call with a note summing up the conversation. If possible, take photographs of the problems, and get a witness to sign a statement.
Always keep copies of any letters you send or receive. In addition, keep an organized log of all phone calls or discussions of what was said and agreed upon. This information may be used at a Rent Board hearing or in Small Claims court.
Your landlord should give you the proper 24-hour written notice to enter your apartment to make the repairs, but once they do, you are expected to comply and cooperate with the repair effort.
File a Complaint with DBI
Report the issue here.
DBI should contact you to send an inspector who will verify the nature of the code violation and then cite (issue a Notice of Violation -NOV) your landlord and require them to fix it.
At the time of the inspection, the inspector is required to issue a notice of violation (NOV) to the landlord and send a copy to you, if you request it. Make sure you keep your copy of this report. You will need this documentation should you decide to go to the Rent Board or Small Claims Court.
After being issued a NOV, your landlord has seven days to repair routine problems, 24 hours to repair heat and hot water problems, and five to 30 days to obtain permits for more significant work.
The inspector is required to re-inspect the apartment to ensure that the code violations have been repaired. We recommend that you follow-up with your inspector as to the status of the repairs. You can also track your case online. If the problem is not fixed within the notice period given, call the inspector. Tell them the work has not been done.
If the repairs do not get made within the required timeframe, DBI will fine the landlord and eventually require them to attend a Director’s Hearing to hold them accountable.
Petition the Rent Board for a rent reduction until repairs are done. (If you’re not under rent control, you may need to go to Small Claims Court.) The San Francisco Rent Board is a city agency that oversees and enforces the San Francisco rent ordinance. There are two types of tenant petitions which can be filed with the Rent Board to deal with repair problems. One is called the Decrease in Services petition and the other is called the Failure to Repair and Maintain petition.
File A Decrease in Services petition, requesting a reduction in rent, can be filed at any time if there has been a lack of repairs, or if a service or amenity that has previously been provided (for example, a leak-free sink) is no longer provided, due to landlord failure to fix it after you notified them in writing.
File a Failure to Repair and Maintain petition only when they have received a notice of a rent increase. In a Failure to Repair and Maintain petition, the tenant alleges that the landlord is not entitled to a rent increase because the landlord has refused to make requested repairs which are required under the law.
With both these petitions the burden of proof is on the tenant. The tenant must prove that they have requested to have the repairs made and that the landlord has not made the repairs within a reasonable time.
All unresolved tenant petitions result in administrative hearings at which both the tenant and the landlord have an opportunity to present their evidence. A hearing officer presides over the hearing and renders a decision within 45 days. Decisions from the hearing officer can be appealed to the Rent Board Commissioners within 15 days.
Caution: We do not recommend Repair and deduct.
California Civil Code 1942 states that tenants can repair and deduct the costs to remedy problems listed under California Civil Code Section 1941.1. If your landlord does not make requested repairs within a “reasonable” time after receiving notice of a problem, you have the legal right to have the repairs made yourself and deduct the cost from your rent, as long as the cost of the repairs does not exceed one month’s rent.
You must submit the receipts for the work with your rent payment. You can use this remedy twice in any twelve-month period. If the repair problem affects more than one apartment in your building, you may be able to do a combined repair and deduct with other tenants.
We recommend that you speak to your landlord and if they agree to the repair and deduct, then get IT IN WRITING! Only then do we feel that you can deduct without risk of a 3-day notice. If you are under rent control, there are other avenues to pursue, such as a Decrease in Services petition at the Rent Board. If you’re not under rent control, you can take your landlord to Small Claims Court.
Move Out and/or Sue Your Landlord
If your apartment substantially lacks any of the things listed in California Civil Code 1941.1, and the landlord has not fixed the problems within a reasonable time after being notified of the condition in writing, the law allows you to move out in the middle of your rental agreement. This is called a “constructive eviction” — when a unit is uninhabitable and therefore the tenant is forced to move out. You must have written documentation of the problems, such as NOVs from DBI, letters, pictures, etc., in order to claim a constructive eviction.
You do not have to give notice that you are moving out, but it is a good idea to write a letter to your landlord stating your intention to exercise your right to move out.
