San Francisco Sup. Jane Kim announced new legislation that would curb “low-fault” evictions and limit rent increases on new tenants moving into a unit vacated after an eviction.
Low-fault evictions have been rapidly increasing as landlords are increasingly motivated to evict tenants to move in higher-paying tenants. Low-fault evictions are typically for minor lease violations such as storing a bicycle in a garage, hanging laundry from a window, and even walking too loudly in a unit. Landlords often issue “nuisance” eviction notices in these cases because nuisance evictions do not allow the tenant to cure the allegedly disturbing behavior.
Low-fault evictions are especially problematic for tenants who do not know their rights, do not have the resources to fight a bogus eviction, or are unfamiliar with the court system. Low-fault evictions must be aggressively fought to provide the tenant with the best opportunity for beating the eviction.