You can also sue your landlord for a rent refund for the time you were paying rent while living with serious repair problems. If you're suing for $12,500 or less, you can sue in Small Claims Court. No lawyer is necessary. Otherwise, if you want to go to Superior Court, contact an attorney or legal clinic.
Organize with Other Tenants
Often, many tenants in a building are experiencing the same problems. A group of tenants working together to solve a problem is much more effective than one tenant working alone. If other people in the building are having the same problem, ask them to sign your letter or write a letter together. A group of tenants can also submit petitions to the Rent Board together. The Housing Rights Committee may be able to help you and your fellow tenants organize, decide on a course of action, and form a tenant’s association.
Code Enforcement Outreach Program (CEOP)
The Code Enforcement Outreach Program (CEOP) is a city/community partnership run by DBI. Its members include DBI, HRCSF, the Chinatown Community Development Corporation, Causa Justa/Just Cause, the SRO collaboratives, and the San Francisco Apartment Association. The goal of the program is to facilitate communication between tenants, landlords and inspectors in an attempt to get repairs done as quickly as possible.
Housing Rights Committee collaborates with the SF Apartment Association to contact your landlord about their responsibility regarding repairs. We can also try and help you navigate the building inspections process. You do not have to be under rent control to take part in this program. Persons in subsidized housing (Section 8 and public housing as well as HUD and nonprofit housing) can call for this service, too. Contact our counseling clinic to request this.
Illegal Units
How to know if you live in an illegal unit
One or more of the following conditions may exist if you live in an illegal unit:
You live in the garage, the basement, the attic, a warehouse or other commercial space, or an in-law apartment behind a house
Your address includes an “A”, “B”, or “1/2” or your mail is delivered to someone else’s unit (you don’t have a mailbox of your own)
You must walk through the garage to get to your unit
The ceiling is less than 7 feet high
The piping and ducting is visible along the ceiling
If one or more of the above conditions exist, you don’t want to call the Department of Building Inspections. If your landlord is not doing repairs, you should try another way of pressuring them to do them, such as filing a decrease in services petition at the Rent Board or enrolling in our CEOP program.
If an inspector from the Department of Building Inspections enters an illegal unit, they are required to issue a notice of violation. If an inspector comes to your home while you are there, you can refuse to allow them to enter, if you fear that you live in an illegal unit.
Under the in-law and illegal space legislation passed in 2016, the landlord, when cited by DBI, receives the option to legalize it, if the place is able to be legalized. That means the zoning in the area allows for residential use, and the place doesn’t have any structural problems preventing legalization. The landlord can work with DBI to bring it up to code, or they can file for a permit to demolish the unit, and have to go to a Planning Commission hearing for a change in use.If the Commission approves the permit, then the landlord can do an eviction for demolition of an illegal unit.
It’s possible that the Planning Commission will not approve a change in use. Certainly, the tenants in the unit should attend the hearing before the Commission and explain that they live there and will have a difficult time finding a place they can afford.
If the landlord receives their permits and you do get evicted for a demolition of an illegal unit, you are entitled to a 60-day written notice (a verbal notice is NEVER legal) and relocation money. In 2024 and until 2/28/25, it’s $7,912 per adult with a ceiling of $23,733 per household. Households with a senior or children receive an additional $5,275. The amount increases every year.
Even if you live in an illegal unit, under California Civil Code Section 1941.1, landlords must provide the same standard of habitability as with any other apartment
Remember: There are thousands of illegal units in SF. You still have all the same rights as any other tenant if you live in an illegal unit that is in a rent-controlled building (a building with more than one unit that was built before 1979). If you live in an in-law unit attached to a single-family home, the in-law unit (even if it’s illegal) counts as a second unit.
Warehouses
The situation is more complicated if you live in a warehouse or basement or other site not zoned for residential use. A warehouse could be in an area zoned for commercial use only. A basement could be in a condition that makes it incapable of being legalized.
If you live in one of these spaces and the city is sending inspectors or your landlord is trying to evict you verbally or in writing, see an attorney or a counselor. Remember: You may have rights in a warehouse or other type space, depending on the circumstances. You could be under rent control and/or just cause protection. Especially if the building was built before 1979 and there is more than one area of the building that is being rented.